John J. McEneny

Biography

John J. McEneny was born in Albany on August 30, 1943, to John Horan McEneny and Margaret Glennon Gaffie McEneny. He was raised in the Pine Hills neighborhood and educated at Vincentian C.C.D. and Christian Brothers Academy in Albany.

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 a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Colombia, South America.

A former Albany County Historian, Jack McEneny is a well-known teacher and speaker on local history, ethnicity and related fields. He led the effort that saved the 17th Century Quackenbush House, Albany's oldest building and later chaired the Albany Historic Sites Commission. He wrote and narrated WMHT Public Television's Tricentennial Documentary on Albany and authored Albany, Capital City on the Hudson, the definitive text on the city's four centuries of history for the past 25 years.

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 award winning programs for veterans, the blind, addicted, the aged and the developmentally disabled were started through innovative 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, day care, the arts and the environment.

He directed the 1980 U.S. Census for the Capital District and has been a recognized authority on redistricting legislative bodies for 35 years.

McEneny entered state service in 1984, and, in 1985, became the first full-time director of the State Urban Cultural Parks Program (now known as Heritage Areas) administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. From April 1989 through 1991, he was Assistant Albany County Executive to the Hon. James. J. Coyne.

In January 1992, 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 again, he won both the primary and general elections.

During his 17 years in the Assembly, he authored over 90 bills which became law. They include the Veterans' Bill of Rights, provision to use rubber stamps in write-in elections, 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.

McEneny’s 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 in the Empire State Plaza. He has also passed 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.

McEneny 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. He 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. A McEneny law also protects children by requiring the use of automobile booster seats. He has also been a a co-sponsor of hundreds of key pieces of progressive legislation.

An active member of the Capital Region delegation, he co-sponsored legislation creating the Albany County Airport Authority and a 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.. Assemblymember McEneny has traditionally hosted foreign legislative groups studying the New York State legislative process .

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

McEneny is Chair of the Assembly Majority Steering Committee, and past Chair of the Democratic Study Group. He served two terms as President of the NYS American-Irish Legislators Society. McEneny was the first 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. In 2006, he was appointed by Speaker Silver as the official Historian of the Assembly.

As an Appointee of Speaker Silver, McEneny also 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 McEneny and his late wife, Barbara Rachel Leonard, are the parents of four children, John, Rachel, Daniel, and Maeve, as well as one granddaughter Madeline Maeve Spencer. He resides in Albany.

Standing Committee Assignments 2009: Steering (Chair), Agriculture; Ethics and Guidance; Governmental Employees; Social Services; Tourism, Arts and Sports Development; Ways and Means.

John J. McEneny, Dem. 38,286; Ind. 2,482; Wor.2,599
Terrence B. O’Neill, Rep. 11,563