CHARLOTTE -- Mecklenburg County Commissioner Valerie Woodard died Friday at Presbyterian Hospital. She was 56.

The Democrat was serving her third term in District 3 and colleagues described her as passionate, caring and a champion for her constituents.

"Valerie was a champion and she will be missed," says Mecklenburg County Democratic Party Chair Joel Ford.

The news was hard for many to hear.

"I think people felt like they really had a voice in her. She was very compassionate," says County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts.

Woodard had a long list of accomplishments. She was a NAACP trustee and she initiated the HIV/AIDS task force/advisory council for Mecklenburg County.

"When she walked into the room you could see it in her eyes, she had that fire," Ford said. "Anybody who's looking for representation would love to have Commissioner Woodard as a representative."

Commissioner Woodard wasn't afraid to stand alone on issues she believed in. She was the only board member to oppose Sheriff Chip Bailey’s appointment to office, and the only one to oppose the ban on sex offenders from county parks. And she fought for the name of Romare Beardon Park.

"I think it took a lot of courage on some of the issues," Roberts said.

Board members said they knew Woodard had surgery some time ago. But the commissioner's death comes as a total shock. And even harder -- filling the void she leaves behind.

"I think when someone is a very unique individual, there's not going to be a replacement. It will be somebody else with a different perspective," says Roberts.

Woodard was running unopposed in this November's election. The county says it will have to fill the seat Commissioner Woodard leaves behind in District 3. But first it needs times to mourn the loss of a friend.

There is still no word on cause of death or funeral arrangements.