Jerry E. Abramson
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Jerry Edwin Abramson (born September 12, 1946) is a Democratic politician who is the longest serving Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky. Before his current term as the Metro Mayor of the merged city-county government Louisville Metro (a merger he championed), Abramson was the only person to have served three terms as Mayor of Louisville, fulfilling the allowed term limit. Abramson's original third term was extended by one year as part of a state-mandated transition to align the dates of local and federal elections.
Abramson's long period of service to Louisville as its mayor, as well as the fact that Abramson has never faced strong opposition in mayoral elections heretofore, has led to the nickname of "mayor for life" being used locally, including by Louisville's own popular radio personality Terry Meiners. Abramson's popularity has resulted in Bluegrass Poll approval ratings ranging from a 91 percent high in 1990 to a 73 percent low in 1994.
From 1993 to 1994, he was President of the United States Conference of Mayors.
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[edit] Early life
Before serving as a successful mayor in two different forms of government for his hometown, as a young man Jerry worked at Abramson's Grocery on South Preston Street in the Smoketown neighborhood, then owned by his father Roy and founded by his grandparents. He graduated from Seneca High School and served for two years in the Army, but did not see combat. While a student at Indiana University Bloomington, he became active in politics by volunteering for Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 campaign for president. After graduating from IU, he attended Georgetown University Law School.[1]
He practiced law with Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, PLLC. Before his first run for mayor, Abramson also served as alderman for two terms and general counsel to governor John Y. Brown, Jr.[1]
[edit] Mayor of Louisville
Abramson's tenure as mayor from 1985 to 1998 was marked by historic growth and economic progress. Abramson began the unique, nonprofit civic beautification program Operation Brightside, led the $700 million expansion of Louisville International Airport, revitalized the city’s waterfront with the creation of Waterfront Park and expanded the local economy by recruiting the international headquarters for Tricon Global Restaurants (known as Yum! Brands, Inc. today), Presbyterian Church (USA) and UPS Air Hub 2000.
Subsequent to his first tenure as mayor, Abramson practiced law with the Frost Brown Todd LLC firm and taught at Bellarmine University.[2]
[edit] Metro Mayor
After the merger of Louisville and Jefferson County was approved, the previous term limits no longer applied and Abramson was elected again in 2002 by 73.4 percent of the vote. Despite many attempts to get him to run statewide and much speculation, he has so far refused to do so.
Abramson was re-elected mayor in November 2006; his opponent was Metro Council member Kelly Downard (R).[3]
Abramson is the first person of Jewish faith to have served as mayor of Louisville. He lives in the Crescent Hill neighborhood with his wife, Madeline.[1]
Kentucky Monthly magazine has named Abramson Kentucky's best civic figure four times.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Gerth, Joseph. "Friends turn foes for mayoral campaign", Courier-Journal, 2006-10-22, p. 1A.
- ^ Rodriguez, Nancy. "Louisville/Jefferson County Mayor; Abramson looks toward biggest career challenge", Courier-Journal, 2002-10-27.
- ^ Gerth, Joseph. "Abramson claims victory", Courier-Journal, 2006-11-07.
[edit] External links
- Abramson for Mayor campaign website
- Mayor's webpage on Louisville Metro Government website
- The U.S. Conference of Mayors website
| Preceded by Harvey I. Sloane |
Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky January 1, 1986–January 1, 1999 |
Succeeded by David L. Armstrong |
| Preceded by New office |
Mayor of Louisville Metro January 5, 2003–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Abramson, Jerry Edwin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Kentucky politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 12, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | none |
