Alney Dale Danks Jr. (August 27, 1939 – June 9, 2021) was an American attorney who served as the mayor of

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, from 1977 to 1989.

Biography

Alney Dale Danks Jr. was born on August 27, 1939, in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, to Alney Dale Danks Sr. and Elizabeth Ross. When Danks was 3, his family moved to Alabama. In 1954, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi. He graduated from Murrah High School and enrolled in

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded ...

in 1957. In June 1959, he dropped out of

and married Carolyn Carl. In 1963, he graduated law school at the Jackson School of Law and was admitted to the bar.

Political career

In 1965, Danks first ran for city commissioner as a Republican and lost. He ran for becoming the

Hinds County Hinds County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond, Mississippi, Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Missis ...

prosecutor in 1968 and lost. He won the election to become the Hinds County prosecutor in 1972. In 1977, he ran for the mayor office of Jackson, Mississippi as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, beating Republican candidate Doug Shanks. He won re-election in 1981. Starting in 1985, he became the first mayor of the city under mayor-council form. Danks stopped being the mayor of Jackson in 1989, when he lost in a runoff election to J. Kane Ditto.

Later life

He returned to practicing law. After 1989, he was appointed as a municipal judge in Madison, Mississippi. In 2004, he formed a law firm with attorney Michael Cory, named "Danks, Miller & Cory". In 2005, he served on the transition team of mayor

Frank Melton Frank Ervin Melton (March 19, 1949 – May 7, 2009) was the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, United States, from 4 July 2005 until his death on 7 May 2009. Melton, an African American, defeated the city's first black mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr ...

. Danks died of complications from a stroke on June 9, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danks, Dale 1939 births 2021 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Mississippi Mayors of Jackson, Mississippi Politicians from Miami Millsaps College alumni Mississippi College School of Law alumni Mississippi lawyers Mississippi Democrats Mississippi Republicans