Five-Term Mayor Vi Lyles Reflects on Legacy

Lyles looking up while inside the Charlotte City Council chambers.

Sitting in a nearly empty office with the view of Charlotte’s skyline, Mayor Vi Lyles knows her time as a public servant is coming to a close. For the last eight and a half years, Lyles’ office on the 15th floor of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center has told her story. 

“My favorite thing about being the mayor is coming to work every day,” Lyles said. “I know that there was always something to be done.”   

Lyles’ dedication to serving the City of Charlotte started much earlier than the swearing-in ceremony of her first term as mayor in 2017. Over the past 30 years, she rose through the city’s administration before moving up to Charlotte City Council and finally becoming mayor.  

Now Lyles is preparing for a new chapter in her life, one where she will no longer serve as mayor of the Queen City.  

“Right now, I’m going to enjoy the Fourth of July,” Lyles said. “I’m going to go to Columbia, South Carolina, and visit my family.” 

After five terms of service, Lyles announced in early May that she would be stepping down. Her main focus is spending time with her family. 

“I don’t think people understand how difficult it is to be mayor sometimes,” she said. “I am glad to give away those commitments to someone else. [Attending holidays and events] are the kinds of things that I need to be doing for others, mostly my family, my kids and my grandchildren.” 

Family has always been important to Lyles. She grew up 90 miles away from the Queen City in Columbia, South Carolina, as the only girl in a family full of boys. Her mother was a teacher, while her father owned a construction company that helped develop the roadways that make up South Carolina’s capital. 

“My dad had worked with his father, and he was one of the very first people to do things like develop streets,” Lyles said. “But they did it back then with mules and things like that.” 

Even though Lyles grew up in South Carolina, she has plenty of relatives in Charlotte. One family member lived off Van Buren Avenue near Johnson C. Smith University, and an aunt taught at various high schools across the city.   

“My aunt was one of the teachers at West Charlotte, but she was pulled from that pool of people because desegregation was going to take place,” Lyles said. “She became a teacher at Myers Park.” 

When it came time for Lyles to choose a college, she ended up attending Queens University (formerly known as Queens College). She had the chance to attend various colleges, but says her father’s influence ultimately led her to her final decision. 

“I had the opportunity to have a scholarship from Queens,” she said. “I also got a scholarship to Vassar, but my dad thought that was too far away, and so close to home was always going to be possible.” 

Lyles graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1973 and earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the following year. 

She headed to Raleigh and worked for attorney and former Governor of North Carolina James B. Hunt Jr. She also worked at Dorothea Dix Hospital, the state’s first psychiatric hospital. 

Eventually, she returned to Charlotte to work for the city as a budget analyst. 

“The world was very, very different then,” Lyles said. “You didn’t have a lot of automation. You basically did everything with pencils or whatever you could do to make it possible.” 

Under former City Manager Pam Syfert, Lyles worked in various senior management roles, including budget director and assistant city manager, helping to develop the city’s first capital budget. 

“There was just a lot of innovation, and we were always doing something to make the city better,” Lyles said. “That’s what I think has made it possible for me to be here now.” 

The city was starting to grow, something Lyles explained was exciting to see. 

“I had a little Volkswagen, and I used to drive around and look at the city because it was changing, just like it’s changing right now,” she said. 

 Lyles transition into politics was inspired by her late husband John Lyles.  

“My husband had cancer, and he was not going to make it,” she said. “I remember being at home, and he looked at me and said, ‘You’ve got to find something to do.’” 

Lyles getting sworn in as mayor in 2017.

That conversation made her realize she wanted to do more for Charlotte. She won an at-large seat on Charlotte City Council in 2013. A few years later, she threw her hat in the running for mayor. In 2017, she won Charlotte's mayoral seat, etching herself in history as the city’s first Black female mayor. 

“I never thought about myself as making history,” she said. “I guess I have to rely on how I grew up and what made it possible for us, but this was just an opportunity to grow.” 

Lyles has achieved a lot during her time in office. She worked to help implement the city’s Alternatives to Violence, a partnership with Mecklenburg County to help disrupt violence through street outreach, community events and public education.  

She helped support SAFE Charlotte, a plan implementing public safety policy improvements developed through conversations with residents and community leaders.  

Lyles also sought expansion of the city’s Housing Trust Fund, saying one of her biggest goals on Charlotte City Council and as mayor was to create more affordable housing for Charlotte residents.  

“We’re looking for a way to make it possible for everyone to have a place to live,” she said. “To this day, I still believe housing is the only way we will get citizens who care about the community and the city.” 

Lyles has also championed to advance the region’s transportation and transit programs, which includes voters approving a referendum to fund Mobility+, a 30-year plan to advance mobility programs across Mecklenburg County. 

 “I’m really proud of the work we did to make it possible for everyone to be able to move around the city and do it in a way that supports their family and their friends,” she said.

Lyles standing in front of a CATS Lynx light rail car.

The life of a mayor is not without its challenges, but Lyles says one of the best things about her job is serving the community. 

“I think about sitting in these chairs, sitting on the council dais, sitting and seeing what the community brings forward.” she said. “I hope it will never be about just being a mayor. I think it will be about people that improve what it makes possible for living in this community.  

The Charlotte Lyles remembers moving to is much different than the city she looks out her window and sees today. It’s filled with more people, taller buildings and new opportunities. While she won’t get to see Queen City’s growth from her 15th floor office anymore, she’s confident the city she loves will continue to flourish.  

“I hope that we will be able to understand that Charlotte is not just the name of a city,” she said. “It is a place where your heart says, ‘I want to be someone who can do something better for someone else.’”