Delmarva’s Own Military Mayor: Jacob R. Day

Major Jake Day is the Mayor of Salisbury, MD. Day grew up in Salisbury and knew from a young age that he wanted to be a part of the city’s leadership when he grew up.

We here at Delmarva’s Own haven’t done any research as to whether there’s an official training plan for becoming Mayor of one’s own town, but the first three decades of Day’s life might serve as an appropriate blueprint for doing so.

Day attended public school in Wicomico County graduating from James M. Bennett High School in Salisbury. Upon graduation he earned his degree in architecture at The University of Maryland, College Park. While doing so he served as the 2004-2005 National President of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) as well as the Editor-In-Chief of CRIT, the premier journal for students in architecture. (True to his educational roots, Day served as a keynote speaker at the 2016 AIAS Grassroots Leadership Conference in Washington, DC.)

Day’s graduate experience took him to Carnegie Mellon University where he earned a Master of Urban Design, and then to Oxford University for a Master of Science in Nature, Society, and Environmental Policy. Day graduated with distinction for his dissertation.

Throughout his pre-mayoral tenure, Day developed his leadership skills filling several roles in relation to architecture and urban design. A Richard Upjohn Fellow, he served on the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Board of Directors. He has also served in various capacities with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), and Urban Dialogues, a growing design organization.

Upon returning to the Eastern Shore in 2008, Day entered the local workforce and worked for Partners for Livable Communities, Becker Morgan Group and Design Collective. In these roles Day offered his knowledge to help redesign and revitalize communities on the Eastern Shore. He continued this work with the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and as the Director of the Center for Towns – a program utilizing design, planning, and implementation assistance to establish vibrant, sustainable small cities and towns on the Eastern Shore.

In 2009 Day began to feel called to serve the United States military and enlisted in the Army Reserves. His is a graduate of Maneuver Captains Career Course, Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course, Officer Candidate School, and of course, Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning, GA.

In April of 2020, Mayor Day who then ranked as a Captain, was called into active duty. The call-up made him the third active mayor to be called into active service while sitting in office. He joined the like of former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, and Major Brent Taylor, Mayor of North Ogden, Utah. Major Taylor was tragically killed in November of 2018 while serving in Afghanistan.

Day was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, to serve as the deputy director of information operations and special technical operations chief for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). After serving for roughly 6 months, in November of 2020, Captain Jake Day was promoted to the rank of Major. Delmarva’s Own Podcast caught up to him not long after the promotion.

This episode went live on Monday, January 18, 2021. Take a listen as you drive around town, catch up on your errands or chores, or whatever it is you do when you listen to podcasts.

You can follow Mayor Day at the following places:

Twitter: @jacobrday

Instagram: @jacobrday

Mayor’s Webpage: ,https://salisbury.md/mayors-office