James Andrew "Jim" Harrell, III (born 1974) served three terms as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly

North Carolina General Assembly

The North Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The General Assembly drafts and legislates the state laws of North Carolina, also known as the General Statutes...

 representing the state's ninetieth House

North Carolina House of Representatives

The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the state senate....

 district, including constituents in Alleghany

Alleghany County, North Carolina

-Major highways:* U.S. Highway 21* U.S. Highway 221* North Carolina Highway 18* North Carolina Highway 88* North Carolina Highway 93* North Carolina Highway 113-Demographics:...

 and Surry

Surry County, North Carolina

Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 73,673. Its county seat is Dobson.- History :The county was formed in 1771 from Rowan County...

 counties. Harrell is originally from Elkin, North Carolina

Elkin, North Carolina

Elkin is a town in Surry and Wilkes counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, along the Yadkin River. Elkin shares its name with the surrounding township of Elkin Township...

 and later moved to Roaring Gap

Roaring Gap, North Carolina

Roaring Gap is an unincorporated community in the Cherry Lane Township of Alleghany County, North Carolina near the border with Wilkes County.-History:...

. As of 2011, Harrell is a lobbyist, running his own firm, James A. Harrell, III and Associates, LLC, in Raleigh.

Early life and education

Harrell earned the Eagle Scout

Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...

 designation as a youth, like many members of his family. Harrell is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden–Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest private charter college in the Southern U.S., the last college founded before the American Revolution, and one of only three four-year,...

 and the Emory University School of Law

Emory University School of Law

Emory University School of Law is a first-tier US law school that is part of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. It is ranked #30 among ABA-approved law schools by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report...

. While a law student, Harrell worked for the District Attorney's office in Fulton County, Georgia

Fulton County, Georgia

Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

. He also served as a law clerk for North Carolina Supreme Court

North Carolina Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices...

 justice Franklin Freeman

Franklin Freeman

Franklin Edward Freeman, Jr. is a lawyer and public official in North Carolina, who retired from government service in 2009 as Senior Assistant for Governmental Affairs to Governor Mike Easley....

.

Political career

Harrell was elected to the House in 2002 and re-elected in 2004. He was elected to a third term on November 7, 2006 with over 60 percent of the vote. In 2008, he was narrowly defeated for re-election by Republican Sarah Stevens.

During his final term, the 2007-2008 session

North Carolina General Assembly of 2007-2008

Members of the North Carolina General Assembly, 2007–2008 session were elected in November 2006. This legislature first convened in January 2007....

, Harrell was chairman of both the House committees on Ways and Means and on Pensions and Retirement. He served as chairman of the Environment and Natural Resources committee in his second term and of Judiciary Committee II in the second half of his first term. Harrell also chaired or co-chaired select committees on Economic Development and on the rural economy in 2006.

While serving in the legislature, Harrell founded a summer program to teach high school students about government and politics, named the James A. Harrell Jr. School of Government, after his father, a Surry County commissioner and candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004.