List of mayors of Rensselaer, New York

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Mike Stammel
34th Mayor of Rensselaer
Assumed office
January 1, 2020
Preceded byRichard Mooney
Chairman, Rensselaer County Legislature
In office
January 2, 2018 – December 31, 2021
Preceded byStan Brownell
Succeeded byKelly Hoffman
District 6, Rensselaer County Legislature
In office
January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2017
Preceded byLouis R. Polsinello Jr.
Succeeded byBrian J. Stall
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBonnie Hahn
EducationEmpire State College (AS)

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. Stammel was re-elected to a four-year term on November 2, 2021.

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]

Mayor Michael E. Stammel[edit]

Michael E. Stammel is an American politician serving as the 34th mayor of Rensselaer.[2] He was sworn in on January 1, 2020. He was re-elected on November 2, 2021 to serve a four-year term.[3] Prior to serving as mayor, Stammel served as chairman of the Rensselaer County Legislature.

Career[edit]

Michael Stammel began his career as a politician serving on Rensselaer Common Council in 1994.[4] During his tenure on the Council, Stammel briefly served as council president. After finishing his term, he decided to run for a seat on the Rensselaer County Legislature.[5] In 2019, after the passing of Mayor Daniel Dwyer, Stammel decided to run against Richard Mooney in a special election to finish Dwyer's term.[6] Disagreements between Stammel and members of the Common Council led the Council to consider limiting politicians to only holding one office at a time. At the time, Stammel also served as Chairman of the Rensselaer County Legislature, a dual office position that the council wanted to prevent.[7]

Environmental issues[edit]

Stammel has been vocal about two different environmental issues in Rensselaer: the Dunn Landfill and the proposed BioHiTech waste to energy facility.[8][9] When the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation blasted the city over their handling of the proposed BioHiTech waste to energy facility, Stammel stepped in.[10] Public comments made by Stammel in August 2020 led to NYS DEC turning down permit requests by Rensselaer Resource Recovery / BioHiTech Global. Under the previous city administration, a land use permit for BioHiTech was greenlighted. Prior to the facility's permits being reviewed by NYS DEC, their land use permits with the City of Rensselaer expired. Due to expired permits, Stammel said the city would require a full environmental review before allowing the project to proceed. The city's original negative declaration for a full environmental review is what led to the state blasting the city.[11]

Dunn Landfill[edit]

During public hearings on the proposed Dunn Landfill in 2012, Stammel and his colleague on the County Legislature, Cristo, submitted a 3-page letter to NYS DEC with their concerns. (Letter dated 2/17/2012 available through FOIL request of NYS DEC) [12] Concerns highlighted by Stammel and Cristo included: Shredded materials and enforcement, truck traffic, and the proximity to the Rensselaer City School District campus. Stammel has been extremely vocal about the landfill's impacts on the community, stating that the landfill needs to be shut down. While serving on the County Legislature, Stammel sponsored several resolutions calling on the landfill's closure and help from the state Department of Health. Resolutions have also been passed by the City of Rensselaer Common Council and the East Greenbush Town Board.[13][14][15]

Emergency services[edit]

Michael Stammel has committed his life to emergency services, serving as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in the City of Rensselaer for many years. When elected Mayor, he vowed to bring a full-time ambulance service in to the city. He also vowed to upgrade equipment and vehicles.[16][17] Since becoming Mayor, there has been an ongoing dispute between Stammel and the city council over which ambulance service should serve as the provider for the city. The dispute lead to a court case where the judge determined that both sides were wrong. The judge determined that a Request for Proposals must be initiated and the city must interview all interested agencies before making a decision.[18]

Nineteenth century[edit]

# Portrait Mayor Start End Party Comment
1 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.[19]
2 James I. Miles 1900 1901

Twentieth century[edit]

