Watt, Melvin L. (Melvin Luther), 1945-

<p>The second son of Evelyn Harris and the second African American elected to Congress from North Carolina, Melvin Watt has lived the life of a frontrunner. Born to a single teenaged mother in rural North Carolina in 1945, Watt's childhood home lacked electricity and indoor plumbing. Watt's fervent work ethic was demonstrated in his youth when he drove a school bus before and after school in order to contribute to the financial support of his family. His mother's encouragement to read and excel in school prepared Watt to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina in 1963 and to subsequently earn a scholarship to Yale University Law School.</p>

<p>After graduation, Watt returned to Charlotte, entering the law firm of Chambers, Stein, Ferguson and Becton. Watt worked as a civil rights attorney for twenty-two years, during which time he served one term in the North Carolina State Senate from 1985 to 1986. Declining to run for a second term or any other elective office until his two sons graduated from high school, Watt chose to work behind the scenes politically. He managed Harvey Gantt's campaigns for City Council, mayor of Charlotte and U.S. Senate. In 1992, with the formation of North Carolina's 12th District that included his hometown, Watt opted to run for Congress, with his eldest son, Brian, as his campaign manager.</p>

<p>As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Watt served on the Financial Services Committee and Judiciary Committee and is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. He is one of two black members elected to Congress in this century. Watt is known as a progressive Democrat and fearless defender of civil liberties. He has been repeatedly reelected to Congress, where he has developed and supported legislation affecting African American and Latino citizens in the areas of housing, welfare, reparations and education.</p>

WATT, Melvin L., a Representative from North Carolina; born in Steele Creek, Mecklenburg County, N.C., August 26, 1945; York Road High School, Charlotte, N.C., 1963; B.S., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1967; J.D., Yale University School of Law, New Haven, Conn., 1970; lawyer, private practice; member of the North Carolina state senate, 1985-1987; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the ten succeeding Congresses until his resignation on January 6, 2014 (January 3, 1993-January 6, 2014); Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 2014-present.

<p>Melvin Watt, an eleven-term U.S. Representative from North Carolina, served as a vocal advocate for civil liberties and sought to build ties to business interests from a prominent seat on the Financial Services Committee. Born into poverty, Watt brought a unique perspective to a district known for its banking industry. “People look at you in a suit as a member of Congress, and they think you’ve always been in a suit and always been a member of Congress,” he once said. “I came out of a different kind of history.”</p>

<p>Melvin Luther (Mel) Watt was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 26, 1945, to Graham Edward Watt and Evelyn Lucille Mauney. He grew up in a tin-roofed shack without running water or electricity while attending segregated public schools in Mecklenburg County. When Watt started college, southern universities had recently been desegregated, so he was among a relatively small number of black students enrolled in the state university system. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a business administration degree in 1967. Three years later, Watt earned his J.D. from Yale University Law School. He returned to Charlotte, where he entered the North Carolina bar. For the next 20 years, Watt worked in private practice, specializing in minority business and economic development law. He eventually served as president of the Mecklenburg County Bar. He married Eulada Paysour and they raised two sons, Brian and Jason. He served a single term in the North Carolina state senate, from 1985 to 1987, but left to spend more time with his teenage sons until they finished high school. Much of Watt’s early political work was behind the scenes. He managed the successful campaigns of a rising African-American politician, Charlotte city councilman and Mayor Harvey Gantt.</p>

<p>After managing Gantt’s unsuccessful effort to win a U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Jesse Helms in 1990, Watt ran for elective office himself. In 1992, redistricting created a majority-black (53 percent) congressional district in central North Carolina that stretched through parts of 10 counties and included portions of Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte. In a crowded primary field, Watt carried 47 percent of the vote, defeating his closest rival, North Carolina state representative Mickey Michaux, by 19 percentage points. Against Republican Barbara Gore Washington, Watt captured 70 percent of the vote in the general election.</p>

<p>Melvin Luther Watt (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician who was Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency from 2014 to 2019. He was appointed by President Barack Obama. He is a former United States Representative for North Carolina's 12th congressional district, from 1993 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party.</p>

<p>A lawyer from Charlotte, North Carolina, Watt served one term as a state Senator and served as campaign manager for Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.</p>

<p>On May 1, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which, among other agencies, administers or has oversight for the FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. The U.S. Senate confirmed Watt on December 10, 2013, and he resigned from the House on January 6, 2014.</p>

<p>On September 27, 2018, Melvin Watt was called to testify before Congress about allegations that he had sexually harassed a female employee at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. On November 29, 2018, Watt was found guilty of two counts of misconduct. He ended his term as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency on January 6, 2019 and issued the following quote: "In my view, it's time for me to ride off into the sunset because the standards have become so confused that it's difficult to operate in them," he said, according to a transcript of his interview with investigators.</p>