Durham probing work history of new solid waste director James Lyons, who once ran for mayor

This is a developing story. It was updated at 2:55 pm with the cost of the national search.

At 6:56 p.m. on Tuesday, the City of Durham announced it had fired James Lyons. Read the story here.

A former Durham mayoral candidate recently hired as the city’s director of solid waste has inconsistencies in his work history that raise questions about whether he is qualified for the job. Now an NC Newsline investigation is prompting city officials to look more closely at James Lyons’s job claims.

Lyons was hired by the City of Durham earlier this month. A press release issued by the city on April 27 stated that Lyons had previously worked as the Solid Waste Collection Superintendent for the City of High Point since 2015 – nearly eight years. 

An official at the High Point Human Resources Department told NC Newsline that Lyons’s tenure there lasted from Jan. 18, 2022 to April 27, 2023 – just over 15 months, and that he had held no other positions with that city. Moreover, Lyons ran for Durham mayor in 2015, losing to incumbent Bill Bell that November. Lyons’s own archived LinkedIn page states that he held the High Point job from 2020 to 2023, which is also untrue. Previously, Lyons worked for Spectrum/Time Warner Cable and LabCorp, according to the archive.

City Manager Wanda Page is quoted in the press release as saying she selected Lyons, and that his “experience in City government, business management, strategy and customer service” stood out in a national search. Page did not return an email from NC Newsline today and could not be immediately reached by phone for comment.

NC Newsline contacted Durham’s Director of Communications Beverly Thompson about the discrepancy. She told NC Newsline that the press release was based on what Lyons provided in his resumé, adding that she would look into his information. NC Newsline requested Lyons’s resumé from the city on May 12, but it has not been provided.

 NC Newsline left a message on Lyons’s personal cell phone, but did not receive a response. 

The City of Durham hired a national search firm POLIHIRE, to fill the Solid Waste Director position. The firm did not return a call to NC Newsline today. According to city invoices, Durham paid the firm more than $25,000 to field the candidates.

The job description for the Solid Waste Director position is extensive, and involves not only management skills but fluency in environmental regulations. The pay was not listed in the job description, but such positions in similar sized cities command salaries upward of $100,000.

The Durham position requires a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, which, along with an MBA, Lyons received from Liberty University, according to his recent LinkedIn page. (Lyons’s recent LinkedIn page was deactivated Tuesday afternoon; here is an archived screenshot from earlier Tuesday morning.)

The university’s registrar has not responded to NC Newsline seeking verification.

Durham’s solid waste position also requires “seven or more years of related experience in solid waste management and general business management skills.” Lyons has just 15 months’ of solid waste management experience; without his resumé, it’s difficult to ascertain if his business management skills match those required for the position.

But other public documents show that since 1998 Lyons has formed several companies and a nonprofit, many of which are now defunct.

These companies all are registered to Lyons in Durham, according to NC Secretary of State records:

• Keys to Life, April 7, 1998: A nonprofit incorporated at an address on Highgate Drive in Durham. In 2021, the mailing address changed to the US Post Office on TW Alexander Drive. The business address was listed as 300 N. Roxboro St., which is the Durham County Library.

The website for Keys to Life no longer exists. An archived version of the site from 2016 says the nonprofit’s purpose is to serve and advocate for families and communities that are in need of social and economic rehabilitation. The organization is “rooted in principles based on truth and values,” the website says.

• The J Spot, May 7, 2013: The Secretary of State’s Office administratively dissolved the company in 2015 because it did not file annual reports.
• A+ Autos, Oct. 15, 2013: Likewise, it was administratively dissolved for the same reason.
• Lyons Logistics, Nov. 23, 2020: mailing address at the TW Alexander Drive post office, administratively dissolved on May 2 of this year.
• GeekPros, LLC, June 29, 2022:  mailing address at the TW Alexander Drive post office, still active.