1. Joe Hackney was born on September 23,1945, in Chatham County, North Carolina.
15 Facts About Joe Hackney
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Joe Hackney grew up on small dairy farm near Silk Hope in Chatham County, where he was the youngest of five children.
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Joe Hackney attended North Carolina State University before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned bachelor's and Juris Doctor degrees.
4.
Joe Hackney worked as a prosecutor from 1971 to 1974 before going into private practice.
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Joe Hackney is married to Betsy Strandberg of Rocky Mount, North Carolina; they have two grown children, Dan and Will.
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Joe Hackney is the great great grandson of Daniel Joe Hackney, who represented Chatham County in the North Carolina House of Commons in the 1840s and 1850s.
7.
Joe Hackney served two terms as Speaker pro tempore of the state House, and two terms as House Majority Leader.
8.
On January 10,2007, Joe Hackney was nominated by the Democratic majority as Speaker of the House.
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Joe Hackney was reelected speaker for a second two-year term in January 2009.
10.
Joe Hackney was embroiled in a controversy during his tenure as Speaker when, on July 9,2010, he relieved pastor Ron Baity of his duties as honorary chaplain of the House over the content of a prayer.
11.
Joe Hackney served as President of the National Conference of State Legislatures for a one-year term starting in July 2008.
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In February 2012, Joe Hackney announced his intention to retire as House Minority Leader after his term ended.
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Joe Hackney has been consistently rated in the top ten for effectiveness by peers in the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research survey, when the House is in Democratic control.
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Joe Hackney rated 5th in 1992 survey; 4th in 1994 survey; 4th in 1999 survey; 5th in 2001 survey; 4th in 2003 survey; 3rd in 2005 survey; and 1st in 2007 survey.
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Joe Hackney has sponsored many pieces of significant legislation, including the phosphate detergent ban; the Waste Management Act of 1989, which established an aggressive policy on reducing solid waste in North Carolina; the.