James M. Baker | |
---|---|
54th Mayor of Wilmington, Delaware | |
In office 2001–2013 | |
Preceded by | James Sills |
Succeeded by | Dennis P. Williams |
Personal details | |
Born | 1942 (age 81–82) Fostoria,Ohio,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
James M. Baker (born 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Wilmington,Delaware,from 2001 to 2013. He took office in January 2001,during a Special Meeting of the Wilmington City Council,and left office in January 2013.
Baker was born in Fostoria,Ohio,in 1942. After completing high school there,he joined the United States Air Force. He received an honorable discharge in 1966. Following his discharge he joined VISTA,the domestic Peace Corps program.
Baker has held staff and executive positions with private and governmental agencies including:Model Cities Program;the Northeast Federal Credit Union;the Governor's Office;and Community Action of Greater Wilmington. He was elected to the Wilmington City Council in 1972. In 1984 he became the first African-American elected City Council President. As mayor,he saw Wilmington memorials erected to Americans killed during World War II and the Korean War. He was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, [1] an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.
Mayor Baker is the author of "The Genuine American Music," a two-volume encyclopedia of black musicians,which tells the story of black music in America through text,rare photos,and original illustrations.
Lawrence Douglas Wilder is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction era,and the first African American ever elected as governor. He is currently a professor at the namesake Wilder School at Virginia Commonwealth University.
William V. Bell is an American politician and engineer who served as the mayor of Durham,North Carolina.
Michael B. Coleman is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd mayor of Columbus,Ohio. He was the first African-American to serve as the mayor of Ohio's capital city.
Jerry Edwin Abramson is an American Democratic politician who was the 55th lieutenant governor of Kentucky. On November 6,2014,Governor Steve Beshear announced that Abramson would step down from his position as lieutenant governor to accept the job of Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama White House. He was replaced by former State Auditor Crit Luallen.
Charles Carpenter Meeker is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 34th Mayor of Raleigh,North Carolina. He was first elected in 2001 over Republican Paul Coble,and reelected for a fifth two-year term in 2009. A fifth term tied Meeker with Avery C. Upchurch as Raleigh's longest-serving mayor.
Matthew John Driscoll is an American Democratic Party politician,who served as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation from 2015 until 2017. He served as the 52nd Mayor of Syracuse,New York from July 10,2001,until December 31,2009. Currently he serves as the Executive Director of the New York State Thruway.
Frank George Jackson is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 57th Mayor of Cleveland,Ohio from 2006 to 2022. He was first elected on November 8,2005,unseating incumbent Jane Campbell,and re-elected in 2009,2013,and 2017. Having served four full terms,he is the longest-serving mayor in Cleveland history. On May 6,2021,he announced he would not seek re-election in 2021.
Douglas Harold Palmer is a former politician who was the first African-American mayor of Trenton,New Jersey.
Melvin Lee "Kip" Holden,is an American politician who served from 2005 to 2016 as the Democratic Mayor-President of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish,Louisiana. The parish includes the state capital of Baton Rouge and smaller suburban cities such as Baker,Central City,and Zachary.
Paul David Fraim is an American politician and lawyer. A Democrat,he was elected to the City Council of Norfolk,Virginia in 1986,was appointed mayor of Norfolk July 1,1994 and re-appointed every two years until May 2006 when he became the first popularly elected mayor since 1916. He was twice re-elected mayor and did not seek re-election in 2016. He is the longest serving mayor in the history of Norfolk.
Thomas Michael Menino was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston,from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three months in the position of "acting mayor" following the resignation of his predecessor Raymond Flynn. Before serving as mayor,Menino was a member of the Boston City Council and had been elected president of the City Council in 1993.
Jere Wood is the former mayor of Roswell,Georgia,serving five consecutive terms. Mayor Wood defeated Democrat "Pug" Mabry,who served as mayor for over thirty years,in the election of 1997. During his election he ran on the platform of slow-growth,fighting urban sprawl and what he viewed as its negative side effects. At the time,he promised to only be a two-term mayor. He ran unchallenged and secured re-election in 2001. Wood is the son of Roy Kellum "Splinter" Wood,Jr.,a Democrat,who was Undersecretary of the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) during the Carter Administration in the 1970s and Matilda "Tillie" King Wood. Wood won the mayor's race again in the election held in November 2005.
Bob Kiss is an American politician and former mayor of Burlington,Vermont. Kiss was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from January 2001 until he stepped down to assume office as mayor of Burlington,following his election to that office in March 2006. He is a member of the Vermont Progressive Party. Kiss won re-election in 2009,and was endorsed by Vermont's Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. In November 2011,Kiss announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2012 Burlington mayoral election.
David R. Munson is an American politician.
Donald L. Plusquellic is the former mayor of Akron,Ohio. First elected in 1987,he became the 59th Mayor of Akron after previously serving 13 years on Akron City Council. Plusquellic has served his seventh term,making him the longest-serving mayor of the city. Plusquellic announced his resignation effective May 31,2015,citing unfriendly coverage from the Akron Beacon Journal as his primary motivation.
Gwendolyn A. Faison was an American Democratic politician. Faison held the office of Mayor of Camden,New Jersey from 2000 to 2010. She was the city's first female mayor,as well as the first African-American woman to serve as president of the Camden City Council.
David Coss is an American politician and civil servant who served as mayor of Santa Fe,New Mexico from 2006 to 2014. He was elected to a four-year term in March 2006 after serving on the Santa Fe City Council from 2002 to 2006,representing the third district. He was elected to a second four-year term in March 2010.
A C Wharton Jr. is an American educator,politician,and attorney who served as the 63rd mayor of Memphis,Tennessee and previously mayor of Shelby County. He was the first African American to serve as mayor of Shelby County.
Noam Bramson is an American politician from the state of New York. He was the mayor of New Rochelle,New York,and has served since being appointed in January 2006 to complete the unexpired term of Mayor Timothy C. Idoni. Bramson was reelected in 2011 with 79% of the vote.
Michael Nelson Feuer is an American politician and lawyer who served as Los Angeles City Attorney from 2013 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party,Feuer previously served three terms in the California State Assembly,representing the 42nd Assembly District,and as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1995 to 2001,representing the 5th Council District.