Clarence Lightner, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Clarence Lightner

American politician

Date of Birth: 15-Aug-1921

Place of Birth: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

Date of Death: 08-Jul-2002

Profession: politician, funeral director

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Leo


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About Clarence Lightner

  • Clarence Everett Lightner (August 15, 1921 – July 8, 2002) was an American politician and mortician.
  • A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1973 to 1975.
  • He was the first popularly elected Mayor of Raleigh since 1947, and the first African American elected mayor of a mostly-white, major Southern city in the United States. Lightner was born in 1921 in Raleigh.
  • He attended North Carolina Central College, where he played as a quarterback on the school football team.
  • After graduating, he enlisted in the United States Army and served on a tour of duty during World War II.
  • He subsequently enrolled in the Echols College of Mortuary Science, and in 1959 he assumed control of his father's funeral home.
  • He was elected to the Raleigh City Council in 1967.
  • During his council tenure he chaired a committee tasked with studying mass transit and for one term acted as Mayor pro tempore.
  • In 1973 he launched his candidacy for the office of Mayor.
  • Backed by a coalition of blacks—who comprised less than 16% of all registered voters—and white suburban residents who were growing increasingly concerned about urban sprawl, Lightner won the November election, surprising observers and garnering national media attention.
  • During his mayoral tenure the city council bolstered floodplain construction regulations, rejected large road construction projects, and instituted a mass transit system. Though Lighter's service was largely uncontroversial, members of his family were mired by legal troubles.
  • His reputation suffered as a result, and he placed last in the mayoral primary election in 1975.
  • In 1977 he was appointed to fill the vacant North Carolina State Senate seat for the 14th district, serving through 1978.
  • He chaired the Southeast Raleigh Improvement Commission from 1993 to 2001.
  • Lightner died in 2002.

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