Rep. Joe John (Wake Co.) (Photo: NCGA)
Democratic State Rep. Joe John of Wake County, who came to the General Assembly later in life after many years as a judge of the state District Court, Superior Court, and Court of Appeals, announced his resignation for the legislature on Sunday. John, 85, has been battling cancer, and he revealed in the announcement that his latest medical diagnosis had forced his hand. This is from the announcement:
John, who served four full terms in the state House and was elected to a fifth last November, has long enjoyed a reputation as a smart, honest, and hard-working progressive who championed the rights and well-being of the underdogs in society and who believed that government could and should make life better for average people.
In a 2017 interview with NC Newsline that took place after he was first elected to the legislature, John listed President John F. Kennedy as his political hero:
Though John was widely and understandably viewed as an expert on courts and the law during his time in the legislature, he was a strong and knowledgeable voice on numerous important issues in state government and, as he made clear in a conversation we had in 2023 for the NC Newsline radio show/podcast, News & Views, an unapologetic critic of the tactics the Republican leadership on Jones Street employed in passing important legislation.
John’s announcement has spurred several social media posts lauding him as person and a public servant. Former Raleigh News & Observer journalist Jim Jenkins put it this way in a Facebook post:
Gov. Josh Stein will name John’s replacement from a slate submitted by the Democratic Party.
Read John’s full announcement below.
