ORLANDO, Fla. – Mable Butler, the first African American woman elected to the Orlando City Council and the first African American elected to the Orange County Commission, has died at age 98, according to a news release from Orlando District 5 City Commissioner Shan Rose.

Butler served on Orlando’s City Council from 1984 to 1990 and on the Orange County Commission, where she represented District 6 from 1990 to 1998.

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Butler was born in Gainesville and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. After graduating from high school and marrying, she studied social service at New York City College. She relocated to Orlando in 1957 and joined Mayor Carl Langford’s biracial committee. As chair of the Housing Committee, she investigated discriminatory practices in the apartment market, p

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