Mayor of St. Louis

(Redirected from List of mayors of St. Louis)

The mayor of St. Louis is the chief executive officer of St. Louis's city government. The mayor has a duty to enforce city ordinances and the power to either approve or veto city ordinances passed by the Board of Aldermen.[2] The current mayor is Tishaura Jones, who took office on April 20, 2021.

Mayor of St. Louis
Seal of St. Louis
Incumbent
Tishaura Jones
since April 20, 2021 (April 20, 2021)
StyleHis/Her Honor
Term lengthFour years
Inaugural holderWilliam Carr Lane
FormationApril 14, 1823
SuccessionPresident of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen
Salary$170,000[1]
WebsiteOffice of the Mayor

Forty-seven people have held the office, four of whom — William Carr Lane, John Fletcher Darby, John Wimer, and John How — served non-consecutive terms. Lane, the city's first mayor, served the most terms: eight one-year terms plus the unexpired term of Darby. Francis Slay is the longest-serving mayor, having served four 4-year terms. The second-longest-serving mayor was Henry Kiel, who served 12 years and nine days over three terms in office. Two others — Raymond Tucker and Vincent C. Schoemehl — also served three terms, but seven fewer days. The shortest-serving mayor was Arthur Barret, who died 11 days after taking office. The first female mayor was Lyda Krewson, who served from 2017 to 2021.

Duties and powers

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St. Louis was incorporated as a city on December 9, 1822, four months after Missouri was admitted as a state to the Union. In accordance with its new charter, the city changed its governance to a mayor-council format and elected its first mayor, William Carr Lane, on April 7, 1823.[3]

Elections

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The mayor is elected for four years during the general municipal election, which is held every two years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April. The candidates are selected through a combined approval voting primary, with the top two advancing to the general.[4] The mayor is usually sworn during the first session of the Board of Aldermen two weeks after the election.

Under the original city charter, the mayor was elected to a one-year term. Terms became two years under the 1859 city charter.[5] The mayor's office was extended to its present four-year term after passage of the Charter and Scheme in 1876 which separated the City of St. Louis from St. Louis County.[6]

The mayor is not term limited.

Succession

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If the office of mayor becomes vacant through death, resignation, recall, or removal by the board of aldermen, the president of the board of aldermen becomes mayor until a special mayoral election can be held; if the office is only temporarily vacant due to disability of the mayor, the president only acts out the duties of mayor. Should both offices be vacant, the vice-president of the board of aldermen becomes mayor.[2]

Five people have acted as mayor: Wilson Primm following the resignation of John Darby; Ferdinand W. Cronenbold following the resignation of Chauncey Filley; Herman Rechtien following the death of Arthur Barret; George W. Allen following the resignation of David Francis; and Aloys P. Kaufmann following the death of William Becker.

