- Mayor of Rock Island, Illinois
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The office of Mayor of Rock Island, Illinois has existed since the Rock Island's incorporation in 1841 with Benjamin Barrett serving as the city's first mayor. Rock Island adopted a Mayor-Council form of government. It held that form of government for the next 110 years when in 1952 the city adopted a new popular form of city government, the council-manager form. Carl F. Bauer was elected as the first mayor under this form in 1953. This form of government still elected a mayor but the mayor is nothing more than a figurehead where as the true power lay in the hands of the City Council and City Manager.
The Rock Island mayoralty is a ceremonial position that is often used as a stepping stone for higher political office. Most of Rock Island's mayors did not go far past the mayoralty but a few did, mostly running for State Representative, State Senator, and U.S. Congress. Rock Island held partisan election throughout much of its history. For a brief time from 1911–1923, Rock Island's mayor served as a non-partisan mayor then again in 1923 the City went back to partisan elections. The Republican Party has dominated the mayoralty, the city had more Republican mayors than Democratic mayors. In 1953 when the city adopted the Council-Manager form of government the city once again went to non-partisan elections and it continues to this day.
In 1984 a referendum appeared on the city ballot asking whether voters wanted to adopted partisan elections or continue with non-partisan elections, the referendum was defeated by an overwhelming margin.
Rock Island mayors
Rock Island's mayors since the city's first mayoral election in 1849:
In office Mayor 1849–1850 Benjamin Barrett 1850–1851 Joshua Hatch 1851–1852 Patrick Whitaker 1852–1854 William Frizzell 1854–1855 Ben Harper 1855–1856 Benjamin Barrett 1856–1857 William Bailey 1857–1858 Patrick Gregg 1858–1860 Thomas Bulford 1860–1861 Calvin Truesdale 1861–1866 Bailey Davenport 1866–1867 Calvin Truesdale 1867 B. H. Kimball 1867–1868 William Eggleston 1868–1869 Thomas Murdock 1869–1870 James Buford 1870–1871 Porter Skinner 1871–1872 Elijah Carter 1872–1873 Thomas Murdock 1873–1874 Bailey Davenport 1874–1875 Thomas Gaft 1875–1876 Bailey Davenport 1876–1878 William Butler 1878–1880 Elisha Reynolds 1880–1883 Henry Carse 1883–1885 James Z. Mott 1885–1887 Thomas Murdock 1887–1889 Virgil M. Blanding 1889–1893 William McConochie 1893–1895 Thomas J. Medill, Jr. 1895–1897 B. Frank Knox 1897–1899 Thomas J. Medill, Jr. 1899–1901 William McConochie 1901–1903 B. Frank Knox 1903–1905 William McConochie 1905–1907 George W. McCaskrin 1907–1909 Harry C. Schaffer 1909–1911 George W. McCaskrin 1911–1915 Harry M. Shriver 1915–1918 William McConochie 1919–1923 Harry M. Shriver 1923–1927 Walter A. Rosenfield 1927–1933 Chester C. Thompson 1933 Clarence Hodson 1933 Herman Brown 1934–1935 John Graham 1935 Charles Johnson 1935–1937 John Bengston 1937–1945 Robert P. Galbraith 1945–1953 Melvin McKay 1953–1957 Carl F. Bauer 1957–1961 Warren Yerger 1961–1965 Morris E. Muhleman 1965–1977 James H. Haymaker 1977–1978 Alan A. Campbell 1978–1985 James R. Davis 1985–1989 Robert Millett 1989–2009 Mark Schwiebert 2009–present Dennis Pauley Categories:- Lists of mayors of places in the United States
- Mayors of places in Illinois
- People from Rock Island, Illinois
- Illinois-related lists
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