DUNN — Oscar Harris , a former North Carolina state senator, small-town mayor and close ally of Democratic governors, has died at age 80, his family said.
Harris, who served five terms as mayor of the Harnett County city of Dunn before choosing not to seek reeelection last year, died near his home late Tuesday from an apparent heart attack, said Brad Crone, a family spokesman.
Harris served four years in the Senate beginining in 1999. He was the campaign treasurer for Gov. Beverly Perdue, and also served on the state Board of Transportation as an appointee of four-term Gov. Jim Hunt.
Harris “was one of North Carolina’s most important and effective public leaders,” Hunt said in a statement, adding he was “one of the top leaders in all of my election campaigns.”
Harris, a certified public accountant, graduated from Campbell University and worked to raise money for the campus’ new medical school.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete on Wednesday.
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