BREAKING: Politician Parks Helms dead at age 87
Longtime Mecklenburg County Democratic politician died Saturday; He served more than three decades in public office
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Former county commissioner and N.C. statehouse representative Parks Helms was one of Charlotte’s best-known politicians and Democratic party leaders
by Jim Morrill and Cristina Bolling
Parks Helms, a Charlotte Democrat who was a fixture in Mecklenburg County and North Carolina politics for decades, died Saturday at the age of 87.
Helms’ daughter confirmed his death to the Ledger on Monday. She said he died of natural causes after a period of declining health.
Helms spent a decade in the N.C. General Assembly, where he consistently ranked among the 10 most effective members, and went on to serve 16 years as a Mecklenburg commissioner. He chaired the board for 10 years. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1988.
“Parks was a political leader across generations,” said former Commissioner Dumont Clarke, a fellow Democrat. “Parks was a visionary. And he knew how to bring people together around his vision. He was greatly respected by the business leaders of this community and could see what Charlotte had the potential to become, better than a lot of the rest of us.”
With gray hair and bushy eyebrows, Helms approached life and politics with an unusual intensity. His political career spanned decades.
Born and raised in Charlotte, he had a special interest in advocating for the poor and the underrepresented and was criticized by conservatives for his willingness to raise taxes to increase government services.
A lawyer, Helms lost his first bid for the N.C. statehouse, but later would go on to serve five terms. During his time in Raleigh, he ushered in game-changing legislation that was the pathway to growth when he sponsored a 1978 state bill allowing liquor-by-the-drink in Mecklenburg County. He had a reputation as the advocate for the underdog.
In Mecklenburg, he was credited with environmental initiatives as well as strong advocacy for the public library and mass transit.
In 1998 he lost his chairmanship of the Board of County Commissioners after he fought a funding cut that a “Gang of Five” commissioners made to the Arts & Science Council after Charlotte Repertory Theatre staged “Angels in America,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning play with gay themes and nudity.
He was reinstated as chairman a couple of years later and restored funding to the ASC. And he led the efforts to add sexual orientation to the county’s nondiscrimination policy.
“We did some good things under his leadership,” said former Democratic Commissioner Norman Mitchell. “There was an integrity . . . When he said something you could take it to the bank. We have lost a valuable citizen for the state of North Carolina.”
Helms was also a strong Democrat.
“He was real influential in getting the vote out and making sure the right people were running for office,” said Democrat George Dunlap, the board’s current chairman.
Helms served on the board until 2008, when — for the first time in years — he decided not to run. Interviewed by the Charlotte Observer shortly before his last commissioners meeting, he spoke of what he hoped his legacy would be:
I do hope that I have brought to the board and to this community a style of leadership that creates confidence in the role that government plays in people’s lives. It is not necessary that people always agree with what you do. I hear this a lot: “I didn’t agree with you, but I like the way you did it.”
The funeral service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Park Road Baptist Church.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project