History-making former commissioner Holland dies, age 88

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APEX — Uva Holland, a former Chatham County commissioner who cemented a place in local political history as the first African-American woman elected to the county board, has died.

Holland passed away on December 4. She was 88.

In 1992, Holland — a Democrat — won a seat on the county’s board of commissioners, defeating Republican challenger Patrick Miller (in the spring primary, she’d ousted Democrat Earl Thompson, who’d served as a commissioner for 20 years) by nearly 1,500 votes and becoming the first African-American woman elected to the county board. She was also the first African-American woman to serve as the board’s chairman.

Voters in 1996 returned Holland to her post for a second four-year term, but in 2000, seeking a third term, Holland lost her District 1 seat in that year’s Democratic primary election to challenger Bob Atwater. Returning briefly to politics in 2004, Holland waged an unsuccessful campaign to return to the county board.

Hearing news of Holland’s passing last week, former colleagues remembered the retired church administrator-turned county commissioner as a dedicated public servant.

“She really loved Chatham County,” said Betty Wilson, elected as a county commissioner in the 1990s and serving alongside Holland. “She was very congenial and a very pleasant person to work with. She always stayed very calm; never got rattled by controversy.”

“She was a fine lady,” said Charlie Horne, now-retired former county manager, who remembered Holland also as “a strong advocate for education and sound economic development.”

Campaigning for re-election in 1996, Holland promoted a platform of working for expanded county infrastructure — particularly county water and sewer — to help lure new businesses and industries to Chatham, with an aim towards alleviating residential tax burdens and strengthening local coffers for education.

“I appreciated her candor and outreach to the citizens of Chatham County,” Horne said. “Chatham County has lost one of its true advocates.”

Siler City Mayor John Grimes, a county commissioner in the late 1990s, served on the county board alongside Holland. The first Republican elected to the county board since reconstruction following the Civil War, Grimes recalled that he and Holland, though from different political parties, worked well together.

“She was a good lady,” Grimes said, “and we got along very well. I always found Uva to be non-political in her decision-making, and an ethically strong commissioner. I think she did a lot of good for a lot of people in her service on the county board.”

Before holding elected office, Holland had served on the Chatham County Board of Elections and as first vice chair of the Chatham County Democratic Party.

In the private sector, Holland, a wife and mother of three children, enjoyed a career as director of the Northeast Corridor of the United Church a Christ. In that capacity, she worked towards the development of some 300 churches in East Coast states, from Florida to Maine.

Her funeral service was held Tuesday, December 10, at Holland Chapel AME Zion Church in Apex. She was buried in the church cemetery.

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