Vi Lyles Biography

Viola Alexander Lyles is an American politician serving as the 59th mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Lyles was a member of the Charlotte City Council before taking office as mayor.

Vi Lyles Age

Viola Alexander was born on September 28, 1952 in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.

Vi Lyles Husband

Lyles was married to John Lyles for 17 years untill his death in 2013. She has two children, Kwame and Aisha Alexander and also two stepchildren, Sean and John Lyles, Jr. She lives in the SouthPark neighborhood in Charlotte.

Vi Lyles Parents, Education

Lyles’ father owned his own construction company and her mother worked as a teacher. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Queens University of Charlotte and a Master of Public Administration from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Vi Lylesv Career

Lyles worked as a budget analyst, budget director and assistant city manager for the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. Starting in 2004, Lyles worked as a consulting director for the Lee Institute and then for Flynn Heath Holt Leadership. She was the community outreach director for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

In 2013, she was elected to the Charlotte City Council and was elected mayor pro-tem in 2015. Following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in September 2016, Lyles proposed a seven-point plan to reduce racial and class divisions in the city, parts of which were approved by the council.

In the 2017 election, Lyles ran for mayor of Charlotte. She defeated Jennifer Roberts, the incumbent mayor, in the Democratic Party primary election in September 2017 and defeated Kenny Smith, a Republican member of the city council, in the November general election. Lyles is the first African-American female mayor of the city and also its first former city administrator to serve as mayor.