Tom Fetzer

Thomas Harrison Fetzer (born April 25, 1955) served three two-year terms as Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from December 1994 to December 1999.

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Fetzer began his career in politics with appointments as Assistant Secretary of Natural Resources and Chief Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation in the administration of North Carolina Governor James G. Martin, as well as executive assistant to Senator John Porter East (both Republicans). In private life, Fetzer was a marketing executive.

Fetzer's campaign for mayor was the first in Raleigh's history to stress a Conservative political view. Fact|date=June 2007 During his term, the city's expansion continued. He opposed a replacement for the Convention and Conference Center, preferring instead a modest renovation and expansion, but actively supported relocation of the Hartford Whalers to the area as the Carolina Hurricanes and the construction of the RBC Center. Fetzer's administration also oversaw recovery from Hurricane Fran.

After choosing not to run for a fourth term in office, Fetzer served as a teaching fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and director of the Center for Local Innovation at the John Locke Foundation. He then accepted a position with the United States Tennis Association in New York before returning to Raleigh several years later. Recently he has reengaged in state and local politics, although not as a candidate.