Home | Biography | Media | Links

Biography

Jerry Edwin Abramson (born September 12, 1946) is a Democratic politician who is the longest serving Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky. Before his current term as the Metro Mayor of the merged city-county government Louisville Metro, Abramson was the only person to have served three terms as Mayor of Louisville, fulfilling the allowed term limit. Abramson's original third term was extended by one year as part of a state-mandated transition to align the dates of local and federal elections.

Besides serving as a successful mayor in two different forms of government for his hometown, as a young man Jerry worked at Abramson's Grocery on South Preston Street, then owned by his father Roy and founded by his grandparents. He later gained a background in legal practice in the firm Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, PLLC. Before his first run for mayor, Abramson also served as alderman and general counsel to the governor. From 1993 to 1994, he was President of the United States Conference of Mayors.

Abramson's tenure as mayor from 1985 to 1998 was marked by historic growth and economic progress. Abramson began the unique, nonprofit civic beautification program Operation Brightside, led the $700 million expansion of Louisville International Airport, revitalized the city’s waterfront with the creation of Waterfront Park and expanded the local economy by recruiting the international headquarters for Tricon Global Restaurants (known as Yum! Brands, Inc. today), Presbyterian Church (USA) and UPS Air Hub 2000.

After the merger of Louisville and Jefferson County was approved, the previous term limits no longer applied and Abramson was elected again in 2002 by 73.4 percent of the vote. Despite many attempts to get him to run statewide and much speculation, he has so far refused to do so.

Abramson's long period of service to Louisville as its mayor, as well as the fact that Abramson has never faced strong opposition in mayoral elections heretofore, has led to the nickname of "mayor for life" being used locally, including by Louisville's own popular radio personality Terry Meiners. Abramson's popularity has resulted in Bluegrass Poll approval ratings ranging from a 91 percent high in 1990 to a 73 percent low in 1994.

Abramson was re-elected mayor in November 2006; his opponent was Metro Council member Kelly Downard (R).

Abramson is the first person of Jewish faith to have served as mayor of Louisville. He lives in the Crescent Hill neighborhood.

Kentucky Monthly magazine has named Abramson Kentucky's best civic figure four times.

 
Jerry E. Abramson Credentials
 
Abramson has led efforts to:
  • Reduce the size of government by 10 percent while improving the delivery of basic services.
  • Strengthen public safety, adding police officers and launching MetroSafe – a new communications network for local and regional emergency responders.
  • Keep Louisville’s economy strong by attracting and creating new jobs, with initiatives in the life-sciences area and a prize-winning program to support the community’s fastest-growing local companies.
  • Create a "City of Parks”, a public-private partnership to add 3,000 acres of suburban parkland, establish a 100-mile loop trail around the county, and improve existing parks.
  • Continue the community’s 20-year renaissance downtown with 4th Street Live, the Frazier International History Museum, the Muhammad Ali Center, new hotels, a tripling of downtown housing opportunities - and plans underway for the new riverfront arena and Museum Plaza tower.
  • Begin a $230 million transformation of the former Clarksdale public housing project east of downtown into a mixed-income neighborhood called Liberty Green – another public-private partnership that will also add hundreds of additional new and rehabbed housing units in nearby neighborhoods.
  • Improve public health by establishing a new community-wide Emergency Medical Service to shave life-saving seconds off response times, and launching a Healthy Hometown Movement with community partners to cut high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Abramson's accomplishments include:

  • Leading a $700 million expansion of Louisville International Airport, resulting in dramatically improved airline service and the creation of 23,000 jobs at the UPS WorldPort hub.
  • Revitalizing the Louisville's waterfront with the creation of Waterfront Park - an award-winning ‘green front door’ for the city that attracts 1.5 million visitors annually.
  • Expanding the local economy by recruiting the international headquarters for YUM! Brands, the UPS Air Hub and Presbyterian USA.

Abramson has earned regional and national accolades for his urban leadership:

2005 - Named Kentucky’s best civic leader for the fifth time by Kentucky Monthly magazine.

2003 – Named a Public Official of the Year, Governing magazine.

1987 – One of the Top 20 Mayors in America, U.S. News & World Report.

1986 - One of the Top 25 most dynamic Mayors in America, Newsweek.

Return to top