John Richard Bell IV (born May 18, 1979) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented the 10th district (including Wayne, Greene, and Johnston counties) in the North Carolina House of Representatives since 2013.[1][2]
John Bell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Majority Leader of the North Carolina House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office August 30, 2016 | |
| Leader | Tim Moore |
| Preceded by | Mike Hager |
| Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 10th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Karen Kozel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Richard Bell IV May 18, 1979 Mount Olive, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kelli |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Wilmington (BA) |
Early life and education
editJohn Richard Bell, IV is the child of John R. "Ricky" Bell, III, and Cindy Ezzell Bell. He has one sister. His father was a highway maintenance engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.[3] Bell graduated from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, in 2001.[4]
Career
editIn 2016, Bell was a business development employee for North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union in Goldsboro, North Carolina.[5] He later joined Sentinel Risk Advisors as a client executive.[4]
In January 2016, Bell endorsed Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries.[6]
Bell was elected by the state House Republican Caucus to the position of state House majority whip in 2014,[7] and to the position of majority leader in 2016.[5] Bell was also chairman of the House Regulatory Reform Committee and the House Select Committee on Wildlife Resources.[5]
In the state House, Bell has been a supporter of restricting wind energy development, taking the position that wind farms are a threat to military bases in North Carolina because they could obstruct low-level military training flights.[8] Bell sponsored legislation in 2013 to increase wind-energy regulation,[8] and in 2019 helped negotiate a bill to require the state to consult military commanders as part of the state permitting process for wind farms.[9]
Bell and other General Assembly Republicans have opposed Democratic Governor Roy Cooper on the issue of expanding Medicaid. Cooper and other Democrats support the expansion of Medicaid, and Republicans oppose it.[10]
Bell introduced legislation in 2019 to allow the sale of beer and wine at North Carolina public universities during athletic games.[11] The bill passed later that year, and seven University of North Carolina System institutions took advantage of the law by opting to allow alcohol sales on game days.[12]
Electoral history
edit2020
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Bell (incumbent) | 27,802 | 69.77% | |
| Democratic | Carl Martin | 12,047 | 30.23% | |
| Total votes | 39,849 | 100% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2018
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Bell (incumbent) | 18,838 | 69.34% | ||
| Democratic | Tracy Blackmon | 8,329 | 30.66% | ||
| Total votes | 27,167 | 100% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
2016
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Bell (incumbent) | 26,440 | 71.55% | ||
| Democratic | Evelyn Paul | 10,514 | 28.45% | ||
| Total votes | 36,954 | 100% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
2014
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Bell (incumbent) | 19,577 | 100% | ||
| Total votes | 19,577 | 100% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
2012
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Bell | 3,910 | 50.25% | |
| Republican | Stephen LaRoque (incumbent) | 3,871 | 49.75% | |
| Total votes | 7,781 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Bell | 24,475 | 66.61% | ||
| Democratic | Jim Babe Hardison | 12,270 | 33.39% | ||
| Total votes | 36,745 | 100% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Committee assignments
edit2021-2022 session
edit- Agriculture
- Alcoholic Beverage Control
- Energy and Public Utilities
- Finance
- Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
2019-2020 session
edit- Agriculture
- Alcoholic Beverage Control
- House Finance
- Energy and Public Utilities
2017-2018 session
edit- Appropriations
- Agriculture
- Regulatory Reform
- Energy and Public Utilities
- Finance
- Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Banking
- Education - Universities
- Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs
2015-2016 session
edit- Agriculture
- Regulatory Reform (chair)
- Finance
- Public Utilities
- Banking
- Commerce and Job Development
- Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs
- Judiciary III
2013-2014 session
edit- Appropriations
- Agriculture (Vice Chair)
- Banking
- Government
- Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs
- Judiciary
References
edit- ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ Representative John R. Bell, IV (REP), North Carolina General Assembly.
- ^ "John Richard "Ricky" Bell Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information". Tyndall Funeral Home. October 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ a b Profiles: John Bell, University of North Carolina, Wilmington (July 18, 2018).
- ^ a b c Patrick Gannon, NC House Republicans select new majority leader, News & Observer (August 30, 2016).
- ^ Colin Campbell, More NC legislators back Marco Rubio, News & Observer (January 8, 2016).
- ^ Lynn Bonner, Tim Moore is state House Republican nominee for speaker, News & Observer (November 23, 2014).
- ^ a b Jay Price, An Effort To Restrict Eastern N.C Wind Farms Appears Dead In the Legislature, WUNC (August 2, 2019).
- ^ Lynn Bonner, Wind power ban dropped from wind power legislation, News & Observer (June 26, 2019).
- ^ David Ranii & Lynn Bonner, Gov. Roy Cooper wants to expand Medicaid; Republicans vow to fight, News & Observer (January 5, 2017).
- ^ Lauren Horsch, Let NC's public universities sell beer and wine at games, state lawmakers say, Charlotte Observer (March 15, 2019).
- ^ Kate Murphy, NC State fans buy beer in the stadium to cool down at football season opener, Charlotte Observer (August 31, 2019).
- ^ [1] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [2] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [3] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [4] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [5] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ [6] North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ "John Bell (North Carolina". Retrieved January 30, 2022.