Andrew Lawrence Berke (born March 31, 1968) is an American attorney and politician from
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. He served as the mayor of
Chattanooga
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
from 2013 to 2021. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, he represented
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
and
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
counties in the
10th district as a
state senator from 2007 to 2012. On March 5, 2013, he became Chattanooga's mayor-elect, winning more than 72% of the vote, and he was inaugurated on April 15, 2013.
Berke was reelected on March 7, 2017, and served until April 19, 2021, when he was succeeded by
Tim Kelly Tim or Timothy Kelly may refer to:
* Tim Kelly (Alaska politician) (1944–2009), Alaska state legislator
* Tim Kelly (Minnesota politician) (born 1964), Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
* Tim Kelly (Mich ...
. On October 6, 2022, President
Joe Biden appointed Berke to serve as administrator of the
Rural Utilities Service
The United States Rural Utilities Service (RUS) administers programs that provide infrastructure or infrastructure improvements to rural communities. These include water and waste treatment, electric power, and telecommunications services. it is ...
at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Early life and education
Berke was born in
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
, to Marvin and Kandy Berke. He has one sister, Julie. He attended Rivermont Elementary and
Baylor School
Baylor School, commonly called Baylor, is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded in 1893, the school currently sits atop a 690-acre campus and enrolls students in grades 6-12, including boarding stu ...
in Chattanooga, where he was a standout tennis player, and
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, where he met his wife, Monique. He lives in Chattanooga with his wife and their two daughters. He is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
After graduating from Stanford with honors, Berke worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Representative
Bart Gordon
Barton Jennings Gordon (born January 24, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. He was Chairman of ...
. After graduating from the
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...
, he worked as a clerk for Judge
Deanell Reece Tacha
Deanell Reece Tacha (born January 26, 1946) is a retired United States Circuit Judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She was the Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law from 2011 to 2016.
Education ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Colorado
* District of Kansas
* Dist ...
in
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
. During this time he also taught at the
University of Kansas School of Law
The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had e ...
as an adjunct professor.
Berke returned home to Chattanooga and was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1994. He joined his family law practice, Berke, Berke, and Berke in Chattanooga, which was founded in 1934 by his grandfather Harry Berke.
Public office
State Senate
Berke entered a 2007 special election to replace longtime state senator
Ward Crutchfield
William Ward Crutchfield (December 6, 1928 – April 3, 2016) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate for the 10th district, which encompassed Marion County and part of Hamilton County. He was a member of th ...
and defeated Republican Oscar Brock, son of former U.S. Senator
Bill Brock
William Emerson Brock III (November 23, 1930 – March 25, 2021) was an American Republican politician who served in both chambers of the United States Congress from 1963 to 1977 and later in the United States Cabinet from 1981 to 1987. He was ...
, 63% to 37%. He was sworn into the
Tennessee Senate
The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...
on November 21, 2007. During the 105th General Assembly, Berke served as secretary of the Senate Education Committee and as a member of the Senate Transportation Committee.
Berke was reelected in 2008, defeating Republican Oscar Brown. He received over 70% of the vote. As a member of the 106th General Assembly, Berke served as secretary of the Senate Education Committee and as a member of the Senate Transportation committee. On November 24, 2008, Berke was elected secretary and treasurer of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Chattanooga mayoral campaign
On May 8, 2012, Berke announced his candidacy for
Mayor of Chattanooga
This is a list of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tim Kelly has been the incumbent mayor of Chattanooga since his inauguration on April 19, 2021 at the Tivoli Theatre (Chattanooga, Tennessee).
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! Years Served!! Mayor{{Ci ...
.
He became mayor-elect on March 5, 2013, after receiving 72% of the vote.
First mayoral term
Within a month of taking office, Berke reorganized city government, merging the Departments of Parks and Recreation and Human Services into a new Department of Youth and Family Development, the Departments of Neighborhood Services and Community Development into a new Department of Economic and Community Development, eliminating the Department of Education, Arts, and Culture, and creating a new Department of Transportation to handle transportation matters once handled by the Department of Public Works. In his first year as mayor, he formed a task force to reform the City of Chattanooga Police and Fire Pension and overhauled the Pension Plan, saving taxpayers over $227 million while preserving benefits for first responders.
During Berke's first term, Chattanooga's unemployment rate fell from a June 2011 high of 9.5% to 4.1% in May 2016, a nine-year low, and the city created over 8,000 new jobs. On July 14, 2014, Berke joined other local and state officials to announce that the
Volkswagen Crossblue
The Volkswagen CrossBlue is a concept diesel plug-in-hybrid mid size crossover SUV, intended to sit in the range of SUVs by Volkswagen, below the Volkswagen Touareg. The concept version of the car has six seats, but the production version that wi ...
would be manufactured in Chattanooga, resulting in over 2,000 new jobs for residents. In addition to a boom of manufacturing jobs,
Chattanooga's 10 Gigabit fiber optic infrastructure helped fuel wage growth, resulting in the country's third-fastest wage growth for medium-sized metro areas.
