Douglas Palmer

Douglas Harold Palmer (born October 19, 1951) is a former politician who was the first African-American mayor of Trenton, New Jersey.

Palmer was born in Trenton and attended Trenton public schools. He then graduated from the Bordentown Military Institute in Bordentown, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Virginia's private historically black college Hampton University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management in 1973. Doug is also a member of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated. He took office as mayor of Trenton on July 1, 1990, having defeated former city council president and mayor Carmen Armenti.^[1]

Palmer helped to initiate the Trenton Office of Policy Studies, now the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy,^[2] at Thomas Edison State University a unique think tank under the executive directorship of John P. Thurber, representing a partnership among the Mayor's Office, the University, and foundations to provide high quality focused research to the administration of a small city.

Palmer assembled a talented cabinet, including William Bill Watson as Chief of Staff, Alan Mallach as Director of Housing and Urban Development,^[3] and Elizabeth Johnson as Director of Recreation, Natural Resources, and Culture.

Palmer was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,^[4] a bipartisan 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.

Palmer announced at a press conference December 7, 2009, that he would not seek a sixth term as mayor of Trenton.

• www.groovephigroove.org
• Official page on Trenton city website
• CityMayors profile
• John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy
• Appearances on C-SPAN

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