Nelson Harris is Baptist minister and a former mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, having served from 2004 to 2008.
[3] Harris has also written or compiled several books about the history of Roanoke and the surrounding area.
Harris has been published in the following periodicals and magazines: The Roanoker, Virginia Southwest, The Student, Log Home Living, Country Collectibles, and Historic Salem.
In Roanoke's May 2, 2006, municipal elections, Harris and then vice mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick backed a successful slate of three Democrats, running on an independent ticket dubbed "For the City" against the nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties.
The local Democratic party considered sanctions against Harris for supporting the independent ticket but differences were smoothed out by 2008.