Susan Scher Weiner (c. 1946 – August 11, 2012) was an American politician from U.S. state of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
, and was the first woman to become
Mayor of Savannah. She was a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...
.
Background
Weiner, who was
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 ...
, was born as Susan Scher in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...
and graduated from
SUNY New Paltz
The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz or New Paltz) is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It traces its origins to the New Paltz Classical School, a secondary institution founded in 1828 and reorganized as an ac ...
. She moved to Savannah in the mid-1980s.
Political career
Weiner ran for Mayor of Savannah in 1991. She won the Republican nomination without opposition and defeated five-term
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...
and
Democratic
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 (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
nominee
John Rousakis
John Paul Rousakis (January 14, 1929 – December 11, 2000) was a politician from Georgia, United States, and was the first Greek-American to become Mayor of Savannah. He was a Democrat.
Background
He was born in Savannah, Georgia, on January 14 ...
with 54% of the vote. She conducted a
law and order
In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
campaign in which she promised to address local crime issues. She also advocated "privatizing some city services, such as sanitation, garbage collection, road maintenance and recreational facility maintenance."
Weiner was
the first woman mayor of Savannah.
Under her tenure, six council members were Democrats; only two were Republicans. Eventually, Weiner abandoned most proposals from her platform. In 1995, she was narrowly defeated by Councilor
Floyd Adams Jr.
Floyd Adams Jr. (May 11, 1945 – February 1, 2014) was an American politician from the U.S state of Georgia, and a former Mayor of Savannah, Georgia. He was a Democrat.
Background
Adams was born on May 11, 1945, in Savannah, Georgia. He att ...
, a Democrat and an
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 ...
.
Later life and death
Weiner was a trainer for
the Coverdell Leadership Institute from 1996 to 2004. In 2004, then Governor
Sonny Perdue
George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, politician, and university administrator who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as t ...
appointed her as executive director of the Georgia Council for the Arts.
Weiner died from complications of cancer in
Gainesville, Georgia
The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of t ...
on August 11, 2012 at the age of 66.
See also
*
List of mayors of Savannah, Georgia
The Mayor is the highest elected official in Savannah, Georgia. Since its incorporation in 1789, the City has had 67 mayors.Savannah Morning News Election for Mayor is held every four years, and is held as a non-partisan election.
List
;No ...
*
List of first women mayors in the United States
After Kansas granted women the right to vote in municipal elections in February 1887, Susanna Madora Salter was elected mayor of Argonia, Kansas on April 4, 1887, and became the first female mayor in the United States. Salter had been nominated wi ...
Footnotes
External links
Mayor's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiner, Susan
2012 deaths
Mayors of Savannah, Georgia
Women mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state)
Jewish mayors of places in the United States
Jewish women politicians
Year of birth uncertain
Jewish American people in Georgia (U.S. state) politics
Politicians from Albany, New York
Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans
Jews and Judaism in Savannah, Georgia
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women