Former Monticello Mayor Gordon Jenkins is mounting a political comeback. This time, he is running for a village board seat.
“I said, 'I have to get involved again,'” Jenkins said Tuesday at his business, G Men Beauty Supplies.
His seven years as mayor were eventful, to say the least.
He pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit goods from the store, and went to jail for hitting an officer during a fight outside the store with someone else.
Jenkins said that was an accident.
What You Need To Know
- Former Monticello leaders tried again to find their way back into village government; Tuesday’s elections decided their fate
- Gordon Jenkins won the January Democratic primary for the two contested village board seats, but the Town of Thompson Democratic Party did not support him, instead endorsing two other candidates, including Republican Michael Greco
- Poll workers at the Ted Stroebele Recreation Center said they expect a few hundred people to vote in elections for village board and village justice
He was also ordered to pay back the village $44,000 following the botched demolition of the former village courthouse.
The New York State Supreme Court ultimately removed Jenkins from his mayor position in 2015 following a petition by village residents.
Jenkins said he is letting go of the past.
“Whatever it is, take my responsibility and we move on,” Jenkins said. “How can I come in as a trustee or anything with resentment and police and hate. There’s no hate in Gordon at all.”
Jenkins won the January Democratic primary for the two contested board seats, but the Town of Thompson Democratic Party chose not to support him, instead endorsing two other candidates, including Republican Michael Greco.
Greco, who is running in his second election, said he wants to be a “bridge” between the old guard and the new guard.
“I’m in my 50s. I’m not the future of politics here,” he said Tuesday at his friend’s business, Monticello Bagel Bakery. “I’m the guy who wants to get the young people in. I want to see our 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds start to take these roles.”
Jenkins and Greco have similar priorities.
For one, each candidate said his top priority is to improve activities and services for Monticello’s young people. Several voters said investments in youth are important.
“You got to do something for them,” voter Jerry Monroe said. “You got to do something. There should be a place for kids to go to. Period. They have nothing.”
Poll workers at the Ted Stroebele Recreation Center said Tuesday they expected a few hundred people to vote in elections for village board and village justice.