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Fletcher Hartsell
Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr. (b. February 15, 1947) is a former Republican member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing District 36 from 1991 to 2016.
Hartsell did not seek re-election to the North Carolina State Senate in 2016.
Biography
Hartsell earned his A.B. from Davidson College in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1972. His professional experience includes working as an attorney with Hartsell, Hartsell and White. He was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1972.[1]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Hartsell served on the following committees:
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources, Vice-Chairman |
| • Appropriations on Education/Higher Education |
| • Appropriations on Justice and Public Safety |
| • Education/Higher Education |
| • Finance, Vice-Chairman |
| • Health Care |
| • Judiciary I, Co-Chairman |
| • Program Evaluation, Co-Chairman |
| • State and Local Government |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Hartsell served on the following committees:
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources |
| • Appropriations on Education/Higher Education |
| • Education/Higher Education |
| • Finance |
| • Health Care |
| • Judiciary II |
| • Program Evaluation |
| • State and Local Government |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Hartsell served on these committees:
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources |
| • Appropriations/Base Budget |
| • Finance |
| • Mental Health & Youth Services |
| • Judiciary II |
| • Rules and Operations of the Senate |
| • State and Local Government |
| • Program Evaluation |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Hartsell served on these committees:
| North Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources |
| • Appropriations/Base Budget |
| • Education/Higher Education |
| • Health Care |
| • Judiciary II |
| • Rules and Operations of the Senate |
| • State and Local Government |
| • Ways & Means |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the North Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016.[2] The candidate filing deadline was December 21, 2015.[3] Incumbent Fletcher Hartsell (R) did not seek re-election.
Paul Newton defeated Robert Brown in the North Carolina State Senate District 36 general election.[4][5]
| North Carolina State Senate, District 36 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Paul Newton |
62.56% | 59,584 | |
| Democratic | Robert Brown | 37.44% | 35,664 | |
| Total Votes | 95,248 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections | ||||
Robert Brown defeated Andrew Platek in the North Carolina State Senate District 36 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| North Carolina State Senate, District 36 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Robert Brown |
65.04% | 8,629 | |
| Democratic | Andrew Platek | 34.96% | 4,638 | |
| Total Votes | 13,267 | |||
Paul Newton defeated Amy Blake, Parish Moffitt and Scott Aumuller in the North Carolina State Senate District 36 Republican primary.[8][9]
| North Carolina State Senate, District 36 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Paul Newton |
37.04% | 9,562 | |
| Republican | Amy Blake | 21.34% | 5,509 | |
| Republican | Parish Moffitt | 11.60% | 2,994 | |
| Republican | Scott Aumuller | 30.02% | 7,749 | |
| Total Votes | 25,814 | |||
2014
Elections for the North Carolina State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 28, 2014. Incumbent Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr. defeated Fred Biggers in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[10][11]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr. Incumbent |
60.7% | 7,496 |
| Fred Biggers | 39.3% | 4,858 |
| Total Votes | 12,354 | |
2012
Hartsell ran unopposed in the Republican primary on May 8. He was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr. Incumbent |
100% | 60,957 | |
| Total Votes | 60,957 | |||
2010
Hartsell won re-election to the North Carolina State Senate District 36, defeating Michael Helms (D).[13] Hartsell was unopposed in the primary election on May 4, 2010.[14]
| North Carolina Senate, General Election Results, District 36 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr. (R)
|
37,403 | 69.02% | ||
| Michael Helms (D) | 16,790 | 30.98% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Hartsell was re-elected to the 36th District Seat in the North Carolina State Senate, besting Charles Paxton (D).[15] Hartsell raised $202,213 for his campaign, while Paxton did not raise any money.[16]
| North Carolina Senate, District 36 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr. (R)
|
50,052 | |||
| Charles Paxton (D) | 38,047 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of North Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from April 25 through July 1.
- Civitas Action: 2016 Full Rankings
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 2016 Legislative Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues.
