Meet Charles
Born and raised in Cumberland County, I have a strong appreciation for our community and longstanding desire to serve the area I’ve always called home.
My formative years were spent here in Fayetteville. Thereafter, I attended Emory & Henry College to fulfill a childhood dream of playing college basketball. After undergrad, I returned to my home state and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for law school. Immediately after earning my law degree from UNC, I came back to Cumberland County to serve as an Assistant District Attorney. During my time with the District Attorney’s office, I prosecuted a wide variety of cases, but primarily handled domestic violence and child abuse matters. After years in the District Attorney’s Office, I have transitioned into private practice, and currently, I am an associate with Anderson, Johnson, Lawrence & Butler, LLP. During my time in private practice, I have gained experience representing a variety of government entities, as well as experience in administrative law, corporate law, and general civil litigation. Having handled criminal and civil cases, I possess relevant experience interpreting, applying, and arguing statutes that our legislators enact and approve.
I was lucky enough to meet my wife, Mary Kelly, also a Fayetteville native and a passionate public servant. Mary Kelly works as an elementary school counselor in the Cumberland County public school system. She and I choose to live in the All-America city, and we will continue to pursue our careers and raise our family here. As your representative, I will work tirelessly and transparently to ensure that our area continues to progress and be a place that we are all proud to call home. I understand the important role of a legislator, and I respect the need for each of you to be able to access your representative at the state level. With full recognition of the gravity of this responsibility, I am excited to serve you and the state that I have, and will always, call home.