- List of mayors of Louisville, Kentucky
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The history of Louisville, Kentucky as a city is considered to have started on February 13, 1828, the date of the first city charter. From the time of its first organization as a village, on February 7, 1781, until its incorporation as a city, it was governed by a board of trustees. At the time when its growth and commercial importance demanded the change of its government, it was chartered by the State Legislature into a city of five wards and placed under the government of a mayor and city council, the latter being composed of ten members, two from each ward.
Contents
History of the office
The first election under the Act of Incorporation took place on the first Monday in March 1828. All free white males who had lived in the city for at least six months prior to the election could vote, although mayors were not elected directly initially. The two top vote-getters were referred to the Governor, who selected the mayor from the two, with senate approval. The early mayor was relatively weak, acting mostly as a Justice of the Peace, serving a one-year term, and lacking a vote on the City Council except to break ties.
A change to the charter in 1838 allowed for direct election of a mayor, extended the term to three years, and prevented incumbents from running for re-election. The term was reduced to two years from 1851 to 1870, then returned to three, and was finally set at four years by the Kentucky Legislature in 1894. In the early 20th century, corruption and political machines were rampant, causing mayors of both parties to be removed from office by courts. All legislative power was given to the Board of Aldermen in 1929. Mayoral term limits were set at three in 1986.
On January 6, 2003, the city of Louisville and Jefferson County governments merged to form the government of Louisville Metro, and the office of Mayor of Louisville Metro was created.
Incorporated city
Mayor Term Began Term Ended Political Party John Bucklin 1828 1833 John Joyes 1834 1835 W. A. Cocke 1836 1836 Frederick A. Kaye 1837 1840 Whig David L. Beatty 1841 1843 Frederick A. Kaye 1844 1846 Whig William R. Vance 1847 1850 Whig John M. Delph 1850 1852 James S. Speed 1853 1854 Whig John Barbee 1855 1856 Know Nothing William S. Pilcher 1857 August 1858[1] Know Nothing Thomas W. Riley August 1858 April 1859[2] Whig Thomas H. Crawford April 1859 1860 Unionist John M. Delph 1861 1862 Unionist William Kaye 1863 1864 Democratic Philip Tomppert 1865 December 28, 1865 [3] Democratic James S. Lithgow January 2, 1866 February 14, 1867[4] Democratic Philip Tomppert February 14, 1867 1868 Democratic Joseph H. Bunce 1869 March 1870 Democratic John G. Baxter 1870 1872 Democratic Charles D. Jacob 1873 1878 Democratic John G. Baxter 1879 1881 Democratic Charles D. Jacob 1882 1884 Democratic P. Booker Reed 1885 1887 Democratic Charles D. Jacob 1888 1890 Democratic William L. Lyons May 12, 1890[5] August 1890 Democratic Henry S. Tyler 1891 January 14, 1896[6] Democratic Robert Emmet King January 14, 1896 January 31, 1896 (pro tem) Republican George Davidson Todd January 31, 1896 December 1897 Republican Charles P. Weaver December 1897 December 1901 Democratic Charles F. Grainger December 1901 December 1905 Democratic Paul C. Barth December 1905 July 1907[7] Democratic Robert W. Bingham July 1907 December 1907[8] Democratic James F. Grinstead December 1907 December 1909 Republican William O. Head December 1909 December 1913 Democratic John H. Buschemeyer December 1913 December 1917 Democratic George Weissinger Smith December 1917 December 1921 Republican Huston Quin December 1921 December 1925 Republican Arthur A. Will December 1925 June 1927[9] Republican Joseph T. O'Neal June 1927 December 1927 Democratic William B. Harrison December 1927 December 1933 Republican Neville Miller December 1933 December 1937 Democratic Joseph D. Scholtz December 1937 December 1941 Democratic Wilson W. Wyatt December 1941 December 1945 Democratic E. Leland Taylor December 1945 February 16, 1948[10] Democratic Charles R. Farnsley February 16, 1948 December 1953 Democratic Andrew Broaddus December 1953 December 1957 Democratic Bruce Hoblitzell December 1957 December 1961 Democratic William O. Cowger December 1961 December 1965 Republican Kenneth A. Schmied December 1965 December 1969 Republican Frank W. Burke December 1969 December 1, 1973 Democratic Harvey I. Sloane December 1, 1973 December 1, 1977 Democratic William B. Stansbury December 1, 1977 January 1, 1982 Democratic Harvey I. Sloane January 1, 1982 January 1, 1986 Democratic Jerry Abramson January 1, 1986 January 1, 1999 Democratic David L. Armstrong January 1, 1999 January 5, 2003 Democratic Louisville Metro
Mayor Term Began Term Ended Political Party Jerry Abramson January 6, 2003 January 2, 2011 Democratic Greg Fischer January 3, 2011 Present Democratic Notes
- ^ Died in office in August 1858.
- ^ Served as mayor Served as mayor pro tempore. Left office on April 1859.
- ^ Impeached by Board of Aldermen for failure to approve an infrastructure bill tainted by bribery
- ^ Resigned on February 14, 1867 after the Kentucky Court of Appeals restored Tomppert.
- ^ Served as mayor pro tempore.
- ^ Left office on January 14, 1896.
- ^ Removed from office in June 1907 as election was found to be fraudulent.
- ^ Appointed interim mayor
- ^ Removed from office in June 1927 as election was found to be fraudulent.
- ^ Died in office on February 16, 1948.
References
- Memorial History of Louisville, 1896, Volume 1, page 77 by J. Stoddard Johnson.
- "UofL Libraries:Mayors of Louisville". Archived from the original on 2007-04-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070427000425/http://library.louisville.edu/government/states/kentucky/kyplaces/louisville/mayors/mayors.html.
See also
- Cave Hill Cemetery - many of Louisville's mayors are interred there
- History of Louisville, Kentucky
- Louisville mayoral election, 2010
Categories:- History of Louisville, Kentucky
- Lists of mayors of places in the United States
- Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky
- Louisville-related lists
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