By Dan Hust
MONTICELLO — Monticello Mayor Gordon Jenkins doesn’t hesitate when asked why he’s seeking a second four-year term.
“I want to continue what I started,” he affirms.
That includes the renovation of the village hall, a series of low-to-zero tax and fee increases, and the construction of a new youth center.
But the 51-year-old also admits to a certain uncontainable energy.
“Instead of me sitting back, watching, I’m involved,” Jenkins explains. “I’m hands-on. You can’t come just to pick up a check.”
His life has been an active one, from serving in the military to working as a state corrections officer to being a boxer like his father before him.
But it’s also been a controversial one. Chief among the controversies was his 2010 arrest for selling fake Nike sneakers at his Broadway store, G-Man Beauty Supplies.
He pleaded guilty last year to five misdemeanor counts.
“I’m not ashamed of any of it,” Jenkins states. “It’s all political what happened to me.”
Nevertheless, Jenkins has detractors, critics, even haters. He’s fielded death threats and phone calls that were made only to call him a “f---ing n----r.”
“When you’re fighting against wrong, that’s when you’re going to catch hell,” he shrugs. “I don’t have any regrets.”
But he still has issues to face, including a police commission that’s deeply unpopular with the department it oversees.
He defends it as an accountability measure, something to give residents more confidence in their police department.
He denies allegations that he’s screamed at officers, arguing that the disrespect has been toward him, not vice-versa.
“I wanted to get with them and meet,” Jenkins recalls of pre-commission discussions to add foot patrols, “but it was like, ‘You don’t tell us what to do.’”
A cutting of overtime has been equally unpopular with officers, but Jenkins promotes that as a valuable cost-cutting measure, saving over $100,000.
“You have to run [the village] as a business,” he explains.
His fiercest critics blame him for a steady decline in Monticello, but he brushes that off.
“It’s only a handful of racist, vindictive people,” Jenkins says. “I’ve always been helping and caring and giving. What do they do?”
He defends himself as a job-creator (specifically citing the creation of 10 village positions for youth to pick up paper and other litter) and a project facilitator (i.e., bringing sidewalks to more of Route 42 and helping land a $15 million federal grant/loan to redo the village’s water/sewer infrastructure).
He also expects village-supported projects like Tommy Ting’s entertainment venue and an Aaron’s rental store to soon arrive.
“I fight for everyone in this village,” he says. “If no one helps anybody, then we’re doomed.”
Jenkins, who’s running on the Democratic and G-Man lines in Tuesday’s election, acknowledges the good intentions of his challengers, Republican David Rosenberg and Conservative Vic Marinello.
“I admire David for running – he knows it’s a hard job,” Jenkins says. “And Victor is a nice guy, but he doesn’t have the leadership skills.”
As for the surrounding Town of Thompson, Jenkins says he maintains communication with Supervisor Tony Cellini.
“I’m a firm believer in consolidation and working together,” he explains.
But he’s not in favor of dissolution.
“When you dissolve, then you don’t have that personal service,” he says.
And serving the people is what being mayor is all about, Jenkins emphasizes.
“I take every complaint fresh off the bat,” he remarks. “I don’t judge anyone. I don’t play color. I treat everyone the same.”
As a result, he adds, “people in the village are so grateful because I help them, especially poor people.”
He maintains that he stands tough on important issues.
“People vote you in as the mayor, and you have to stick to your positions – you can’t flip-flop with people. So if I say something is going to be done, it’ll be done.”
But Jenkins more enjoys lending a helping hand.
“That’s where it all pays off,” he explains. “People hug me, cry and say, ‘Thank you.’ And that’s worth all the money in the world.”