Out Lesbian Wins Primary for Charlotte City Council

LaWana Mayfield stands a strong chance of becoming the first openly LGBT City Council member in Charlotte, N.C., after winning the Democratic primary for Council District 3 on Tuesday.

Mayfield, a community organizer, defeated four-term incumbent Warren Turner in the primary. She will face Republican Ed Toney in the general election for the seat representing southwest Charlotte, where 60% of registered voters are Democrats, according to The Charlotte Observer.

The Observer also reports that Mayfield raised $31,000, a remarkably high figure for a challenger in a district primary election. Some 60% of the $9,500 she raised since August came from out-of-state donors, as far away as California.

A former board member for the Human Rights Campaign and the Charlotte Gay and Lesbian Fund, Mayfield was endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. She thanked the group in her remarks after her win.

"It's time for real change in Charlotte, and real change is coming," she said. "This is a big first step, and I'm grateful for the trust this community has placed in me. Thank you to my amazing mate, Gelissa Stitt, to my community, to my campaign staff, and to the Victory Fund, which has been with us every step of the way. Most importantly, I want to thank the voters for believing in our campaign. On to November!"

Local advocates in Charlotte, host of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, hope a Mayfield victory could spur action on a nondiscrimination ordinance the city lacks despite its significant LGBT population. Her win also brought a bright spot to North Carolina on the same day the Republican-controlled legislature approved a measure to let voters decide in May on a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions.