Richard Harmon Fulton (January 27, 1927 – November 28, 2018) was an American Democratic politician who served as a member of the Tennessee State Senate and of the United States House of Representatives, and the second mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
Personal life
Fulton was born in Nashville, Tennessee. After returning from his military service, he entered the University of Tennessee where he played for the Volunteers on the football team. He died on November 28, 2018, at a hospice in Nashville at the age of 91.
Political career
State Senate
In 1954, Fulton was elected to the Tennessee State Senate in place of his brother Lyle, who suddenly died from cancer shortly after receiving the Democratic nomination for that post. Fulton could not serve in the Senate until he was elected in 1956 at the age of 31.
Congress
In 1962, he entered the Democratic primary for the Nashville-based 5th Congressional District against incumbent Congressman Joseph Carlton Loser. and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. For the most part, Fulton's voting record in Congress was a liberal one. He resigned from the House after his election as mayor.
Mayor of Nashville
Fulton served three terms as mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1975 until 1987. In 1999, he embarked on a comeback mayoral bid where he made it to the runoff election, but then withdrew and endorsed his opponent Bill Purcell.