Susan Scher Weiner (c. 1946 – August 11, 2012) was an American politician from U.S. state of Georgia, and was the first woman to become Mayor of Savannah. She was a Republican.[1]

Susan Weiner
62nd Mayor of Savannah, Georgia
In office
1992–1996
Preceded byJohn Rousakis
Succeeded byFloyd Adams Jr.
Personal details
Born
Susan Scher

1945 or 1946
Albany, New York, U.S.
Died (aged 66)
Gainesville, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materState University of New York at New Paltz
ProfessionPolitician

Background

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Weiner, who was Jewish, was born as Susan Scher in Albany, New York and graduated from SUNY New Paltz. She moved to Savannah in the mid-1980s.[1]

Political career

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Weiner ran for Mayor of Savannah in 1991. She won the Republican nomination without opposition and defeated five-term incumbent and Democratic nominee John Rousakis with 54% of the vote.[2] She conducted a law and order campaign in which she promised to address local crime issues. She also advocated "privatizing some city services, such as sanitation, garbage collection, road maintenance and recreational facility maintenance."[3]

Weiner was the first woman mayor of Savannah.[1]

Under her tenure, six council members were Democrats; only two were Republicans. Eventually, Weiner abandoned most proposals from her platform. In 1995, she was narrowly defeated by Councilor Floyd Adams Jr., a Democrat and an African-American.[1]

Later life and death

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Weiner was a trainer for the Coverdell Leadership Institute from 1996 to 2004. In 2004, then Governor Sonny Perdue appointed her as executive director of the Georgia Council for the Arts.[1]

Weiner died from complications of cancer in Gainesville, Georgia on August 11, 2012 at the age of 66.[1][4]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Shaw, Michelle E. (2013-08-13). "Susan Weiner, 66: First female mayor of Savannah". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  2. ^ Savannah Morning News, November 6, 1991
  3. ^ Savannah Morning News, July 17, 1991
  4. ^ onlineathens.com (2012-08-13). "Savannah's 1st female mayor, Susan Weiner, dies". Archived from the original on 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
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Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Savannah
1992-1996
Succeeded by