James A. Garner is a U.S. politician from the Republican party who was mayor of the Village of Hempstead, New York, from 1988 to 2005, and was the first African-American to be elected a mayor on Long Island. During his tenure as mayor, Garner took a lead role in revitalization, redevelopment, and housing issues facing Hempstead, and was a panelist on the 2002 White House Conference on Minority Homeownership, among other roles. In 2003 the United States Conference of Mayors elected Garner its 61st president, a position he held for one year.