19 Facts About Jerry Demings

Jerry L Demings was born on June 12,1959 and is an American politician and former law enforcement officer serving as the 5th Mayor of Orange County since 2018.

Jerry Demings is the first African American to hold the position.

In 2008, Jerry Demings was elected sheriff of Orange County, the first African American elected countywide.

Jerry Demings's tenure occurred during the 2016 Orlando nightclub massacre; the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States since the September 11 attacks and the second deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Jerry Demings is married to First Lady Val Jerry Demings, a former US representative and the 2022 Democratic nominee for US Senator from Florida.

Jerry Demings was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, the youngest of five children.

Jerry Demings's father was a taxi driver and his mother a homemaker.

Jerry Demings graduated from Jones High School in Orlando and later attended Florida State University and Everest College, earning a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's degree in business administration.

Jerry Demings has a certificate of completion from Harvard University's Kennedy School, FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute.

Jerry Demings worked as an accountant before beginning a career in law enforcement.

Jerry Demings worked in the department as a detective before he became its first African-American chief in 1998, serving until his retirement after 21 years with the department in 2002.

In 2008, Jerry Demings ran as the Democratic candidate for Sheriff of Orange County, Florida, the chief law enforcement officer of the county.

Jerry Demings defeated his Republican challenger John B Tegg III, and became the first African-American to serve in the post.

In July 2016, Jerry Demings was elected as president of the Florida Sheriffs' Association.

When Jerry Demings was elected county sheriff in 2008, his wife, Val Jerry Demings, held his former job as Chief of the Orlando Police Department.

Jerry Demings is married to former US representative Val Jerry Demings, whom he met during his early years with the Orlando Police Department.

Jerry Demings was a detective and she was a first-year police officer when they both worked a juvenile go-kart-accident case.

Jerry Demings's wife served as a captain in the police department while he was chief and later went on to become the first female police chief of the Orlando Police Department, serving from 2007 to 2011.

Jerry Demings was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2016.