List of mayors

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#PortraitMayorTerm startTerm endTerms[B] Party
1 William Carr LaneApril 14, 1823April 14, 18296Whig
2Daniel PageApril 14, 1829November 11, 1833[C]Whig
3John W. JohnstonNovember 11, 1833April 14, 1835[C]Whig
4 John Fletcher DarbyApril 14, 1835October 31, 1837[D]Whig
Wilson PrimmOctober 31, 1837November 15, 1837[E]Whig
1 William Carr LaneNovember 15, 1837April 14, 1840Whig
4John Fletcher DarbyApril 14, 1840April 13, 18411Whig
5 John D. DaggettApril 13, 1841April 12, 18421Whig
6Peter_G._Camden_(1801–1873).pngGeorge MaguireApril 12, 1842April 11, 18431Democratic
7 John WimerApril 11, 1843April 9, 18441Democratic
8 Bernard PratteApril 9, 1844April 14, 18462Whig
9Peter G. CamdenApril 14, 1846April 13, 18471Know Nothing
10 Bryan MullanphyApril 13, 1847April 11, 18481Democratic
11 John KrumApril 10, 1849April 10, 18491Democratic
12 James G. BarryApril 10, 1849April 9, 18501Democratic
13 Luther Martin KennettApril 9, 1850April 12, 18533Whig
14John HowApril 12, 1853April 10, 18552Democratic
15Washington KingApril 10, 1855April 15, 18561Know Nothing
14John HowApril 15, 1856April 14, 18571Democratic
7 John WimerApril 14, 1857April 13, 18581Democratic
16 Oliver FilleyApril 13, 1858April 9, 18612[F]Republican
17Daniel G. TaylorApril 9, 1861April 14, 18631[G]Republican
18 Chauncey FilleyApril 14, 1863March 19, 1864½[H]Republican
Ferdinand W. CronenboldMarch 19, 1864April 11, 1864[I]
19James ThomasApril 11, 1864April 13, 1869Republican
20 Nathan ColeApril 13, 1869April 11, 18711Republican
21Joseph BrownApril 11, 1871April 13, 18752War Democrat
22Arthur BarretApril 13, 1875April 24, 1875[J][K]Democratic
Herman RechtienApril 24, 1875May 29, 1875[L]
23James H. BrittonMay 29, 1875February 9, 1876[M]Democratic
24Henry OverstolzFebruary 9, 1876April 12, 18811⅓[L][N]Independent
25William L. EwingApril 12, 1881April 14, 18851Republican
26 David R. FrancisApril 14, 1885January 2, 18891[O]Democratic
George W. AllenJanuary 2, 1889April 6, 1889[P]Democratic
27Edward A. NoonanApril 6, 1889April 8, 18931Democratic
28 Cyrus WalbridgeApril 8, 1893April 10, 18971Republican
29 Henry ZiegenheinApril 10, 1897April 9, 19011Republican
30 Rolla WellsApril 9, 1901April 13, 19092Democratic
31 Frederick KreismannApril 13, 1909April 12, 19131Republican
32 Henry KielApril 12, 1913April 21, 19253Republican
33 Victor J. MillerApril 21, 1925April 18, 19332Republican
34 Bernard F. DickmannApril 18, 1933April 15, 19412Democratic
35William D. BeckerApril 15, 1941August 1, 1943½[J]Republican
36Aloys P. KaufmannAugust 1, 1943April 19, 1949[Q]Republican
37Joseph DarstApril 19, 1949April 21, 19531Democratic
38Raymond TuckerApril 21, 1953April 20, 19653Democratic
39Alfonso J. CervantesApril 20, 1965April 17, 19732Democratic
40John PoelkerApril 17, 1973April 19, 19771Democratic
41James F. ConwayApril 19, 1977April 21, 19811Democratic
42Vincent C. SchoemehlApril 21, 1981April 20, 19933Democratic
43Freeman Bosley Jr.April 20, 1993April 15, 19971Democratic
44Clarence HarmonApril 15, 1997April 17, 20011Democratic
45 Francis SlayApril 17, 2001April 18, 20174Democratic
46 Lyda KrewsonApril 18, 2017April 20, 20211Democratic
47 Tishaura JonesApril 20, 2021Incumbent1Democratic
The Mayor of St. Louis has an office on the second floor of City Hall.

