Douglas Palmer

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Douglas Palmer was born in Trenton and attended Trenton Public Schools. He then graduated from Bordentown Military Institute in Bordentown, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Virginia’s private black college Hampton University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management in 1973. He is the first African American mayor of Trenton, New Jersey. He took office on July 1, 1990. He defeated former city council president and mayor Carmen Armenti.

Palmer is the subject of a recall campaign in 2008, which alleges he has presided over the city’s economic demise through inept leadership. The campaign claims that the city is plagued by violent crime, poor educational achievement and economic stagnation. And also allegations that he does not live in the city of Trenton. It is against Trenton laws for a mayor not to live in the city he is mayor of.

Palmer is also a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition^[1], 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 by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.