John J. McEneny

He holds a B. A. in History from Siena College and certificates in Community Development and Public Administration from New Mexico State University School of Agriculture and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He served as Peace Corps volunteer in rural Colombia, South America.

A former Albany County Historian, Mr. McEneny is a well-known teacher and speaker on local history, ethnicity and related fields. He led the effort that saved Quackenbush House, Albany's oldest building, and later chaired the Albany Historic Sites Commission. He wrote and narrated WMHT Public Television's Tercentennial Documentary on Albany and authored Albany, Capital City on the Hudson, the definitive text on the city's four centuries of history.

Mr. McEneny entered public service in 1965 as a social services caseworker. He was a counselor and director of the Albany County Neighborhood Youth Corps and was subsequently appointed by Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd to serve as Albany's first Director of Manpower Planning, Director of Public Employment Programs (EEA/CETA), and Commissioner of Human Resources 1971-84. At peak strength, his department employed 3,300 workers and trainees at 200 public and non-profit agencies.

Many programs for veterans, the blind, addicted, the aged and the developmentally disabled were started through his programs. Using federal and city funds, he helped establish the City Arts office, archeology digs, the county archives, public housing tenant patrols, a dispute mediation center, rape crisis center and programs in nutrition, education, tourism promotion, day care and the environment.

He directed the 1980 U.S. Census for the four-county Capital District. He has been a recognized authority on redistricting of legislative bodies for over 30 years.

Mr. McEneny entered state service in 1984, and in 1985, he became the first full-time director of the State Urban Cultural Parks Program administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. From April 1989 through 1991, he was Assistant Albany County Executive. In January 1992, Mr. McEneny was appointed Chief of Staff to his long-time friend and mentor, Assemblyman Richard J. Conners, D-Albany. Following Conners' decision not to run in the 104th District, he succeeded in winning both the primary and general elections by large pluralities.

Over his twelve years in the Assembly, he authored sixty-nine bills which have been signed into law. They include the Veterans' Bill of Rights, a law allowing citizens to use rubber stamps in write-in elections and laws granting public bonding to the Center for the Disabled and the Irish American Heritage Museum, reforms of school board election procedures, adding land to the Pine Bush Preserve, establishing eligibility for former Erie Canal sites such as those in Albany to participate in Barge Canal Tourism Programs and requiring safety shields in city taxicabs throughout the state.

Mr. McEneny laws also include "The Albany Plan" for new State Offices, Jeremy and Julia's Law for safe home child care, and the establishment of the long overdue World War II monument to be placed in Albany. He has also passed several laws encouraging high tech development and job creation at the University Heights Consortium and the University at Albany as well as the establishment of the Albany Convention Center Authority.

Mr. McEneny also supported $274 million in state aid over 30 years to the City of Albany to compensate for the loss of taxable property taken by the construction of the Empire State Plaza. Assemblymember Mr. McEneny is the author of a public employee tier equity law and also sponsored and supported the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) legislation for New York's retired public employees. One of the most recent Mr. McEneny laws adds children between four and seven requiring that they use automobile booster seats.

An active member of the Capital Region delegation, Mr. McEneny co-sponsored legislation creating the Albany County Airport Authority and the Regionalization Commission. In 1995, he accompanied President Clinton on his historic peacemaking journey to Northern Ireland. In 2000, he was invited to train members of the Parliament of Uganda at a USAID supported Democracy Conference in Kampala.

A full-time, year-round legislator, Mr. McEneny serves as Acting Speaker Pro Tempore on weekends, holidays and non-session days. Assemblymember Mr. McEneny has served on more that fifty boards of directors of community organizations over the past three decades and has been the recipient of more that fifty civic awards.

Mr. McEneny served two terms as President of the New York State American-Irish Legislators Society. Mr. McEneny is the former chair of the Task Force on University-Industry Cooperation. He currently chairs the Working Group on the Assembly Chamber. He also chaired the Subcommittee on the State Workforce and has been a member of the Majority Task Forces on AIDS, Economic Development, High Speed Inter-City Rail and Distressed Cities.

As an Appointee of Speaker Sheldon Silver, Mr. McEneny serves as a member of the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, the Commission for the Restoration of the Capitol and the Albany Convention Center Authority.

Jack Mr. McEneny married Barbara Rachel Leonard in 1968. They reside in Albany and are the parents of four children, John, Daniel, and Maeve Mr. McEneny and Rachel Mr. McEneny Spencer of Yonkers. They have one granddaughter, Madeline Maeve Spencer.

Standing Committee Assignments 2005: Majority Steering Committee (Chair); Agriculture; Ethics and Guidance; Governmental Employees; Social Services; Tourism, Arts and Sports Development; Ways and Means.

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