Joe Herzenberg

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Joseph A. Herzenberg, a native of New Jersey and graduate of Yale University, was the first openly gay elected official in North Carolina.

Before moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1969, Herzenberg was a Freedom Summer volunteer in Mississippi in 1964 and taught history at Tougaloo College.

Herzenberg was narrowly defeated in a 1979 bid for the Chapel Hill Town Council, but was later appointed to the town council when councilmember Gerry Cohen stepped down following a failed bid for mayor. Herzenberg lost his reelection bid in 1981, but he returned to the council in 1987 and was reelected with overwhelming support in 1991. Herzenberg was a noted advocate for the environment, civil liberties, and the interests of low-income people. He resigned from the town council in 1993 after being convicted for income tax evasion. ^{[citation needed]} Since leaving the council in 1993, Herzenberg has continued to serve the town on several advisory boards including chairing the Town Greenways Commission and serving on the committee to rename Airport Road in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

See also: List of town council members of Chapel Hill, North Carolina