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Biography · Politics & Public Life

Joe Denning

1945–

United States

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Biography

Joe William Denning (born 1945) is an American mayor, City commissioner, and police officer who served as the first African-American mayor of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Denning is a graduate of the Kentucky State Police Academy, the second Black Trooper in the history of the Kentucky State Police. While serving as a Kentucky State Police trooper, he became the first black ever elected to public office in Bowling Green and Warren County as member of the Bowling Green School Board in 1975.

Sources & collection details

Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗

Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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