Mar 02 2008
Parks Helms to Retire from Mecklenburg County Commission
It was 30 minutes before Friday’s filing deadline, and Parks Helms was wavering.
He called his wife, Eleanor. He knew she didn’t want him running for re-election as a Mecklenburg County commissioner.
Are you sure? he asked her.
“There’s life after politics,” she replied.
So for the first time in 16 years, Helms, 72, a Democrat, won’t be running for elected office. It may mark the beginning of the end of a political career that has spanned more than three decades in Charlotte and Raleigh.
Helms is a well known fixture in Charlotte politics and, at times, a controversial one. His retirement certainly changes the political landscape.
