Harry Edwin Kinney (June 7, 1924 – May 9, 2006) was 21st & 23rd

Mayor of Albuquerque The mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico is the chief executive officer of the city, elected for a four-year term. There are no term limits for the mayor. Under the New Mexico State Constitution, municipal elections are nonpartisan. The 30th and ...

for two terms, from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1981 to 1985, as well as Chairman of the City Commission from 1971 to 1973. Among his accomplishments as mayor were initiating the

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event occurring in the first full week of October, and has ov ...

, preserving the Elena Gallegos Land Grant for open space, and establishing the first bike trail and

senior center A senior center (or senior centre or older adult center) is a type of community center where older adults congregate for fellowship with others to fulfill many of their social, physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. A regular part of senio ...

in the city.Former ABQ Mayor Harry Kinney Dies
''Albuquerque Journal,'' May 9, 2006. Retrieved August 16, 2018. Born in

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the List of cities and towns in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, most populous municipality in Las Animas County, Colorado, United Stat ...

, Kinney attended

Raton High School Raton High School (RHS) is a public senior high school in Raton, New Mexico. It is a part of the Raton Public Schools district. History In 1891, the New Mexico Territorial Legislature approved taxes for the purpose of creating statewide public ...

and graduated from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

with a degree in mechanical engineering. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and the Navy Reserve and owned an appliance store, before working for

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...

as a staff engineer on weapons development, from 1956 to 1973. Kinney entered politics when he was elected to the

Bernalillo County Bernalillo County (; ) is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo ...

Commission in 1956, and twice reelected in 1958 and 1960. He was first elected to the Albuquerque City Commission in 1966 and served as chairman from 1971 to 1973. Additionally, he served as an assistant to Senator

Pete Domenici Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici ( ; May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in ...

before his first term as mayor. After his retirement from public life, Kinney was a substitute teacher in the Albuquerque public schools, and drove a taxi cab for five years. He died at his Albuquerque home on May 9, 2006. The Harry E. Kinney Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque is named in his honor.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinney, Harry E. 1924 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American engineers 20th-century mayors of places in New Mexico American taxi drivers County commissioners in New Mexico Mayors of Albuquerque, New Mexico New Mexico Republicans People from Trinidad, Colorado United States Navy reservists University of New Mexico alumni