List of mayors of Rensselaer, New York
Rensselaer is a small city on the east side of the Hudson River in the state of New York. A total of 34 individuals have served as mayor since the city's incorporation in 1897, some serving numerous terms. Michael Stammel (Republican) is the current mayor; he was first elected in 2019 and began service on January 1, 2020.
Rensselaer city hall houses the mayor's office
On April 23, 1897, Governor Frank S. Black granted a law under Chapter 359 creating the municipality that would be known as the City of Rensselaer.
Charles S. Allen served as the first Mayor of the new municipality. The first meeting of the common council of the City of Rensselaer was ordered by Mayor Allen to take place on Tuesday evening April 27, 1897 at 8:30PM.[1]
Nineteenth century
| Mayor | Start | End | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles S. Allen | 1897 | 1899 | The first Mayor of the City of Rensselaer, New York. Charles Allen convened the first common council meeting in the City of Rensselaer on April 27, 1897. Charles Allen was a graduate of Vermont Medical College. During the Civil War, he was an assistant surgeon of the 125th New York Volunteer Infantry. Allen was also coroner of Rensselaer County for nine years and President of the village of Greenbush.[2] |
| James I. Miles | 1899 | 1901 |
Twentieth century
| Mayor | Start | End | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford R. Lansing | 1901 | Grocer and pork dealer. Bradford Lansing was born in Niskayuna, NY in 1860. He became Mayor of Rensselaer in 1901. Lansing was a member of the NYS Assembly between 1906–1912. | |
| Thomas Penny | 1911 | Chaplain of Masonic Greenbush Lodge Chapter, No. 274 in 1911. | |
| John H. McIntyre | 1915 | 1918 | Appointed Sheriff by the Governor of New York on June 30, 1921. |
| John Hall | 1919 | 1920 | Served on the Committee on Literacy Program in 1919. |
| Henry Meurs | 1921 | 1922 | Hardware dealer. Henry Meurs was a member of the NYS Assembly representing the 2nd District of Rensselaer County in 1924. |
| Harvey C. Younghans | 1923 | 1925 | Harvey Younghans served as Mayor for a short time. Several years later, Younghans served as city clerk. |
| James W. Adams | 1926 | 1929 | Previously served as city Treasurer. |
| Clarence A. McNally | 1930 | 1931 | Alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York in 1960. Clarence McNally served as Mayor during the 1930s and the 1950s. |
| James Johnstone | 1932 | 1935 | |
| William T. Wright | 1936 | 1939 | |
| Marshall C. Rose | 1940 | 1941 | |
| Charles G. Maloy | 1943 | 1945 | Charles Maloy did not finish his term in office and resigned for unknown reasons. |
| Thomas S. H. Clark | 1945 | 1951 | |
| Clarence A. McNally | 1958 | 1965 | See first entry above |
| John H. Warden | 1966 | 1971 | |
| Irwin Stewart | 1972 | 1973 | |
| Joseph P. Mink | 1974 | 1980 | |
| Thomas E. Henry III | 1981 | 1983 | Mayor Henry was removed from office in 1983 following his conviction for official misconduct and obstructing governmental administration after threatening an alderman to vote a specific way.[3] |
| Edward J. Finlan | 1983 | 1984 | Edward Finlan was instated as Mayor of Rensselaer following Mayor Henry's conviction. Finlan had previously served as President of the city council. Under the city charter, the next in the line of succession to fill a vacancy in the mayor's office is the council president. |
| Joseph E. Harrigan | 1984 | 1993 | |
| John F. Ryan | 1994 | 1996 | |
| Edward J. Finlan | 1997 | 1998 | |
| Linda M. Ganance | 1998 | 2001 |
Twenty-first century
| Mayor | Start | End | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark G. Pratt | 2002 | 2005 | Mark Pratt was accused by Police Chief Rick Fusco in 2003 of using the city's gas account to fuel his personal vehicle. Pratt was ordered to turn himself in or the chief would have him arrested. Mayor Pratt denied the charges.[4] |
| Daniel J. Dwyer | 2006 | 2018 | Daniel Dwyer was a past city alderman and the 32nd Mayor of Rensselaer. Mayor Dwyer passed away in November 2018 after serving as mayor for 12 years.[5] |
| Richard J. Mooney | 2019 | 2020 | Richard Mooney was a past city alderman, Council President and the 33rd Mayor of Rensselaer. Under the city charter, Mooney was instated as mayor following the death of Mayor Daniel Dwyer in 2018. |
| Michael E. Stammel | 2020 | Present | Chairman of the Rensselaer County Legislature and past city alderman. Mayor Stammel is the 34th and current Mayor of Rensselaer. |
References
- Historian :: City of Rensselaer, New York
- Journal of the American Medical Association, 73 (published December 31, 1919), January 7, 2020
- Matter of Henry v. Tutunjian
- Franco, James (May 21, 2003), "Police chief pouring gas on fire in Rensselaer", Troy Record
- "Rensselaer Mayor Dan Dwyer dies, remembered for dedication to city". Times Union. 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- Source for the names and years: City of Rensselaer Common Council Minutes
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