- N.C. Values Coalition: 2016 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues.
- The American Conservative Union: 2016 Legislative Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 14 through September 30.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the General Assembly of North Carolina will be in session from May 14 through a date to be determined by the legislature.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 9 to July 26.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2012, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from May 16 to July 3.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 26 to June 18. A special session dealing with redistricting began July 13 and ended July 28.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hartsell and his wife, Tana, have three children. They currently reside in Concord, North Carolina.[1]
Noteworthy events
Campaign finance investigation
On June 17, 2015, members of the North Carolina Board of Elections voted 5-0 to refer their investigation against Hartsell to state and federal prosecutors.[17] The investigation into Hartsell began in early 2013 and found that he used $109,000 of his campaign's money from 2009 to 2012 on personal expenditures.[18] According to the investigation, Hartsell used his campaign funds to pay for shoe repairs, speeding tickets, haircuts, meals with his family and his credit card debt.[19] Even though Hartsell has been in the state Senate since 1991, the first time his campaign account was audited was in 2013, after The News & Observer wrote an article about Hartsell's campaign spending.[18] Before October 2006, candidates in North Carolina were allowed to use their campaign money for personal expenses.[18] Many candidates, Hartsell included, took advantage of this loophole, and bought cars, laptops and trips with campaign money.[18] Kim Westbrook Strach, the board's executive director, said that the day before the law changed, Hartsell’s campaign had more expenditures than any other legislator that was reviewed.[18] The state Democratic party has called on the Republican leaders to seek Hartsell’s resignation.[18] Hartsell told The Independent Tribune that he would not resign and vowed to fight the allegations.[17]
State court
On June 28, 2016, Hartsell was indicted by a Wake County grand jury on three counts of filing false campaign finance reports.[20]
Federal court
On September 27, 2016, Hartsell was indicted by a federal grand jury on 14 counts over campaign spending. Hartsell "faces five counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering."[21] The indictment alleges Hartsell used campaign funds from 2007 through 2015 for personal use and then lied about it on his campaign finance reports. The indidctment alleges that he spent campaign funds on vacations with his wife, tickets to the musical "Jersey Boys," and his granddaughter’s birthday party. Each charge carries a sentence of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.[21]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Fletcher + Hartsell + North Carolina + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- North Carolina State Senate
- Senate Committees
- General Assembly of North Carolina
- Joint Committees
- North Carolina state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Senator Hartsell's State Surge
- Senator Hartsell's Facebook page
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Fletcher Hartsell," accessed June 19, 2015
- ↑ The primary for U.S. congressional elections was rescheduled to June 7, 2016, following legal challenges to North Carolina's district maps. State races were unaffected.
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Filing," archived January 19, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election results lookup," accessd December 21, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed January 4, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official primary results - Statewide," March 15, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed January 4, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official primary results - Statewide," March 15, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Primary Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed March 7, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "General Election Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina Board of Elections, "2012 General Election Results," accessed August 14, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2010 General Election Results," accessed August 14, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2010 Primary Election Results," accessed August 14, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2008 General Election Results," accessed March 25, 2015
- ↑ Follow the Money, "North Carolina Senate spending, 2008," accessed August 14, 2014
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 independenttribune.com, "Hartsell vows to fight allegations, says he won't resign," accessed June 19, 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 newsobserver.com, "NC Sen. Hartsell’s campaign finance case referred to prosecutors," accessed June 19, 2015
- ↑ charlotteobserver.com, "NC Sen. Fletcher Hartsell defends campaign spending," accessed June 19, 2015
- ↑ The News & Observer, "Sen. Fletcher Hartsell indicted by a Wake County grand jury," accessed June 28, 2016
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 newsobserver.com, " Sen. Fletcher Hartsell accused of money laundering, mail fraud and wire fraud," accessed September 30, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
North Carolina State Senate District 36 1991–2016 |
Succeeded by Paul Newton |