On January 14, 2015, Berke established an
Innovation District
Innovation districts are urban geographies of innovation where R&D strong institutions, companies, and other private actors develop integrated strategies and solutions to develop thriving innovation ecosystems–areas that attract entrepreneurs, st ...
, making Chattanooga the first midsized city with an innovation district. Since then, Chattanooga's Innovation District has been a catalyst for change downtown, resulting in $700 million in new retail, office and residential space, and 868 new business licenses issued in 2016 alone.
Under Berke, Chattanooga has received national recognition for its work in digital equity. A new program called Tech Goes Home, modeled after an award-winning program in Boston, ensures equal access to technology by offering technology training, skills, and access to families. In his 2015 State of the City Address, Berke also announced a new partnership with Chattanooga's Electric Power Board (EPB) to offer discounted high-speed internet access to students on free and reduced lunch through a program called NetBridge.
Six months after the launch of the Innovation District, four Marines and a sailor were killed during a
terror-inspired attack in Chattanooga. In the following hours, Berke called the incident a "nightmare for the city of Chattanooga" and pledged all available resources to aid the FBI in its investigation. Because of his leadership during and following the attack, he was invited to lead the U.S. delegation at the first annual Strong Cities Network Global Summit held in
Antalya, Turkey
Antalya () is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast outside the Ae ...
, on May 11, 2016.
The creation of an Innovation District and his response to the July 16 attack were both cited as factors in Berke's recognition as American City & County's 2015 Municipal Leader of the Year. On December 15, 2015,
OZY.com recognized Berke as a Rising Star, citing Chattanooga's technology boom as the major factor in the city's turnaround.
In 2016, Berke announced new efforts to combat violence, including investments in public safety technology and a new Citizen Safety Coalition, a new Office of Early learning, a partnership with United Way to offer early learning scholarships, and a Family Friendly Workplace challenge to get more businesses to adopt policies making their business more friendly for working parents. He also announced new investments in neighborhoods, including $6 million for a new Youth and Family Development center in Avondale, $887,000 for a new park at the former Charles A Bell School site in Alton Park, $1.5 million for the cleanup of the old Dixie Yarn Mill in Lupton City, completed $2 million in upgrades of the Wilcox Tunnel in East Chattanooga, and the construction of a new Miller Park District as the gateway to the MLK Neighborhood.
Mayoral reelection campaign
On September 6, 2016, Berke announced his bid for reelection to a second term as mayor. His announcement focused on combating gun violence, enhancing workforce development, and expanding the city's focus on early childhood education. Berke was easily reelected, defeating three challengers.
Second mayoral term
Berke was sworn in to his second term on April 18, 2017. During his second term, he has continued many of the investments that marked his first four years in office, including renewed commitments to early childcare, violence reduction, affordable housing, digital equity, and economic development.
On September 23, 2019, Berke stood alongside Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger and other officials to announce
East Chattanooga Rising" an initiative to convert the former Harriet Tubman Homes site into a mixed-use development anchored by an automotive paint manufacturing facility. The project is expected to generate 150 jobs in one of Chattanooga's highest-poverty ZIP codes, which had not seen any economic development for more than a century. The city's commitment to small businesses also increased with the launch of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund, intended to help neighborhood-based lifestyle businesses obtain financing for minor improvements, marketing, and other expenses, as well as the local launch of Kiva, a micro-loan program to provide start-up capital to entrepreneurs. The downtown Innovation District was highlighted repeatedly throughout Berke's second term, with national exposure coming from Revolution's Rise of the Rest tour and Project For Public Spaces
International Placemaking Week
As part of the city's Fiscal Year 2019 budget, Berke committed $5 million to the community's first Affordable Housing Trust Fund to combat the trend of local home prices and rents rising faster than wages. As of January 2020, the City was praised b
Built for Zero a movement of more than 80 cities and counties across the country working to measurably end homelessness, for having effectively reached net zero homelessness among its veteran population.
The Berke administration's widely praised response to the July 16 terror attack earned him the attention of th
Strong Cities Network a "global network of mayors, municipal-level policy makers and practitioners united in building social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms." Berke was invited to speak to the SCN multiple times and was involved with the 2018 launch of its Public-Private Partnership Task Force Against Hate in conjunction with the German Marshall Fund. In April 2019, he announced the formation of a Chattanoog
Council Against Hateto combat extremism and bias-motivated violence at a metropolitan level. Following local protests after the murders of
Ahmaud Arbery
On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was murdered during a racially motivated hate crime while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia. and
George Floyd
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...
