Lorene T. Coates
Lorene T. Coates | |
|---|---|
Coates in the 2001 legislative manual | |
| Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives | |
| In office January 1, 2001 – January 1, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Charlotte Ancher Gardner |
| Succeeded by | Harry Warren |
| Constituency | 35th District (2001-2003) 77th District (2003-2011) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 13, 1936 |
| Party | Democratic |
Lorene Thomason Coates (born January 13, 1936) is an American former politician who served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the seventy-seventh House district, including constituents in Rowan county from 2001 to 2011.
A retiree from Salisbury, North Carolina, she worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has hosted a weekly radio show and for twenty years wrote a newspaper column in the Salisbury Post.
On March 30, 2006, she gained distinction by being the first Democratic member of the House to publicly call for House Speaker Jim Black, a fellow Democrat, to step down from his post as Speaker following investigations of his misconduct. Black later resigned from the House and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of public corruption.
In 2007 she announced her support for John Edwards' presidential campaign.