Tom Fetzer
| Tom Fetzer | |
|---|---|
| Chairman, North Carolina Republican Party | |
|
In office 2009–2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Linda Daves |
| Succeeded by | Robin Hayes |
| Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina | |
|
In office 1993–1999 |
|
| Preceded by | Avery C. Upchurch |
| Succeeded by | Paul Coble |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 25, 1955 Plainview, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Kate Spina Fetzer (m. 2009–present) |
| Children | Thomas Harrison Fetzer III b.2010 |
| Residence | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Alma mater | Wake Forest University |
Thomas Harrison Fetzer (born April 25, 1955) served three two-year terms as Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from December 1993 to December 1999. He was elected the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party on June 13, 2009, and served until January 15, 2011.
A graduate of Wake Forest University, Fetzer began his career in politics with appointments as Assistant Secretary of Natural Resources and Chief Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation in the administration of North Carolina Governor James G. Martin, as well as executive assistant to Senator John Porter East (both Republicans). After entering the private sector, Fetzer was a marketing executive.
During Fetzer's terms as mayor, city expansion continued,coupled with lower taxes. Police substations strategically placed throughout Raleigh helped bring about a decrease in the overall crime rate. He opposed a replacement for the city's Convention and Conference Center, preferring instead a modest renovation and expansion, but was instrumental in the relocation of the Hartford Whalers to the area as the Carolina Hurricanes and the construction of the RBC Center. Fetzer's administration also oversaw recovery from Hurricane Fran.
Fetzer favored tax cuts and thought that public art was a waste of taxpayer funds as mayor.
While elections in Raleigh are nonpartisan, Fetzer was the first mayor in modern times who was known to be a Republican.
After choosing not to run for a fourth term in office, Fetzer served as a teaching fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and director of the Center for Local Innovation at the John Locke Foundation (he was succeeded in this position by his future opponent for state party chair, Chad Adams). He then accepted a position with the United States Tennis Association in New York City before returning to Raleigh several years later. He re-engaged in state and local politics, although not as a candidate but as a political consultant.
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