Javiera Caballero

Javiera Caballero (born 1978) is a Chilean-born American politician and former educator. She is the first Latina member of the Durham City Council, having been appointed to the council in 2018. In 2021, she had an unsuccessful campaign to run for Mayor of Durham, but lost to Elaine O'Neal. In 2025, she was appointed by Mayor Leonardo Williams as the mayor pro tempore, becoming the first Latina to serve in that office.

Early life and education Caballero was born in Santiago de Chile in 1978. When she was two years old, her family immigrated to the United States, where her father was completing a graduate school program, in order to escape the Chilean military dictatorship. On January 16, 2018, she became the first Latina to be appointed as a member of the Durham City Council to fill the seat of former Councilman Steve Schewel after he was elected as Mayor of Durham. In her first public address after being sworn into office, she spoke in both English and Spanish. They pledged all or part of their federal stimulus payments, part of an aid package to help Americans through the COVID-19 recession onset by the COVID-19 pandemic, to go to Siembra Solidarity Fund. She received endorsements from Schewel and from Durham Mayor Pro Tempore Jillian Johnson. Caballero suspended her campaign on October 11, 2021, after results from the primary election showed that O'Neal received 67.96% of the vote and Caballero received 24.63% of the vote. Had Caballero won the election, she would have become the first Latina mayor in the American Southeast outside of Florida.

In 2025, Caballero was appointed as Durham's mayor pro tempore by Mayor Leonardo Williams, becoming the first Latina to hold that office.

Personal life and volunteer work Caballero is active in the Parent Teacher Association, serving as the president of the organization's chapter at her children's elementary school. As PTA President, Caballero organized a community fresh food delivery and pick up, participated in community rallies, and advocated for a phone application for carpool, to help protect families with undocumented immigration status.