Junior Gregory recently became a new Albany City Councilman, one who will be serving for the first time ever, and one of several new members to be serving the current two year term.

Although not a Clinton County native, Gregory, 54, has lived here most of his life, is well known to the city and county, and is now retired.

This was Gregory’s second political race, having ran for the same seat some 12 years prior.

The new councilman was raised in neighboring Monticello, son of Frank and Faye Gregory and noted he was the “oldest grandchild of the Gibson clan,” a well known family from the Cartwright Community of Clinton County.

Gregory moved to the aforementioned area of Clinton County in 1991 and then moved into Albany two years later, in 1993. He is married to the former Kathleen Reneau and they have three sons, Travis and Noah, who teach at Clinton County Middle School and Albany Elementary, respectively, and Dalton, who is majoring in Political Science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Both he and his wife recently retired from the Clinton County School District, with Gregory having worked 30 years with the school system as a bus driver and in maintenance.

Gregory quickly noted his primary reason for seeking a seat on the council was that the city “needs the water system fixed.” He said that issue, as well as “cleaning up the city,” were his two primary concerns at this point.

Gregory also thinks his working with the public over the past decades would be an asset as a council member, also adding he is “easy to talk to. I will listen to everyone before making a decision,” he said.

“There are six on the city council with different ideas, and we need to listen to each one.”

He feels his primary objective as a member of the council is to “come up with the best solution for the majority of the people,” whether it be the water situation, internet problems, animal control, or whatever. “We should be transparent about it,” he added.

Gregory noted that while talking to people in the most recent campaign, doing something about the looks or cleaning up the city was what concerned people most, second to the water system.

He is also a strong believer that the city should enact and enforce a “nuisance ordinance,” which was volleyed back and forth several times over the past several months.

Gregory feels the new makeup of the council is a really good group of people, saying they are intelligent and all could be contacted with a problem at any time. He noted some members had already attended a League of Cities training meeting and there would be more such training for new members in the future.

Working with the county’s fiscal court, local organizations, and state/federal officials “should be a top priority,” Gregory said. “We are all in this community together. We have to work hand-in-hand on issues like the fire department, EMS and so forth.”

Gregory also suggested a possible “joint” city council and fiscal court meeting about each quarter to discuss issues that pertain to both entities.

The new councilman said the city has already begun a new Facebook page to let the public know more about what is going on, and said the ‘one-call’ system being planned could be used for a lot of beneficial purposes, not only city related, but such things as severe weather alerts. “That would be a good venture for the city and county to do,” he noted.

During the short-term, Gregory said he would like the city be able to put a plan together on the most pressing needs concerning the water system and get some of that completed.

He would also like to do some planning for cleaning up the city, and possibly applying for funds for sidewalks, and suggested possibly employing a “grant writer” whose duties would be specifically to apply for grants the city needs for various projects.

In late 2022, there was a suggestion tossed about pertaining to the possible need for a property tax increase to help the city financially continue to provide city services.

Although most people do not like the words “tax increase,” Gregory feels the city “can’t live without some type of increase, from somewhere.”

In noting the tax rate in the city has not changed in about three decades, he said “everything has gone up–especially over 30 years’ time,” he said. “There’s no way the city can get any better without taxes or grants.”

To reduce the size of any tax increase, he said obtaining grants or finding ways to increase revenues would help. “It’s tough for someone (in public office) to say (tax increase), but people want services they can’t live without,” he said.

“I appreciate people entrusting me with this job,” Gregory said in closing. “There is a lot to do and two years is a short time to do it.”