- List of mayors of Washington, D.C.
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Current mayor Vincent Gray (right) was sworn-in on January 2, 2011 with his predecessor, Adrian Fenty (left).
The list of mayors of Washington, D.C. is a reflection of the changing structure of its local government. Until 1871, three separate municipalities were located within the District of Columbia and each was governed separately: the City of Washington, Georgetown, and unincorporated territory known as Washington County. With the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, the three municipalities within the District of Columbia were abolished in favor of a single District government, whose chief executive was a territorial Governor. This office was abolished in 1874, and replaced with a three-member Board of Commissioners appointed by the President. This system existed until 1975 when the District of Columbia Home Rule Act allowed for District residents to elect their own mayor.
Currently, the Mayor of the District of Columbia is popularly elected to a four-year term with no term limits. Even though Washington, D.C. is not in a state, the city government also has certain state-level responsibilities, making some of the mayor's duties analogous to those of United States governors. The current mayor of Washington, D.C. is Vincent C. Gray, a Democrat, who has served in the role since January 2, 2011.
The lists on this page include all of the chief executives of the District of Columbia in their various forms.
Contents
Mayors of the City of Washington (1802–1871)
The persons listed below are the mayors of the now-defunct City of Washington, which was officially granted a formal government in 1802. The Mayor of Washington had authority over city services, appointments, and local tax assessments; however, the duties of the mayor mostly consisted of requesting appropriations from Congress to finance the city. From 1802 to 1812, the mayor was appointed by the President of the United States. Between 1812 and 1820, the city's mayors were then selected by a city council. From 1820 to 1871 the mayor was popularly elected. The present-day boundaries of the "Old City" were Rock Creek to the west, Florida Avenue to the north, and the Anacostia River to the east and south.
Mayor Term Began Term Ended Robert Brent 1802 1812 Daniel Rapine 1812 1813 James H. Blake 1813 1817 Benjamin G. Orr 1817 1819 Samuel N. Smallwood 1819 1822 Thomas Carbery 1822 1824 Samuel N. Smallwood 1824 1824 Roger C. Weightman 1824 1827 Joseph Gales, Jr. 1827 1830 John P. Van Ness 1830 1834 William A. Bradley 1834 1836 Peter Force 1836 1840 William Winston Seaton 1840 1850 Walter Lenox 1850 1852 John Walker Maury 1852 1854 John Thomas Towers 1854 1856 William B. Magruder 1856 1858 James G. Berret 1858 1861 Richard Wallach 1861 1868 Sayles J. Bowen 1868 1870 Matthew Gault Emery 1870 1871 Mayors of Georgetown (1790–1871)
Georgetown was a town in Maryland until 1801, when it became a municipality within the District of Columbia. From 1802 until 1871, mayors of Georgetown were elected to one-year terms, with no term limits.[1] Like the City of Washington and Washington County, Georgetown's local government ceased to exist in 1871, when Congress merged the three entities into the single District government.
Mayor Term Began Term Ended Robert Peter 1790 1791 Thomas Beale 1791 1792 Uriah Forrest 1792 1793 John Threlkeld 1793 1794 Peter Casenave 1794 1795 Thomas Turner 1795 1796 Daniel Reintzel 1796 1797 Lloyd Beall 1797 1799 Daniel Reintzel 1799 1804 Thomas Corcoran 1805 1806 Daniel Reintzel 1806 1807 Thomas Corcoran 1808 1810 David Wiley 1811 1812 Thomas Corcoran 1812 1813 John Peter 1813 1818 Henry Foxall 1819 1820 John Peter 1821 1822 John Cox 1823 1845 Henry Addison 1845 1857 Richard R. Crawford 1857 1861 Henry Addison 1861 1867 Charles D. Welch 1867 1869 Henry M. Sweeney 1869 1871 Governors of the District of Columbia (1871–1874)
In 1871, Congress created a territorial government for the entire District of Columbia, which was headed by a governor appointed by the President of the United States to a four-year term. Due to alleged corruption and mismanagement, the territorial government was discontinued in 1874.
Governor Term Began Term Ended Henry D. Cooke 1871 1873 Alexander Robey Shepherd 1873 1874 Presidents of the Board of Commissioners (1874–1975)
From 1874 to 1974, the District was administered by a Board of Commissioners, whose members were appointed by the President. There were three members of the Board: one Democrat, one Republican, and one civil engineer with no specified party. The three Commissioners would then elect one of themselves to be president of the commission. This list features the Presidents of the Board of Commissioners; while not quite analogous to the role of a mayor, the president of the commission was the city's Chief Executive.
President Term Began Term Ended Political Party William Dennison 1874 1878 Republican Seth Ledyard Phelps 1878 1879 Republican Josiah Dent 1879 1882 Democratic Joseph Rodman West 1882 1883 Republican James Barker Edmonds 1883 1886 Democratic William Benning Webb 1886 1889 John Watkinson Douglass 1889 1893 John Wesley Ross 1893 1898 John Brewer Wright 1898 1900 Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland 1901 1909 Cuno Hugo Rudolph 1910 1913 Oliver Peck Newman 1913 1917 Louis Brownlow 1917 1920 Charles Willauer Kutz (acting) 1920 1920 John Thilman Hendrick 1920 1921 Cuno Hugo Rudolph 1921 1926 Proctor L. Dougherty 1926 1930 Luther Halsey Reichelderfer 1930 1933 Melvin Colvin Hazen 1933 1941 John Russell Young 1941 1952 F. Joseph Donohue 1952 1953 Samuel Spencer 1953 1956 Robert E. McLaughlin 1956 1961 Walter Nathan Tobriner 1961 1967 Democratic Walter Washington 1967 1975 Democratic Mayors of the District of Columbia (1975–present)
Main article: Mayor of the District of ColumbiaSee also: District of Columbia home ruleSince 1975, the District has been administered by a popularly elected mayor and city council.
Mayor Years Political Party Walter Washington January 2, 1975 – January 2, 1979 Democratic Marion Barry January 2, 1979 – January 2, 1991 Democratic Sharon Pratt Kelly[2] January 2, 1991 – January 2, 1995 Democratic Marion Barry January 2, 1995 – January 2, 1999 Democratic Anthony A. Williams January 2, 1999 – January 2, 2007 Democratic Adrian Fenty January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2011 Democratic Vincent C. Gray January 2, 2011 – present Democratic References
Chief executives of the United States President State governors
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- Mayors of Washington, D.C.
- Lists of governors of U.S. insular areas
- District of Columbia-related lists
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