Lydia Lavelle

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 14 dated events in the chronology →

1. November 2007 Lydia Lavelle is elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen In her first run for office Lavelle led the field of aldermen candidates with 1,656 votes, about 25 percent, ahead of two-term incumbent Joal Hall Broun and Dan Coleman. She lived in the northern part of town Carrboro had recently annexed, and Mayor Mark Chilton read her first-place finish as a sign that voters were ready to move past the annexation fight. People: Joal Hall Broun, Mark ChiltonSearch the index · The Carrboro Citizen: Lavelle wins a seat; Broun, Coleman, Chilton returned to board
2. March 6, 2012 Carrboro aldermen approve criteria for siting a freestanding library The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to approve criteria, recommended to the Orange County commissioners, for siting a freestanding southwest Orange County library in Carrboro, whose county branch was then housed in McDougle School. Aldermen ranked transit, walking and cycling access first, while Nerys Levy of the Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library asked for ample parking for older patrons and stressed access to computers and information. People: Mark Chilton, Lydia LavelleThe Carrboro Citizen: Carrboro OKs library siting criteria (Susan Dickson, March 8, 2012)
3. December 3, 2013 Lydia Lavelle takes office as Carrboro mayor, the first openly lesbian mayor in North Carolina Lydia Lavelle, who ran unopposed for mayor in the fall 2013 election, was sworn in on December 3, 2013 as North Carolina's first openly lesbian mayor. Aldermen Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade and Jacquelyn Gist were sworn in for new terms at the same meeting. People: Lydia Lavelle, Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy SladeChapelboro: Carrboro Celebrates NC's 1st Openly-Lesbian Mayor
4. October 13, 2014 Same-sex couples begin receiving marriage licenses in Orange County A federal judge struck down North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage late on Friday, October 10, 2014, by which time the Orange County Register of Deeds office in Hillsborough had closed for the day. The office issued its first licences to same-sex couples when it reopened on Monday, October 13, with Carrboro mayor Lydia Lavelle and Alicia Stemper first in line; the two married at the Carrboro Town Commons on October 25, 2014. People: Lydia LavelleChapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau: Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC is a great destination for LGBT travelers and weddings
5. February 3, 2015 Frank Heath tells the Carrboro Board of Aldermen that the Cat's Cradle has outgrown its building At the second public hearing on a proposed arts and innovation center and hotel at East Main Street, Heath said the Cat's Cradle and the ArtsCenter were both too big for their buildings and that expansion had become urgent. He called it a dilemma for a small town with two successful arts organizations. People: Lydia LavelleSearch the index · Chapelboro: Cat's Cradle Owner to Carrboro BoA: Growing Arts Scene Presents 'Dilemma'
6. April 26, 2015 Carrboro's Center for Employment and Leadership for day laborers opens El Centro Hispano, the Carrboro Day Laborer Task Force, Orange County Justice United and the Town of Carrboro opened a workers' center for day laborers at 201 W. Weaver St., which organizers called the first in North Carolina. The opening began with a march from the Jones Ferry and Davie roads corner and followed about ten years of planning. People: Lydia Lavelle, Randee Haven-O'DonnellNational Day Laborer Organizing Network: Carrboro Opens First Workers Center for Day Laborers in North Carolina
7. March 26, 2016 Carrboro Board of Aldermen calls for the repeal of House Bill 2 at a Saturday special meeting Three days after the General Assembly passed and Governor Pat McCrory signed House Bill 2, the Board met in special session and adopted a resolution affirming the dignity of LGBT people, calling for the law's repeal and urging other North Carolina governments to use it as a model, then adopted a second resolution condemning by name the legislators and governor who enacted it. Both passed six to none with Jacquelyn Gist absent, and the Board asked staff to raise the town's rainbow pride flags on March 28. People: Lydia Lavelle, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Damon SeilsTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen special meeting minutes, March 26, 2016
8. June 2018 Carrboro created a zoning overlay district to protect the Lloyd-Broad neighborhood At residents' request the Board of Aldermen set square-footage and parking limits and a cap of four unrelated occupants per household for the historically African American neighborhood, which had seen more student rentals and larger replacement houses. New building had to comply at once and existing houses were given three years. People: Lydia LavelleChapelboro: Carrboro Approves Overlay District for Downtown Neighborhood
9. March 13, 2020 Orange County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro declare a COVID-19 state of emergency Orange County government and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro declared states of emergency to prepare for COVID-19, allowing emergency procedures and funding. The county declaration, extended more than a dozen times, stayed in force until May 1, 2022. People: Penny Rich, Lydia LavelleChapelboro: Orange County Governments Declare State of Emergency to Prepare for COVID-19
10. January 12, 2021 Carrboro Town Council adopts a nondiscrimination ordinance covering sexual orientation and gender identity Six weeks after the state's moratorium on local employment and public accommodation ordinances expired on December 1, 2020, the Council unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 10/20-21, adding to Chapter 8 of the Town Code a ban on discrimination in employment and places of public accommodation that covers sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The ordinance took effect on adoption and cited the town's March 26, 2016 pledge to seek such protections. People: Lydia Lavelle, Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Barbara Foushee, Damon SeilsTown of Carrboro: Town Council minutes, January 12, 2021
11. January 26, 2021 Carrboro proclaims Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett Day Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle proclaimed January 26, 2021 Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett Day, after Hillsborough and Orange County had honored the Orange High graduate for her COVID-19 vaccine work. People: Lydia LavelleSearch the index · Chapelboro: Carrboro Honors Vaccine Developer, Kizzmekia Corbett, With Day of Recognition
12. May 26, 2021 Lydia Lavelle announces she will not seek a fifth term as Carrboro mayor After four terms as mayor and fourteen years in town office, Lavelle said she would not run again, saying that to everything there is a season and that she looked forward to what came next.Search the index · INDY Week: Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle Won't Seek Fifth Term