Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida
The Mayor of Tallahassee is head of the executive branch of the government of Tallahassee, Florida.
List
Antebellum period
- 1826 Charles Haire was elected Intendant
- 1827 David Ochiltree, moved to Florida from Fayetteville, North Carolina. He also served as a justice of the peace. Ochiltree died in 1834 at his residence on Rocky Comfort Creek. He was a colonel and was a member elect of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida for Gadsden County when he died.
- 1828-1829 John Y. Gary
- 1830 Leslie A. Thompson
- 1831 Charles Austin
- 1832-1833 Leslie A. Thompson
- 1834 Robert J. Hackley, a pioneer settler sent by his father to an area by Tampa Bay. He was dispossessed of his land for the establishment of Fort Brooke. A case on behalf of his heirs went to the Supreme Court.
- 1835 William Wilson
- 1836 John Rea
- 1837 William P. Gorman
- 1838 William Hilliard
- 1839 R. F. Ker
- 1840 Leslie A. Thompson
- 1841–1844 Francis W. Eppes
- 1845 James A. Berthelot, he also served in the General Assembly and campaigned for another office on a no tax anti bond platform advertised on a poster. He was a mason and part of the Grand Lodge of Florida
- 1846 Simon Towle, was also a state comptroller. Owned the Towle House
- 1847 James Kirksey
- 1848 F. H. Flagg
- 1849 Thomas J. Perkins
- 1850-1851 D. P. Hogue
- 1854-1855 Thomas Hayward
- 1856-1857 Francis W. Eppes
- 1858-1860 D. P. Hogue
Civil War era and Reconstruction
- 1861-1865 P. T. Pearce, he was appointed a trustee of the West Florida Seminary
- 1866 Francis W. Eppes, grandson of Thomas Jefferson, returned to office
- 1867-1868 D. P. Hogue
- 1869-1870 Thaddeus Preston Tatum, was a druggist and served in the Battle of Natural Bridge. lived September 27 1835 - July 4 1873 and is buried in the Old City Cemetery.
- 1871 Charles Edgar Dyke, a Conservative newspaper editor of the Floridian & Journal
- 1872-1874 C. H. Edwards
- 1875 David S. Walker, Jr.
- 1876 Samuel Walker
Post-Reconstruction
- 1877 Jesse Bernard, first Democratic mayor after Reconstruction, which ended the year he was elected.
- 1878-1879 David S. Walker, Jr.
- 1880 Henry Bernreuter, born in Columbus, Georgia to German immigrants, he moved as a child with his family to Florida. He was a Confederate veteran who later served as sheriff and police chief.
- 1881 Edward Lewis
- 1884-1885 Charles C. Pearce
- 1886 George W. Walker
- 1887 A. J. Fish
- 1888-1889 R. B. Gorman, served in the Confederate Army and was postmaster in Tallahassee. As mayor, he signed on to a letter from the merchants of Tallahassee to the U.S. Army's Chief of Engineers calling for the St. Marks River to be made navigable to promote trade. In 1889 he reported on negotiations with a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania company for a water works system.
- 1890-1894 Richard B. Carpenter, a shopkeeper. Later went into bankruptcy and had a legal case for exemption given individuals declaring bankruptcy, even though the firm was established as a separate entity. Decided on appeal in his favor.
- 1895-1896 Jesse Talbot Bernard, a teacher and judge who travelled around Florida to hear cases. Served in the Confederate Army. He kept a diary.
- 1897 R. A. Shine
- 1898-1902 R. B. Gorman, return to office of mayor
20th century to WWII
- 1903-1904 William L. Moor
- 1905 John Ward Henderson, he also served as a legislator.
- 1906 F. C. Gilmore
- 1907 W. M. McIntosh, Jr., he also served as Chief Clerk of the state's Comptroller Office.
- 1908 F. C. Gilmore
- 1909 Francis B. Winthrop, the Florida State Archives have a photo of the family home as well as a photo of Winthrop, age 3. Florida State University has a photo of him in what appears to be a military uniform ca. 1918 as well as some of his business documents in a collection of his family's papers. His family owned the Barrow Hill Plantation and a house at 610 North Magnolia, which he lived in with his wife for years.