Notes

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  • A. ^ 47 people have served as mayor, four twice; the table includes these non-consecutive terms as well.
  • B. ^ The fractional terms of some mayors are not to be understood absolutely literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple mayors served, due to resignations, deaths and the like.
  • C. a b Samuel Merry was elected mayor of St. Louis in April 1833; however, his eligibility was questioned by the City Council as he was a federal officer—United States Receiver of Public Moneys in St. Louis. Merry filed suit to force the council's compliance and in October 1833, he was ruled ineligible by the Missouri Supreme Court.[7] Johnston was elected mayor in a special mayoral election held a month later on November 9. Page continued to serve as mayor until the case was settled and Johnston elected.[8][9]
  • D. ^ Darby resigned from office. William Carr Lane was later elected to fill the vacancy.[10]
  • E. ^ As president of the Board of Aldermen, Primm acted as mayor following the resignation of Darby.[11]
  • F. ^ Oliver Filley's second term was the first mayoral term to last 2 years.[5]
  • G. ^ Daniel G. Taylor was the candidate of a one-time coalition of traditional Missouri Democrats, pro-slavery activists, and secessionists calling itself the "Union Anti-Black Republican" ticket. The coalition was suspicious of the Abolitionist platform of the Republican party, and argued that St. Louis should not be governed by "Black Abolitionists" who would support newly elected President Lincoln in acting, including the use of military force, to prevent secession of southern states. Mayor Taylor worked in concert with Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, until Jackson fled the state capitol to establish a Confederate aligned state government-in-exile. Mayor Taylor then cooperated with the new conservative-Unionist Governor, Hamilton Gamble.
  • H. ^ Chauncey Filley resigned after serving one year of his two-year term as mayor due to poor health.[12][13]
  • I. ^ As president of the Board of Common Council, Cronenbold acted as mayor following the resignation of Chauncey Filley.
  • J. a b Died in office.
  • K. ^ Barret became suddenly ill and died after only 11 days in office.[14][15]
  • L. ^ As president of the City Council, Rechtin acted as mayor following the death of Arthur Barret.[15][16]
  • M. a b Henry Overstolz was declared defeated by James Britton in the 1875 election, but contested the election and was seated as mayor nine months later after a recount of the ballots.[17]
  • N. ^ Per the new city charter of 1876, Overstolz became the first mayor of St. Louis elected to a four-year term.[6]
  • O. ^ Resigned from office to become Governor of Missouri.[18]
  • P. ^ As president of the City Council, Allen acted as mayor following the resignation of David Francis.[18][19]
  • Q. ^ As president of the Board of Aldermen, Kaufmann became mayor following the death of William Becker. He was later elected mayor, in a special mayoral election in November 1944, to fill Becker's unexpired term.[20]

References

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General
  • "St. Louis Mayors". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  • "Laws of the City of St. Louis". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  • Cornwell, Charles H. (1965). St. Louis Mayors: Brief Biographies. St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Public Library.
  • Reavis, L. U. (1876). Saint Louis: The Future Great City of the World (Centennial ed.). St. Louis: C. R. Barns. pp. 74–77. OCLC 2186198. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  • Stevens, Walter Barlow (1911). St. Louis: The Fourth City, 1764-1911. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. pp. 91–123. OCLC 9351989. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
Charters
Specific
  1. ^ Jeffrey, Jeff (October 8, 2018). "Public paychecks: Here's how much Mayor Krewson gets paid and how her salary stacks up nationally". KSDK. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "St. Louis City Charter, Article VII". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
  3. ^ Conard, Howard Louis (1901). Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri. Vol. 1. New York ; Louisville ; St. Louis: The Southern History Company. pp. 569–572. OCLC 32872107.
  4. ^ Schlinkmann, Mark (March 1, 2021). "St. Louis mayoral candidates, voters deal with new rules in Tuesday's primary". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "St. Louis Mayors: Oliver D. Filley". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  6. ^ a b "St. Louis Mayors: Henry Overstolz". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  7. ^ State v. Samuel Merry (Mo. 1833), Text.
  8. ^ "St. Louis Mayors: John W. Johnston". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  9. ^ Shepard, Elihu Hotchkiss (1870). The Early History of St. Louis and Missouri. Saint Louis: Southwestern Book and Publishing Company. p. 112. OCLC 2804761. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  10. ^ Stevens, Walter Barlow (1911). St. Louis: The Fourth City, 1764-1911. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. p. 112. OCLC 9351989. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  11. ^ "Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis". Daily Commercial Bulletin and Missouri Literary Register. December 2, 1837.
  12. ^ "St. Louis Mayors: Chauncey I. Filley". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  13. ^ "Resignation of the Mayor". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. St. Louis. March 16, 1864. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Reavis, L. U. (1875). Saint Louis: The Future Great City of the World (Biographical ed.). Saint Louis, MO: Gray, Baker & Co. pp. 467–470. OCLC 1805694. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  15. ^ a b "Arthur B. Barret. The Mayor's Illness Results in Death This Morning". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 24, 1875.
  16. ^ "A Municipal Row". The Inter Ocean. May 19, 1875.
  17. ^ "St. Louis Mayors: James H. Britton". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  18. ^ a b "The City Hall Change". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 2, 1889. p. 10.
  19. ^ "Next Municipal Chief". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 2, 1889. p. 2.
  20. ^ "Aloys P. Kaufmann". The New York Times. February 15, 1984. Retrieved July 17, 2008.