Gene Ferrill is now serving in his new political role as a member of the Albany City Council, becoming one of three new faces on that governmental body.

Ferrill, however, is not new to the political arena and somewhat a household name in Albany and Clinton County due to both his work and political history.

The new council member, who grew up in the Desda community, also served Clinton County as jailer for a total of 20 years over a span of five terms. He served his first term in the mid-1970s and twenty years later, severed four consecutive terms in the same office from 1998 through 2014 before deciding not to seek re-election to that seat.

Ferrill has four children, sons Gregory and Legion Ferrill, a daughter, Sandy Denney and step-son David Riddle.

Over the years, Ferrill has done many jobs, but probably best known for his backhoe work with United Pipe, doing work for individual residents as well as the City of Albany. “I have helped lay a lot of lines in the city and county,” said Ferrill.

Ferrill also worked at the old locker plant, ran a filling station for a short time, worked with a coal company and for a few years worked at Pennticuff Machine Shop.

Ferrill said he decided to get back into politics because he had several people urge him to run for city council member.

As stressed during his campaign, Ferrill said one of his primary goals and reasons for seeking a seat on the council was to help obtain water, not just along the bypass, but to all areas of the county that needed water lines.

“I would like to see water and sewer run along the bypass and for all residents of the county to have access to city water,” he said, adding, “If we are going to grow at all, we have to have access to water lines and a strong infrastructure.”

Ferrill believes the primary duties of a council member is helping city government help its residents by providing basic services and making sure the city is strong financially.

“I would like to see us get more jobs,” said Ferrill, but noted that would not be likely without the accessibility to water lines to attract business and industry to locate here.

The new councilman also said he would like to see more tourism opportunities in the Albany area, noting that a lot of people who retire look for locations that have recreational activities.

Ferrill says he hopes and believes the city officials can work together, along with other agencies, specifically county government, to help both the city and county prosper.

He also added he felt like the city has some good, hard working employees in all of its departments.

Ferrill thanked the citizens of Albany for voting for him, saying he would do as good a job as possible to work for their best interests.