Richard J. Berry
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Richard J. Berry is the ninth Mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a former two term member of the New Mexico House of Representatives.
Berry was sworn into office on 1 December 2009, succeeding Democrat Martin Chávez. Berry is the first Republican Mayor of Albuquerque in over 30 years.[1]
| Richard J. Berry | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 9th Mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Martin Chávez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 5, 1962 Iowa |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Medina |
| Children | Jacob Berry |
| Alma mater | University of New Mexico |
| Occupation | Businessman, construction |
| Religion | Christian |
Contents |
Early life and education [edit]
Richard Berry was born in Waterloo, Iowa on November 5, 1962. He was raised in Nebraska where his family was involved in ranching, farming, construction and agricultural banking. Berry graduated from Beatrice Senior High in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1981. Berry moved to Albuquerque in 1982 to attend the University of New Mexico on academic and athletic scholarships (track & field, decathlon). While at the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico he met his future wife, Maria Medina. Berry graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in finance and administration, and has worked as a successful entrepreneur in the construction industry since that time, including the operation of a family construction business with his wife.[2]
Political career [edit]
Berry was twice elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives, District 20, prior to being elected Mayor of Albuquerque.[3] He served on the appropriations and finance committee, the transportation and public works committee, the rules committee and was a member of the rural and economic development interim committee. Berry was also a member of the pension solvency taskforce as a Legislator[4]
During the mayoral election of 6 October 2009, Berry was elected with 43.88% of the popular vote. His opponents Martin Chávez and Richard Romero, both Democrats, came out with 35.05% and 20.89% of the vote, respectively. Berry’s current term ends in 2013.[5]
Mayor of Albuquerque [edit]
Fiscal Responsibility [edit]
Mayor Berry has worked to bring fiscal responsibility, accountability and transparency to Albuquerque City Government. Since taking over as Mayor, Berry has reduced government spending by over $140 million dollars, while keeping services to the community intact and without layoffs. Berry's administration began immediately looking at ways to repair the budget and through careful analysis was able to cut out more than $800,000 in recurring costs from his administration.[6] In addition, Mayor Berry has reduced the size of Government by over 200 positions, through attrition and vacancies. In tandem and without raising taxes, he has increased the City’s operating reserve percentage.[7]
With a background in finance from the University of New Mexico, Mayor Berry continues to look for creative ways to improve city services and improve the city’s bottom line. For example, Mayor Berry’s led the City to craft a fuel hedge agreement which locked fuel costs and saved the City of Albuquerque $2 million over the originally budgeted fuel expense. Other innovations included switching to a sole-source provider for insurance creating a savings of more than $4 million.[8]
While the national economy remains sluggish, Mayor Berry continues to cut costs, provide ever better levels of public safety, and quality city services while maintaining the city's "AAA" S&P bond rating.
In conjunction with fiscal responsibility the Berry administration has committed themselves to previously unheard of levels of accountability for City government through the City’s new ABQ View transparency web-site. See ABQ View directly by logging on to cabq.gov/abq-view.
Public Safety [edit]
By stepping up community policing efforts in conjunction with smart policing technology Albuquerque has seen its Crime Rate drop to the lowest the City has seen in 20 years. Homicide totals, robberies, burglaries, auto theft, and property crime are all down since Berry took office.[9]
Homelessness [edit]
In addition to fiscal responsibility and transparency efforts, Mayor Berry has also concentrated on efforts to help those who are most vulnerable in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Heading Home is an initiative to reduce chronic homeless,is a multi-step plan that incorporates hundreds of volunteers, the business community, non-profit organizations, hospitals, and the faith community. The goal of the program is to make a very real and measurable impact to chronic homelessness in Albuquerque; those most likely to die on the streets. At the same time Albuquerque Heading Home saves resources by lowering the frequency of emergency room visits, jail time and others costs to the community.[10]
Education [edit]
Mayor Berry announced that the City of Albuquerque will provide approximately $115,000 for an International Baccalaureate Program at Sandia High School, the first program of its kind in the local public school district.
The IB Diploma Program, a world-recognized college prep program for juniors and seniors based on rigorous academic standards. Qualified students from across Albuquerque will be encouraged to participate in the program, which is expected to be offered to a junior class of 100-150 students beginning in the 2013-2014 school year.[11]
Mayor Berry also introduced to the City of Albuquerque - Running Start for Careers a new high school retention and workforce development program. The initiative gives students direct entry into industry developed and taught programs in career development areas during their 11th and 12th grade years.
Running Start for Careers allows elective credits to be utilized for students who participate in approved programs to count for their overall requirement credits for graduation. Students will also graduate with an industry certificate showing pre-apprenticeship or career development training that could be submitted to potential employers. Instruction is provided by industry experts in their respective fields. Classes are taught at either industry locations or at other existing facilities. The industry together with the school administration will be allowed to recruit, test and select participants for their respective programs.[12]
Transparency [edit]
As a leader in government transparency Mayor Berry launched ABQ-View. ABQ-View allows citizens to easily access city spending data, employee salaries, vendor contracts, capital projects, audits, internal investigations, budget trending, travel expenses, political contributions and much more. This led to the City of Albuquerque to receive an A+ rating from the Sunshine Review for transparency in both 2011 and 2012.
