North Carolina state Rep. Stephen Ross will not seek re-election after his sixth term in the N.C. House of Representatives representing the 63rd district, which includes part of Alamance County. 

Ross said his decision was driven by wanting to spend more time with his family. 

“I have a good-sized family, and they're kind of spread out,” Ross said. “As you get older, you realize time is precious, and so that's kind of what I'm doing.”

Ross has spent more than three decades in public service, previously serving as a member of  Burlington City Council, Mayor of Burlington and chairman of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments. He said he reached a point where he felt it was time to step aside. 

“There comes a time when you say, ‘I've done most of what I can do, and I need to turn it over and move on,’” Ross said. “I'm not saying that I'm totally out of the picture. I don't know what I'll do next.”

Ross announced his retirement on Facebook — a decision he said was not easy. 

“It's not easy because you make that decision, you make that announcement, and you start second-guessing yourself,” Ross said. “You say, ‘Well, maybe I could have done this, or maybe I could have done that, or maybe one more term.’” 

Despite encouragement from his supporters to stay in office, Ross said he wanted to make a solid decision and wanted to stick to it. 

“That's kind of what I did, but it's tough because you have people begging you and pleading with you,” Ross said. “‘You know, don't do it. We need you. We need you in commerce.’ So it's a tough one.”

On the same day as Ross’s announcement, Ryan Moffitt ‘14, an Elon School of Law alum and attorney at Vernon Law Firm in Burlington, filed to run along with Sen. Amy Galey and Rep. Dennis Riddlell at the Alamance County Board of Elections. Ross said he is more than supportive of Moffitt, as Ross recruited him. 

“I wanted somebody, and I decided I wouldn't make the announcement until I knew I had somebody, or that there was somebody out there that had a good business sense about them, that could work with business, work with commerce, work with economic development, because economic development is not something that just happens,” Ross said. “You have to make it happen, and you have to understand it.”

Photo courtesy of Ryan Moffitt. 

Moffit said he was initially disappointed by Ross’s decision but respected it. 

“I've really admired and appreciated the work he's done, and thought he's done a good job, and so I was a little bit disappointed, Moffitt said. “He certainly put in a lot of work on behalf of our community, and certainly earned the right to decide when he's ready to call it a career.” 

Moffitt said he decided to run for the seat after a conversation with Ross. 

“I gave it some hard thought with my family and mentors, and decided that this was the right time and the right opportunity to try to continue his good work,” Moffitt said. 

Ross said he gives a lot of gratitude and a lot of thanks to those who have supported him over the years.

“You can't do any of it without the trust and support of the community, and I feel blessed to have been raised and worked in this community all the way from my childhood all the way through, and it's a community that I care a lot about.”

Ross will finish his term in 2026.