Gerald Jennings

For the Alabama politician, see Jerry Jennings (Madison, Alabama).

Gerald David Jennings
74th Mayor of Albany, New York
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 1994
Preceded by	Thomas Michael Whalen III
Personal details
Born	July 31, 1948 (1948-07-31) (age 63) Albany, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	SUNY Brockport, UAlbany
Profession	Educator

Gerald David "Jerry" Jennings (born July 31, 1948) is the mayor of Albany, New York, United States. A Democrat, Jennings won a shocking upset in the 1993 mayoral primary over Harold Joyce, who had the Democratic Party’s formal endorsement and had only recently been its chairman. In 1993, he won the general election, becoming the 74th mayor of Albany. Jennings is currently serving his fifth term. By the end of this term, he will be the second longest serving mayor in Albany's history, tied with Philip S. Van Rensselaer (Erastus Corning 2nd at 42 years in office holds the record not just for Albany but also as the longest serving mayor in the United States).

Background

The mayor often goes by the name Jerry. Born in North Albany he began his career in the Albany City School District after graduating from SUNY Brockport and the University at Albany (M.S. '76) and served for 13 years on the Albany Common Council representing the 11th Ward before being elected mayor. In a break from his party, Jennings endorsed George Pataki, a Republican, in the 2002 New York gubernatorial race. The mayor has also supported now-former U.S. Representative John E. Sweeney (R-Clifton Park). Jennings has been a strong proponent of the plan to build a convention center in downtown Albany. He hosts a call-in radio show on WGDJ every Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.^[1]

Illegal guns

Mayor Jennings is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,^[2] a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The city is currently involved in a scandal ^[3] regarding the purchase of roughly 52 machine guns. It is unclear whether the weapons were purchased for departmental use or for the use of private individuals. Weapons were delivered to Police Department addresses but apparently paid for with private funds. The Department has not produced a list of weapons, their location, or the names of the individuals who purchased them. At least one later turned up, illegally for sale to the public, in an area gun store. The Police officer who sold the gun to the store has testified that he bought it from a Police Union official who was also the Department's armorer.^[3] The current Chief of Police is the fifth appointed by Jennings.^[4] The matter has still not been resolved, and no indictments have been filed.^[5]

Parking ticket scandal

In November 2008, local media ^[6] reported that for 15 years the Albany Police Department has engaged in an unapproved effort to avoid parking fines. It is claimed that an unofficial, secret sticker system resulted in "zero fine" tickets being issued to an unknown number of local drivers. The sticker system originated as a means of allowing off-duty police officers to park during court appearances as parking in downtown Albany can be difficult. The system may have expanded far beyond the original intent, however. Allegations^[who?] have been made that some local nightclub owners have such stickers, for example.^{[citation needed]}

Local media and the Albany Common Council are seeking information on how extensive the system has become. Both the Mayor and his appointed Police Chief deny any knowledge of the system and have ordered it stopped. Mayor Jennings has so far refused to explain how he can state a policy is being ended that he claimed to know nothing about. Recently,^[when?] the Times Union has uncovered that several private citizens were included on the V.I.P. no parking ticket list.^{[citation needed]}

Albany 3rd Ward Common Council member Corey Ellis has led the call for an investigation into the scandal. Mr. Ellis and the Common Council voted in a special caucus session on 2/13/09 to have city employees who may have possible information on how this policy was instituted to testify under oath.^{[citation needed]}

According to the NYS Comptroller's office, Mr. Ellis had received 19 no-fine tickets, 10 of which were not in the vicinity of City Hall, more than any other councilman. The Comptroller's office also stated its review did not find any registered to or specifically assigned to Mayor Jennings. However, "numerous" no-fine tickets were issued to two vehicles used by (but not registered to) Jennings. Mr. Ellis has responded that his car carried a placard authorized by the city, unlike the unauthorized VIP list and union-issued stickers.^[7]

Albany budget

Albany has a strong-mayor form of government in which the city legislature (the Common Council) can vote on the budget, but a two-thirds majority are needed to override any disagreement with the Mayor. Albany's current 2008 budget of $161.8 million has been called a "bad budget" with significant borrowing from reserves to bring it into balance. In 2007, the Common Council voted 9-6 to support the mayor's budget, although no cost-cutting measures were proposed or adopted.

Recent elections

In the 2006 primary, Jennings was voted out of his position on the New York State Democratic Committee by state Assemblyman John McEneny. The mayor had served on the committee since 2002. This race was a rematch of the 1997 primary, when McEneny unsuccessfully challenged Jennings for the Democratic mayoral nomination.

2009 reelection effort

The Albany Times Union reported on November 25, 2008, that the mayor would seek re-election for a fifth term in 2009. The story noted that "Safety in the city, with its youth violence and gun crimes, continues to mar Jennings' leadership and Albany's image."^[8] Jennings' opponent for the Democratic primary, Albany Common Council member Corey Ellis, announced his candidacy on March 2, 2009. (Common Council President Shawn Morris was originally also a candidate, but she dropped out over the summer.) Jennings won the primary, held on September 15, 2009, and went on to defeat Republican Nathan Lebron on November 3 in the general election.^[9]

Electoral history

2005 election for Mayor of Albany

• • Gerald D. Jennings (D) (inc.), 68.6%
  • Alice Green (G), 24.8%
  • Joseph P. Sullivan (R), 6.5%

2006 election for New York State Democratic Committee [4]

• • John McEneny, 6,346
  • Gerald D. Jennings, 5,589

2009 Democratic Primary for Mayor of Albany[5]

• • Gerald D. Jennings, 7,615
  • Corey Ellis, 5,971

References

1. ^ Talk 1300 Radio Hosts
2. ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml. 
3. ^ ^{a b} http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=773606
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=773606&category=REGION
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ Jordan Carleo-Evangelist (August 13, 2009). "Police issued Ellis 19 no-fine tickets". Albany Times Union. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=830567&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=8/13/2009. Retrieved 2009-08-13. 
8. ^ [3]
9. ^ "Jennings claims victory in Democratic primary". Albany Times Union. September 16, 2009.

External links

• Mayor Gerald D. Jennings Biography at albanyny.org
• City of Albany home page

Preceded by Thomas Michael Whalen III

Mayor of Albany, New York 1994 –

Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Jennings, Gerald
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 31, 1948
Place of birth	Albany, New York
Date of death
Place of death