Former Orlando and Orange County commissioner Mable Butler dies

ORLANDO, Fla. — After battling lung cancer for several months, former Orlando and Orange County commissioner Mable Butler has passed away.

The former commissioner was a dedicated civil and human rights activist who helped usher in change in Central Florida at a time when racial tensions were high.

She’s also remembered as the first woman elected to the Orlando City Commission.

Over the years, Spectrum News 13’s Curtis McCloud spent many hours hearing Butler tell countless stories of her days at Orlando City Hall and the Orange County Commission.

The walls in her home on Mable Butler Avenue are an homage to a storied career that spans decades.

In an interview from 2022, Butler recalled being sworn into the Orlando City Commission as a day she and her family never forgot.

“My lord handpicked me and sat me in these spots,” she told Spectrum News 13 in 2022. “(I) never had any intent to run for office, but I did, and I gave it all I had.” 

Butler consistently fought for affordable housing and job opportunities for Black citizens in Central Florida, just some of her accomplishments forever part of an everlasting legacy.

McCloud asked Butler how she wanted to be remembered in that 2022 interview.

“That she loved,” Butler said, responding to the question. “Bill Fredrick says she will run over you, but she will pick you up and take you to the hospital. I like that. Remember me that way. I made a difference, and I know that. I changed a lot of hearts, I changed a lot of thinking, and I think today we are better for it.”

Butler was 98 years old.