# Portrait Mayor Start End Party Comment
3 Bradford R. Lansing 1901 Republican 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.
4 Thomas Kimber 1904 1907
5 W. Rockefeller 1908 1911
6 Thomas Penny 1911 1913 Chaplain of Masonic Greenbush Lodge Chapter, No. 274 in 1911.
7 Fred A. Rohloff 1914 1915
8 John H. McIntyre 1915 1918 Appointed Sheriff by the Governor of New York on June 30, 1921.
9 John S. Hall 1919 1920 Served on the Committee on Literacy Program in 1919.
10 Henry Meurs 1921 1922 Republican Hardware dealer. Henry Meurs was a member of the NYS Assembly representing the 2nd District of Rensselaer County in 1924.
11 Harvey C. Younghans 1923 1925 Harvey Younghans served as Mayor for a short time. Several years later, Younghans served as city clerk.
12 James W. Adams 1926 1929 Republican Previously served as city Treasurer.
13 Clarence A. McNally 1930 1931 Democrat Alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York in 1960. Clarence McNally served as Mayor during the 1930s and the 1950s.
14 James Johnstone 1932 1935
15 William T. Wright 1936 1939 Republican
16 Marshall C. Rose 1940 1941 Democrat
17 Charles G. Maloy 1943 1945 Charles Maloy did not finish his term in office and resigned for unknown reasons.
18 Thomas S. H. Clark 1945 1953 Democrat
19 W. Hardt 1953 1953
20 Clarence A. McNally 1954 1961 See first entry above
21 John H. Warden 1966 1971
22 Irwin Stewart 1972 1973
23 Joseph P. Mink 1974 1981
24 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.[20]
25 Edward J. Finlan 1983 1983 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.
26 Joseph E. Harrigan 1984 1993
27 John F. Ryan 1994 1996
28- Joseph Kapp 1996 1996
29 Edward J. Finlan 1997 1997
29 Linda M. Ganance 1998 2001

Twenty-first century[edit]

# Portrait Mayor Start End Party Comment
31 Mark G. Pratt 2002 2005 Republican Mark Pratt was a Republican mayor who ran on a bipartisan platform. He made significant changes even though he faced opposition. Due to forging ahead to make great positive change, he was accused of gas theft and the judge dismissed all charges as there was no wrongdoing.[21]
32 Daniel J. Dwyer 2006 2018 Democrat 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.[22]
33 Richard J. Mooney 2019 2020 Democrat 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.
34 Michael E. Stammel 2020 Present Republican Michael Stammel previously served as a past city Alderman and a Legislator on the Rensselaer County Legislature from 2002-2021. From 2017-2021 he served as its Chairman. Mayor Stammel is the 34th and current Mayor of Rensselaer.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Historian :: City of Rensselaer, New York
  2. ^ Gwizdala, Michael (November 6, 2019). "Stammel wins mayoral race in Rensselaer". The Record. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  3. ^ "Mike Stammel wins re-election in Rensselaer mayoral race". Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Michael Stammel Rensselaer, NY Alumni". Rensselaer, NY Alumni Association. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  5. ^ "After bitter race, Rensselaer Mayor Mike Stammel declares victory". WAMC. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  6. ^ Lucas, Dave. "City Of Rensselaer Poised For Big Changes At City Hall In 2020". WAMC. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. ^ Crowe, Kenneth. "Rensselaer ends dual office holding; mayor still vows to run again". Times Union. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Community Discussion Over Troubled Dunn Landfill In Rensselaer Continues". WAMC. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  9. ^ "DEC denies essential permits for proposed waste facility on the Hudson in Rensselaer". Riverkeeper. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  10. ^ Karlin, Rick. "State blasts Rensselaer over trash processing". Press Reader. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  11. ^ Karlin, Rick. "DEC turns down permit request for waste-to-energy plant in Rensselaer". Times Union. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  12. ^ "NYS DEC Foil Request". Open FOIL NY. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Rensselaer mayor calls on state to close Dunn landfill". WTEN News 10 ABC. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  14. ^ Levy, Dan. "Resolution to close Rensselaer landfill passes unanimously". WNYT News Channel 13. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  15. ^ Nearing, Brian. "Rensselaer county lawmakers urging scrutiny on Dunn dump". San Francisco Chronicle. Times Union. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  16. ^ Gwizdala, Mike. "Stammel sees optimistic future for Rensselaer". The Record. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  17. ^ Maugeri, Steve. "Rensselaer mayor pushes for ambulance provider in the city". CBS6 Albany. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  18. ^ Crowe, Kenneth. "Rensselaer city ambulance service snarled in political dispute". Times Union. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  19. ^ Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 73 (published December 31, 1919), January 7, 2020
  20. ^ Matter of Henry v. Tutunjian
  21. ^ Franco, James (May 21, 2003), "Police chief pouring gas on fire in Rensselaer", Troy Record
  22. ^ "Rensselaer Mayor Dan Dwyer dies, remembered for dedication to city". Times Union. 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
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