Wib Gulley papers

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Wilbur "Wib" Gulley (b. 1948) came to Durham in 1966 and graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in history in 1970. Gulley worked as a lobbyist in the 1970s as the first director of the Public Interest Research Group, a student advocacy campaign. After receiving his law degree from Northeastern Law School in 1981, he returned to Durham.

In the early 1980s1 he worked with Self-Help credit union founder Martin Eakes and later was on the founding board of the Center for Community Self Help.

He served as vice chairman of the city Board of Adjustment and vice chairman of the county Democratic Party. Gulley was elected mayor of Durham in 1985 and reelected in 1987.

He served from December 1985 until December 1989 as mayor of Durham. Gulley's anti-discrimination proclamation protesting discrimination against gays and lesbians and declaring June 22-29, 1986 as "Anti-Discrimination Week" prompted a group of local citizens to file a motion for a recall of Gulley as mayor, which was defeated.

Affordable housing and “smart growth” were two of his priorities during his first term as mayor. Increasing public transportation was a priority during his second term and his administration helped buy a bus system from Duke Power in July 1985. A 1987 conference focusing on regional public transportation resulted in the 1988 formation of the first regional body ever for Durham, Wake, and Orange Counties, Triangle Transit, of which Gulley was first board chairman. Later this became Go Triangle.

He was elected as a state senator and served 1993 through 2004. Campaign finance reform and the initiation of charter schools, also known as non-regulated publicly funded schools, were two of his priorities as a state senator.

Gulley also served as one of the North Carolina representatives to the National Democratic Committee during the 1988 presidential campaign for Michael Dukakis.