Influential Former State Senator Tony Rand Dies at Age 80

Former State Senator and prominent Fayetteville attorney Tony Rand died Friday. He was 80 years old.

The Democratic State Senator served from 1981 to 1988 and 1995 to 2009. He helped push many pieces of legislation that helped Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

"My good friend, former State Senator Tony Rand was the muscle who moved good ideas into great laws," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. "Behind his brilliant wit and encyclopedic knowledge of North Carolina was a man who deeply loved his family, his state and his Tar Heels."

Rand's name is well known in the area. The Tony Rand Student Center at Fayetteville Technical Community College is named in his honor.