Michael R. Nelson | |
---|---|
Orange County Commissioner | |
In office 2006–2009 | |
Mayor of Carrboro,North Carolina | |
In office December 5,1995 –December 6,2005 [1] | |
Preceded by | Eleanor Kinnaird |
Succeeded by | Mark Chilton |
Personal details | |
Political party | Democratic Party |
Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Michael R. Nelson is an American politician who served as Mayor of Carrboro,North Carolina from 1995 to 2005 and as a county commissioner for Orange County from 2006 to 2009. Nelson,who is a co-founder of Equality North Carolina,was the first openly gay mayor in North Carolina. At the time of his inauguration,he was one of five openly gay mayors in the United States. When he left his mayoral office in 2005,he was the longest-serving mayor in Carrboro's history.
Mike Nelson grew up in Jacksonville,North Carolina. His father was an attorney for the United States Marine Corps and his mother was a teacher. [2] He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, [2] and came out as gay his sophomore year. [3] He graduated in 1989 with a degree in political science and eventually became a production manager for a clothing manufacturing company in Chapel Hill. [2]
In 1987 Nelson managed Joe Herzenberg's successful campaign for election to the Chapel Hill Town Council. [4] He then decided to start his own political career in the nearby town of Carrboro,and in 1989 he sought election to the town's board of aldermen,losing by 30 votes. [2] In 1990 he participated in local campaign efforts for the Democratic Party and thereafter co-founded North Carolina Pride PAC for Lesbian and Gay Equality,a political action committee which lobbied for the repeal of North Carolina's anti-sodomy law. [3]
In 1993 he again sought election to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and won with backing from the Gay &Lesbian Victory Fund. [3] During his tenure convinced the board to pass two measures to recognize domestic partnerships,including the offering of health benefits to domestic partners of town employees. [3] [5] In 1995 he sought election as Mayor of Carrboro,downplaying his sexuality and focusing on environmental issues,development,and taxation. He defeated two other candidates in the November election, [6] earning almost 50 percent of the votes. Nelson was seated as Mayor on December 5,1995. His inauguration made him one of five openly gay mayors in the United States at the time [3] and the first openly gay mayor in North Carolina. [7] In 1997 he and the aldermen agreed to purchase the building of the former Carrboro Baptist Church,which was subsequently turned into town offices and an events center. [8] The following year the town created a Fête de la Musique committee,with Nelson serving as a founding member. [9]
Nelson left office in 2005,departing as the longest-serving mayor in Carrboro's history. [10] The following year he was elected to a seat on the Orange County Board of Commissioners. [11] In 2007 he registered as a candidate for a seat in the North Carolina General Assembly,but withdrew when incumbent Eleanor Kinnaird announced her intention to seek re-election. In 2009 he announced his decision to not seek reelection to the county commission. [7] In 2017 he signed an open letter endorsing the Durham–Orange Light Rail Transit project. [12]
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange and Durham County,North Carolina,United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census,making Chapel Hill the 17th-most populous municipality in the state. Chapel Hill and Durham make up the Durham-Chapel Hill,NC Metropolitan Statistical Area,which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. When it's combined with Raleigh,the state capital,they make up the corners of the Research Triangle,which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.
Orange County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census,the population was 148,696. Its county seat is Hillsborough. Orange County is included in the Durham-Chapel Hill,NC Metropolitan Statistical Area,which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Cary,NC Combined Statistical Area,which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023. It is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System and the oldest state-supported university in the United States.
Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census. The town,which is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill combined statistical area,was named after North Carolina industrialist Julian S. Carr.
William Wilfred Cobey Jr. is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party,he served one term in the United States House of Representatives for North Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1985 to 1987.
Thomas M. Tunney is an American politician and entrepreneur from Chicago,Illinois. From 2003 to 2023,he served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council. He represented the 44th Ward of the city,which includes major tourist destinations,Northalsted and Wrigleyville neighborhoods. He was also vice mayor from 2019 to 2023.
Julian Shakespeare Carr was an American industrialist,philanthropist,and white supremacist. He is the namesake of the town of Carrboro,North Carolina.
Chapel Hill Transit operates public bus and van transportation services within the contiguous municipalities of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the southeast corner of Orange County in the Research Triangle metropolitan region of North Carolina. Chapel Hill Transit operates its fixed route system fare free due to a contractual agreement with the two towns and the university to share annual operating and capital costs. In 2023,the system had a ridership of 3,855,400,or about 11,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
The State University Railroad is a 10.2 mile railroad spur of the North Carolina Railroad that began offering service from Glenn,North Carolina,near Hillsborough to a point west of Chapel Hill,North Carolina on January 1,1882.
Thomas Franklin Lloyd is one of the founders of Carrboro,North Carolina. He was a prominent North Carolina industrialist who built the Alberta Cotton Mill in 1898 in Carrboro;the former factory building is now home to the Carr Mill Mall.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) is a school district which educates over 12,000 students in the southeastern part of Orange County,North Carolina. Being near three major universities as well as the Research Triangle Park,it serves one of the best educated populations in the United States. It is the school district for most of Chapel Hill and all of Carrboro,including schools from elementary through high school. It is financed through property taxes,including a city supplement,as well as state and federal funds. The administrative center is located at Lincoln Center at 750 South Merritt Mill Road. Lincoln Center is the site of the former all-black high school. Services are available for gifted,special needs,and limited English proficiency students. CHCCS has the Learning Environment for Advanced Programing (LEAP),which is an accelerated learning program from the 4th to 8th grades that teaches its students material that is ~1-2 years above their grade level.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in North Carolina since October 10,2014,when a U.S. District Court judge ruled in General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper that the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples was unconstitutional. Governor Pat McCrory and Attorney General Roy Cooper had acknowledged that a recent ruling in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear an appeal in that case established the unconstitutionality of North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage. State legislators sought without success to intervene in lawsuits to defend the state's ban on same-sex marriage. North Carolina was the 28th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Graig R. Meyer is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate. He has represented the 23rd district since 2023. He previously served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives,where he was elected to the 50th district seat 4 times. In 2022,Meyer announced his candidacy for District 23 of the North Carolina Senate,that district includes all of Caswell,Orange and Person counties,and was elected to that seat in November 2022.
Mark J. Kleinschmidt is an American lawyer,teacher,and politician. He served as the Mayor of Chapel Hill,North Carolina,from 2009 until 2015.
Pamela Somers Hemminger is an American politician who served as the mayor of Chapel Hill,North Carolina,from 2015 to 2023. She owns a small real-estate company and previously served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board of education and the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Kevin C. Foy is an American politician and professor who served as Mayor of Chapel Hill,North Carolina,from 2001 to 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party. As mayor,Foy focused on land-use ordinances and urban planning in the town. He now teaches at North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Sonya Jaquez Lewis is an American politician serving as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 17th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party and resides in Lafayette,Colorado. Previously,she served in the Colorado House of Representatives,representing the 12th district in Boulder County.
Lydia E. Lavelle is an American academic and politician. She was the mayor of Carrboro,North Carolina,from 2013 to 2021,and is a professor of law at North Carolina Central University. She was first elected mayor in 2013,after serving on the Board of Aldermen of Carrboro for six years from 2007 to 2013. When she was elected,she became the first openly-lesbian mayor in North Carolina. She served on the board of the North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition and on the North Carolina Commission on Inclusion,to which she was appointed in 2018. As a law professor,she has researched the effects of anti-discrimination laws on LGBT people.