Clarence Lightner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 30th Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina | |
| In office 1973 – December 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas W. Bradshaw |
| Succeeded by | Jyles Coggins |
| Member of the Raleigh City Council | |
| In office 1967–1973 | |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 14th district | |
| In office August 9, 1977 – 1978 Serving with I. Beverly Lake Jr., Robert Webb Wynne | |
| Preceded by | John W. Winters |
| Succeeded by | William Ayden Creech |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 15, 1921 Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | July 8, 2002 (aged 80) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mt. Hope Cemetery, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse |
Marguerite Massey (m. 1946) |
| Alma mater | North Carolina Central College Echols College of Mortuary Science |
| Profession | Mortician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
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 Calvin E. Lightner'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.