Carrboro’s LGBTQ municipal firsts

In the chronology

Dated events connected with this event, earliest first. See these 15 dated events in the chronology →

1. December 18, 1990 Carrboro adds sexual orientation to its equal employment opportunity policy The Board of Aldermen unanimously amended the town's personnel ordinance to add sexual orientation to the characteristics protected in its merit principle and equal employment opportunity policy. On November 13, 1990 the Board had written a sexual orientation nondiscrimination clause into a planning grant agreement with the City of Durham and asked for the code amendment to be scheduled. People: Jacquelyn GistTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, December 18, 1990
2. 1993 Mike Nelson is elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen Nelson won a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in 1993, and as an alderman he championed the domestic partners ordinance the town adopted in 1994.Search the index · UNC Wilson Special Collections Library: Michael R. Nelson Papers, circa 1890-2012 (#70140)
3. September 13, 1994 Carrboro Board of Aldermen adopts a domestic partnership registry The Board voted unanimously to amend the Town Code so that statements of domestic partnership could be filed with the Town Clerk, set the effective date at October 11, 1994, added a $40 registration fee, and extended the financial disclosure required of elected officials to cover their domestic partners. The Board took no action on a third proposal to extend health insurance benefits to domestic partners of town employees. People: Mike Nelson, Jacquelyn Gist, Ellie KinnairdTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, September 13, 1994
4. June 6, 1995 Carrboro votes to pay for domestic partner coverage in its employee health plan Setting town employee health insurance for fiscal 1995-96, the Board of Aldermen voted that the town would bear any expense of adding coverage for domestic partners to its Kaiser plan, after asking staff on May 23 to find out why the insurer Healthsource did not offer such coverage. The vote was six to one, with Michael Nelson opposed. People: Mike Nelson, Jacquelyn Gist, Ellie KinnairdTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, June 6, 1995
5. November 7, 1995 Mike Nelson is elected mayor of Carrboro Michael R. Nelson, then a member of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, won the mayor's race at the municipal election held on November 7, 1995, becoming the first openly gay mayor elected in North Carolina. The Board approved the Orange County abstract of votes from that election at its meeting of December 5, 1995. People: Mike Nelson, Ellie KinnairdTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, December 5, 1995
6. December 5, 1995 Mike Nelson is sworn in as mayor of Carrboro At the Board of Aldermen meeting of December 5, 1995, outgoing mayor Eleanor Kinnaird gave closing remarks and Mayor-elect Michael R. Nelson took the oath of office, along with aldermen-elect Jay Bryan, Hilliard Caldwell and Alex Zaffron. The Board then appointed Diana McDuffee to the alderman seat Nelson vacated. People: Mike Nelson, Ellie Kinnaird, Hilliard CaldwellTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, December 5, 1995
7. June 3, 1997 Mayor Mike Nelson proclaims June Lesbian and Gay Pride Month in Carrboro At the Board of Aldermen meeting of June 3, 1997, Mayor Michael Nelson issued a proclamation naming June Lesbian and Gay Pride Month in the Town of Carrboro. People: Mike NelsonTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, June 3, 1997
8. December 6, 2005 Mike Nelson presides over his last meeting as mayor of Carrboro At the December 6, 2005 meeting the Board of Aldermen approved the November 8 election results, in which Mark Chilton defeated Alex Zaffron for mayor, 1,337 to 776, and outgoing Mayor Michael Nelson gave his parting comments. People: Mark ChiltonSearch the index · Town of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, December 6, 2005
9. 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
10. 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
11. 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
12. 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 SladeTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen special meeting minutes, March 26, 2016
13. 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 FousheeTown of Carrboro: Town Council minutes, January 12, 2021
14. 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
15. December 7, 2021 Carrboro honors Lydia Lavelle as Damon Seils is sworn in as mayor At the council's meeting the town honored Lavelle for her four terms as mayor, and state senator Valerie Foushee administered the oath of office to her successor, Damon Seils. Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Barbara Foushee and Danny Nowell began council terms at the same meeting. People: Valerie Foushee, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Barbara FousheeSearch the index · Chapelboro: Carrboro Town Council Swears In New Mayor, Council Members