, and the
shooting of Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing op ...
, Berke announced the formation of a new Office of Community Resilience to help law enforcement officials, social workers, and criminal justice reform advocates co-create new solutions for responding to people in crisis. The Chattanooga Police Department also earned national recognition for launching th
Policing & Racial Equity Dashboard an open-data tool that displays closed investigations, including citations, arrests, use of force, and citizen complaints by race.
The Mayor's Youth Council, a group of highly motivated young adults in their junior or senior years of high school, also became heavily involved with violence reduction, focusing particularly on generating new policies and ideas to curb the prevalence of gun violence in their community. In Berke's second term, the Youth Council also became heavily involved in issues of boosting voter turnout and improving environmental sustainability.
In 2018, Berke charged the Office of Early Learning with adding 1,000 high-quality "seats", or accessible, affordable spots for children who needed them, before the conclusion of his second term. As of January 2020, the Office was well on its way to that goal, having added 916 seats throughout the city.
Berke's second term has also seen the completion of several landmark capital projects, including the $10 million renovation o
Miller Parkin downtown Chattanooga, the construction of a new Youth & Family Development Center in the Avondale neighborhood, and the $6 million renovation of East Lake Park. Other significant projects, including the renovation of Walnut Plaza and the construction of th
Ed Johnson Memorial Projectcommenced during Berke's second term. The Ed Johnson Memorial Project was arguably the most significant undertaking o
Public Art Chattanooga a 501c3 nonprofit organization administered by the City of Chattanooga and the Public Art Commission to support public art projects throughout the city. PAC's strategic plan
CHA Creates was passed by the Chattanooga City Council in February 2019 and included the city's first "percent for art" policy to ensure continued long-term funding for public art projects and maintenance.
COVID-19 pandemic response
In response to growing concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, Berke signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in Chattanooga on March 13, 2020, the same day the first case of the virus was reported in Hamilton County. Over the remainder of the year, Berke signed 45 more executive orders extending the state of emergency and authorizing additional steps to slow the virus's spread. The Berke administration also launched programs to connect homebound senior citizens with health resources, support struggling small businesses and improve community testing, and focus on meeting the unique needs of Chattanooga's Spanish-speaking and Black populations throughout the spring, summer, and fall of 2020. When the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had secured emergency authorization, Berke's office announced
Get Ready! It's Up To You, It's Up To Us" a multimedia campaign to equip the community with information and resources about gettin
vaccinated
In January 2021, Berke's office honored the hundreds of lives lost to the virus wit
COVID-19 Memorial Project a website that invites community members to publicly share photos, stories, and words of inspiration about their lost loved ones.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration
On February 2, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration named Berke a Special Representative for Broadband. In this capacity, he will direct $48 billion in resources from the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and originally in the House as the INVEST in America ActH.R. 3684, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress ...
to expand high-speed broadband service to states, municipalities, and tribal lands throughout the country.
Other work
Berke serves on the board of advisors for
Let America Vote
Let America Vote is a political action organization founded by former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander in February 2017. Its mission is to end voter suppression across the country.
Overview
Kander first became concerned about voter suppre ...
, an organization founded by former
Missouri Secretary of State
The people below have served as the Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Missouri.
List
Gallery
File:Warren E. Hearnes.jpg, Warren E. Hearnes
File:James C. Kirkpatrick.jpg, James C. Kirkpatrick
File:Rep Roy Blunt.jpg, Roy Blunt
File:Matt ...
Jason Kander
Jason David Kander (born May 4, 1981) is an American attorney, author, veteran, and politician. A Democrat, he served as the 39th secretary of state of Missouri, from 2013 to 2017. He had previously served as a member of the Missouri House of R ...
that aims to end
voter suppression
Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting ...
and is an advisory board member o
Communities Overcoming Extremism: The After Charlottesville Project formed in the aftermath of the August 2017 attacks in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is also a member o
NewDEAL Leaders a coalition of "pro-growth progressive state and local elected officials who champion ideas to grow the economy, expand opportunity for all, and make government work better." From 2018 to 2020, Berke served as co-chair of th
National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education and Families.
References
External links
Facebook Pageat
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
Twitter Pageat
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
YouTube Page – Andy Berke (TN)YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
Mayors Office City of Chattanooga Pageat
City of ChattanoogaSenator Andy Berke – District 10''State Senate website''
Project Vote Smart – Andy Berke (TN)''Project Vote Smart''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berke, Andy
1968 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
Mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee
People from Chattanooga, Tennessee
Stanford University alumni
Democratic Party Tennessee state senators
University of Chicago Law School alumni
Jewish American politicians
Biden administration personnel