- 1910-1917 D. M. Lowry
- 1918 J. R. McDaniel
- 1919-1921 Guyte P. McCord, played on the 1904 Florida State College football team and scored a touchdown in the state championship game against Stetson.
- 1922-1923 A. P. McCaskill
- 1924-1925 B. A. Meginniss
- 1926 W. Theo Proctor
- 1927 B.A. Meginniss
- 1928-1929 W. Theo Proctor
- 1930 G. E. Lewis
- 1931 Frank D. Moor
- 1932-1933 W. L. Marshall
- 1934 J. L. Fain
- 1935 Leonard A. Wesson
- 1936 H. J. Yaeger
- 1937 L. A. Wesson
- 1938 J. R. Jinks
- 1939 S. A. Wahnish
- 1940 F. C. Moor
- 1941 Charles S. Ausley
- 1942 Jack W. Simmons
- 1943 A. R. Richardson
- 1944 Charles S. Ausley
- 1945 Ralph E. Proctor
Post-World War II
- 1946 Fred S. Winterle, he and his son were involved in the oil distribution business.
- 1947 George I. Martin
- 1948 Fred N. Lowry
- 1949-1950 Robert C. Parker disambig needed
- 1951 William H. Cates
- 1952 B. A. Ragsdale
- 1953 William T. Mayo
- 1954 H. G. Esterwood
- 1954 H. C. Summitt
- 1955-1956 J. T. Williams disambig needed
- 1956 Fred S. Winterle, a return to office
- 1956-1957 John Y. Humphress
- 1957 J. W. Cordell
- 1958 Davis H. Atkinson
- 1959 Hugh E. Williams, Jr.
- 1960 George S. Taft disambig needed
- 1961 J. W. Cordell
- 1962 Davis H. Atkinson
- 1963 S. E. Teague, Jr.
- 1964 Hugh E. Williams, Jr.
- 1965 George S. Taft
- 1966 William Haywood Cates, Sr., longest-serving city commissioner in history of Tallahassee. Eventually lost to the first African American elected as commissioner. His son drowned in a hunting accident. Was a religion professor at Florida State University and helped found religious organizations in Tallahassee.
- 1967 John A. Rudd, Sr.
- 1968 Gene Berkowitz He also served as a City Commissioner in Tallahassee His wife was a schoolteacher. As a commissioner he voted to reopen the city's public schools in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.
- 1969 Spurgeon Camp
- 1970 Lee A. Everhart, founder and president of building company Everhart Construction Company
- 1971 Gene Berkowitz, return to office
- 1972 James R. Ford
- 1973 Joan Heggen
- 1974-1975 John R. Jones
- 1976 James R. Ford
- 1977-1978 Neal D. Sapp, was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army and graduated from Florida State University with a business. He was a software developer and businessman. He died March 26, 2004.
- 1979 Sheldon A. Hilaman, also served as a City Commissioner. Went by Shad. Hillaman Golf Course is named for him.
- 1980-1981 Hurley W. Rudd, also served as a city commissioner and multiple terms in the Florida legislature
- 1982 James R. Ford
- 1983 Carol Bellamy disambig needed
- 1984 Kent Spriggs, a Civil Rights lawyer who also edited a book about Civil Rights leaders in the deep south. Appeared on C-Span while mayor discussing his duties.
- 1985 Hurley W. Rudd
- 1986 Jack McLean
- 1987–1988 Betty Harley
- 1988–1990 Dorothy Inman
- 1990 Steve Meisberg
- 1991–1992 Debbie Lightsey
- 1993–1994 Dorothy Inman-Crews
- 1994-1995 Penny Herman
- 1995–1996 Scott Maddox
- 1996–1997 Ron Weaver
- 1997-2003 Scott Maddox
- 2003-2014 John Marks, longest-serving mayor in the city's history
- 2014-2018 Andrew Gillum, ran for governor in 2018 but lost narrowly to Ron DeSantis
- 2018-present John E. Dailey