Douglas Harold Palmer (born October 19, 1951) is a former politician who was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Biography

Palmer was born in Trenton and attended Trenton public schools. He then graduated from the

Bordentown Military Institute The Bordentown Military Institute was a private high school in Bordentown, New Jersey, United States, from 1881 to 1973. History The institute was created in 1881, when Reverend William Bowen (minister), William Bowen purchased the Spring Villa Fem ...

Bordentown, New Jersey Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management in 1973. Doug is also a member of

Groove Phi Groove Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc. (GΦG) is a social fellowship. It was founded at Morgan State College (now known as Morgan State University) as an alternative to National Pan-Hellenic Council, mainstream List of African-American fratern ...

Social Fellowship Incorporated. He took office as mayor of Trenton on July 1, 1990, having defeated former city council president and mayor Carmen Armenti. Palmer helped to initiate the Trenton Office of Policy Studies, now the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy, at

Thomas Edison State University Thomas Edison State University (TESU) is a public university in Trenton, New Jersey. The university is one of New Jersey's 11 senior public institutions of higher education. Thomas Edison State University offers degrees at the undergraduate and ...

a unique think tank 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, and Elizabeth Johnson as Director of Recreation, Natural Resources, and Culture. Palmer was a member of the

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined force ...

, a

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

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

References

External links

www.groovephigroove.org

Official page on Trenton city website

John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy
* 1951 births Living people Mayors of Trenton, New Jersey African-American mayors in New Jersey Hampton University alumni Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors Bordentown Military Institute alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people {{TrentonNJ-stub