Rachel Gillean Gray (September 26, 1930 – January 19, 2010) was an American politician.

Life and career

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Gray was affiliated with the Democratic Party from her time as a member of the city council of High Point, North Carolina.[1][2][3] As a city councilor, she served as liaison to the High Point Human Relations Commission,[4] and as mayor pro-term.[5][6] Gray began serving as a state legislator in 1977.[7] In her tenure in the North Carolina Senate, during which she represented Guilford County,[8] Gray supported the Equal Rights Amendment.[9] However, Gray protested the lack of legislative process afforded to discussions on its ratification.[10] She lost reelection to Wendell Sawyer during the 1984 state legislative elections.[11] The next year, Gray considered running for the United States Senate, telling The Dispatch, a newspaper that previously reported speculation that she would not run served as "ice thrown on my candidacy."[8] Gray died on January 19, 2010, at the age of 79.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Councilmen". High Point Enterprise. 21 March 1974. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  2. ^ Austin, Mark (4 December 1975). "Tardy judge delays swearing-in ceremony". High Point Enterprise. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  3. ^ "City council". High Point Enterprise. 13 October 1975. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  4. ^ Hubbard, Ray (8 June 1975). "Hatchet may drop on High Point HRC". High Point Enterprise. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  5. ^ Lowe, John (7 October 1976). "Elsie Borden receives key to city during four-day tour". High Point Enterprise. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Mrs. Chambers receives honor". High Point Enterprise. 3 October 1976. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  7. ^ Shinkle, Kathy (1980). "Women legislators facing a double bind" (PDF). North Carolina Insight. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Keep North Carolina beautiful lives". The Dispatch. 25 October 1985. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Mrs. Gatsis: a little balance". 25 November 1982. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  10. ^ Mathews, Donald G.; De Hart, Jane S. (1992). Sex, Gender, and the Politics of ERA: A State and the Nation. Oxford University Press. p. 109. ISBN 9780195360103. Senator Rachel Gray, a Democrat who had nothing in common with Pegg, raged at women's having been completely bypassed by the "gentlemen" in a short-circuiting of the legislative process.
  11. ^ "The GOP will shine once more". Asheville Citizen-Times. 10 October 1984. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Rachel G. Gray". Legacy. Retrieved 21 November 2023.