“Richard J. Berry, mayor of Albuquerque. Mayor Berry has been unusually proactive about making public information available on the City's website, ABQView, which in 2012 earned a perfect A+ grade from the Sunshine Review. The site gives the public easy access to details of the city's budget, contracts; construction projects-even the mayor's credit card statements. The mayor also launched an ambitious open data initiative, greatly empowering the city's IT staff to find sources of public data-such as food inspections and building permits-and to put them online in a format that allows them to be analyzed and even used for smartphone apps. Later this year a city-sponsored app contest will give $30,000 in prizes to developers who create the best apps with city data,” from the NM FOG web-site.[13]
To encourage employees of the City of Albuquerque to cut spending and waste, Mayor Berry created the Efficiency, Stewardship and Accountability (ESA)award. This program allows employees to submit ideas about how to save the city money within their departments. If an employee’s idea results in actual savings, the employee’s department is eligible for an efficiency bonus. The citizens of Albuquerque have saved over $1.4 million dollars much of which is on a recurring basis. A recent ESA example involved identifying annual savings on cell phones of $344,000.[14]
Recognitions [edit]
Under Mayor Berry’s Administration for the City of Albuquerque
• Bloomberg Business Week’s latest ranking has Albuquerque topping major cities like Boston and Los Angeles. The ranking recognized Albuquerque’s scenic charm as well as its stable economy, recreational opportunities, and quality educational system.[15]
• Albuquerque received high marks from Business Facilities magazine’s annual ranking of metro areas’ economic strengths. Albuquerque was the 2nd highest rated area in terms of both Economic Growth Potential and Alternative Energy Industry Leaders, 3rd for Motion Picture Industry Growth, and the 5th highest ranked metro area for Quality of Life.[16]
• MovieMaker magazine ranks Albuquerque #1 city to Live, Work, and Make Movies in their January 2010 issue.[17]
• Relocate America ranked Albuquerque among the Top 10 Recovery Cities – May 2010 issue.[18]
• Forbes ranks Albuquerque among the Best Retirement Places – March 2011 issue.[19]
• Brookings Institution ranks Albuquerque’s exports 20th in the USA – July 2010 issue.[20]
• Brookings Institution again ranks Albuquerque #7 for Increase in Gross Metro Product – April 2010 issue.[21]
• William F. Dixon Award for Open Government, the Foundation for Open Government, 2012. [22]
• City of Albuquerque received an A+ rating from the Sunshine Review for transparency in both 2011 and 2012.[23]
Other information [edit]
Berry is an Eagle Scout, participating with his son who is also an Eagle Scout. Berry has received the Silver Beaver award by the Boy Scouts of America for his work as a registered adult leader who has made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council. The Silver Beaver is an award given to those who implement the Scouting program and perform community service through hard work, self-sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service. It is given to those who do not actively seek it. He enjoys outdoor activities with his family including, hunting and fishing, snowboarding, water skiing, and other outdoor sports. Berry lettered in track in field while at the University of New Mexico. He participates in community and philanthropic events. University of New Mexico.[24]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ City of Albuquerque. Bio: Mayor Richard J. Berry, City of Albuquerque, September 7, 2012.
- ^ City of Albuquerque. Bio: Mayor Richard J. Berry, City of Albuquerque, September 7, 2012.
- ^ City of Albuquerque. Bio: Mayor Richard J. Berry, City of Albuquerque, September 7, 2012.
- ^ World Cab Blogspot. First Republican Candidate Jumps Into Mayoral Race, World Cab Blogspot, September 5, 2012.
- ^ The United States Conference of Mayors. / 2009 Mayor Election Results, United States Conference of Mayors, September 7, 2012.
- ^ Griswold, Shaun. Mayor Announces Budget Proposals, KOB, September 7, 2012.
- ^ Albuquerque Journal. Mayor Berry's Budget A Good Starting Point, Albuquerque Journal, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board. Albuquerque’s Fuel Wager Is a Good Bet, Albuquerque Journal, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Albuquerque Police Department. Annual Reports, Albuquerque Police Department, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Kamerick, Megan. Berry resolves to help chronic homeless , New Mexico Business Weekly, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Albuquerque Public Schools.City to Help Fund IB Program at Sandia High , APS, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Guerrero, Maria. City receives grant to expand Albuquerque teen job training program, KOB News, September 10, 2012.
- ^ National Freedom of Information Coalition.NMFOG announces 2012 Transparency Award winners, National Freedom of Information Coalition, September 7, 2012.
- ^ Dyson, Stuart. Albuquerque IT employee saves city $344,000 a year , KOB News, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Brodsky, Rivkela. ABQ Makes Best Cities , Albuquerque Journal, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Business Facilities. Metro Rankings, Business Facilities, June 2, 2010.
- ^ Jacobs, Julie. 10 Best Cities To Live, Work & Make Movies in 2010, MovieMaker, June 2, 2010.
- ^ Memoli, Mike. 2010 Top 10 Recovery Cities, Relocate America, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Forbes. Best Retirement Places, Forbes, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Brookings Institution. West: How Intermountain West Metros Can Lead National Export Growth and Boost Competitiveness, Brookings Institution, September 10, 2012.
- ^ Brookings Institution. Metropolitan Product, Brookings Institution, September 10, 2012.
- ^ NMFOG.OPEN GOVERNMENT UPDATE, NMFOG, June 2, 2010.
- ^ City of Albuquerque.Mayor Berry’s ABQ View is leading the nation in transparency, City of Albuquerque, September 10, 2012.
- ^ City of Albuquerque. Bio: Mayor Richard J. Berry, City of Albuquerque, September 7, 2012.
