Tricia Cotham husband, Jerry Meek, must be proud of her recent decision to switch parties. Cotham is a shining example of how much a person can achieve when they set their minds and hearts to it. 

Besides having an accomplished career as a teacher, spanning over ten years, she is currently representing the 112th district in the North Carolina House of Representatives. 

She started her teaching career in Mecklenburg County’s public school system in 2000, where she was eventually honored with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Teacher of the Year Award. 

After her successful years as a teacher and assistant principal at East Mecklenburg High School, she embarked on a new political journey, using her previous experiences to make critical decisions that affect her constituency. 

Tricia is the youngest woman elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives and has been involved in politics since a young age. 

After being chosen by Governor Mike Easley in 2007 to occupy the seat left vacant by former state Representative James B. Black in the 100th district, she made history when she was elected to the legislature during the 2007–2008 term. 

During her two-year tenure as co-chair of the House panel on K–12 education from 2008 to 2010, Cotham grasped a deeper understanding of her passion for learning and teaching; she had already become a teacher before entering the legislature, starting classroom work in 2001. 

Her experience and determination have enabled her to achieve even more success since leaving office and create a positive ripple effect for all women working in elected offices across North Carolina.

Mrs. Cotham has been an educator for a long time. She began her teaching career in 2006 and was almost immediately recognized with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District’s award for Most Outstanding First-Year Middle School Teacher of the East Region. 

In addition, during this early period of her career, Mrs. Cotham moved into administration with the appointment to assistant principal at East Mecklenburg High School. She later took up a seat in the legislature in 2007. 

Fast forward after she made a choice not to go for reelection in 2016, Mrs. Cotham registered to run for Congresswoman of the 12th Redrawn district; however, Alma Adams defeated her in the primary. 

Despite these setbacks, it is clear that Mrs. Cotham has had an incredible impact as an educator throughout her decades-long career so far.

Who Is Tricia Cotham’s Husband?

Tricia Cotham’s husband is Jerry Meek. However, little is known about their marriage as the couple chose not to publicize it.

Jerry Meek, a Democratic Party activist and business and tax litigation attorney from North Carolina, was born in 1970 and served as the state’s Democratic Party held from 2005 to 2009.

Meek is also interested in politics, just like his wife. He got engaged in Democratic Party politics at the age of 13, volunteering for Democratic candidates in the 1984 election. 

He was the youngest representative to a Democratic National Convention ever at the age of 17 and presided over the State and National Juvenile Democrats when he was a juvenile.

Tricia Cotham’s husband is highly educated, earning an LLM in Tax Law in 2011 with honors from Georgetown University Law Center. 

He worked as a partner at Poyner Spruill LLP for four years and then established his own legal practice in the Charlotte region in 2012. He mainly represents clients in tax and business matters.

Tricia Cotham and Jerry Meek live in Charlotte, North Carolina, with their two sons. 

Why is Tricia Cotham switching parties?

Tricia Cotham recently made headlines after announcing her switch to the Republican Party, giving the GOP a veto-proof majority in the North Carolina House. 

Tricia Cotham’s recent switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party has raised eyebrows and concerns from her constituents and colleagues. 

Cotham, who served in the state legislature from 2007 to 2016, ran for Congress in 2016 but was unsuccessful.

She then succeeded in her 2022 return bid to the state legislature, earning nearly 49% of the vote in a four-candidate primary and 59% in the general election. 

Her stance on several issues has been consistent with the Democratic Party, including support for LGBTQ rights, opposition to new abortion restrictions, and support for public education in the state.

However, Cotham has also voted with the GOP on some issues, including a bill requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE officials. 

She attributed her switch to the Republican Party to what she described as “bullying” from Democrats, particularly her absence during a veto override vote. This absence allowed the GOP to push through the repeal of the state’s pistol permit requirement despite Governor Roy Cooper’s veto.

This drew the ire of constituents and colleagues, leading various progressive groups to call for her resignation, alleging that she misrepresented herself to her constituents.

Tricia Cotham’s husband & family 

Cotham comes from a family of Democrats, with her father, John, having chaired the county’s Democratic Party, and her mother, Pat Cotham, having chaired the Uptown Democratic Forum and the Mecklenburg County Democratic Women. 

Today, Pat Cotham is a Democratic county commissioner. Furthermore, her great-grandmother was a Missouri delegate to the 1948 Democratic National Convention and a worker on former President Harry Truman’s campaign.

During her political career, Cotham has overcome complaints that she didn’t live in the district by putting her Mint Hill home up for sale and moving into a townhouse in the district that stretched from Eastland Mall to Matthews. 

Tricia Cotham’s husband, Jerry Meek, actively participates in politics and served as the head of the state’s Democratic Party from 2005 to 2009.

After serving as a partner at Poyner Spruill LLP for four years, he established his own legal practice in the Charlotte region in 2012, mainly representing clients in tax and business matters.