Jim Berryman
| Jim Berryman | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Adrian, Michigan | |
|
Assumed office 1983 |
Jim Berryman (born February 7, 1947) is a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He is the current mayor of Adrian, Michigan. He previously served as a member of the Michigan Senate from the 16th district from 1990 to 1998 and as mayor of Adrian, Michigan from 1983 to 1990. He was the minority whip in the Senate from 1994 to 1998. He is a Democrat and was the first one ever to be elected to the Michigan Senate from Lenawee County.
Early life
Jim Berryman was born in Flint, Michigan and attended Adrian College from 1965 to 1969. Berryman was also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Michigan Alpha. Afterward, he worked for General Motors and then owned a small local floral shop from 1975 to 1992. During 1986, Berryman’s floral shop was burglarized by a local 19-year-old boy. The sentencing guidelines called for a minimum sentence ranging between 0 and 6 months in the local county jail, but Berryman used his political connections with local judge Kenneth B. Glaser, Jr. to send the youth away for the maximum term of 6 years, 8 months to 10 years in the Michigan state prison system. Berryman denies any impropriety in his connection with Judge Glaser or the sentence imposed by Judge Glaser, which exceeded the highest recommended minimum sentence by over 13 1/2 times.
Political career
Berryman’s political career began in 1976 when he was elected to the Adrian City Commission. He was appointed to fill the vacancy of mayor of Adrian in 1983 and elected to the office in 1985. During his term, he also served as the president of the Michigan Association of Mayors in 1987 and on the Governor’s Health Occupations Council in 1989. He served as mayor until 1990, when he was elected to the Michigan Senate from the 11th district, defeating two-term Republican incumbent Norm Shinkle. He was the first Democrat ever elected to the Michigan Senate from Lenawee County. He was re-elected in 1994 in the 17th district, defeating Republican Sharon Miller, and was appointed the minority whip by Democratic Party leadership. He chose not to run for a third term in 1998.
Berryman’s time in office was particularly notable for his assistance in the creation of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (commonly known as MEGA) in 1995. He was also known for being a strong advocate on behalf of mental health, child abuse prevention, and increased funding for road repairs in Lenawee County. He was the chair of the Task Force on Protecting Michigan’s Children and a member of the National Advisory Council for the United States Center for Mental Health Services.
After Berryman’s second term ended in 1998, he worked as the Political Action Director for Detroit Edison from 1999-2000 before becoming the Uniserv Director for the Michigan Education Association in 2000, negotiating contracts for and on behalf of teachers and school support staffs. He continues to serve in that position today.
2012 Michigan House of Representatives campaign
On January 6, 2012, Berryman announced his candidacy for the 57th district seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. He ran against the incumbent, Republican Nancy Jenkins. “In this campaign, you’ll never hear me say a negative thing about Nancy as an individual,” he said. “I’m running against her votes.” [1] On August 7, 2012, Berryman defeated Harvey Schmidt in the Democratic Party 57th district primary.
In the election on November 6, 2012, Berryman was defeated by Jenkins.
Personal
Berryman lives in Adrian with his wife Susan. They have three children. He is also a member and former president of the Adrian Rotary Club.
References
- ↑ Gable, Erik (25 January 2012). "Jim Berryman declares candidacy for House of Representatives". Daily Telegram. Retrieved 25 June 2012.