James A. McClinton (born 1961) is a Kansaspolitician, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and former mayor of Topeka, Kansas who served only a portion of his term from January 2004 to April 2005. He was appointed by the city council to replace Butch Felker, who resigned amid a campaign finance scandal (Duane Pomeroy served as acting mayor from November to December 2003). McClinton had previously served on the city council from 1991 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
McClinton's short stint as mayor is significant for its firsts and lasts. He was the first African-American mayor of Topeka and the first mayor to be appointed by the city council (he was chosen from a field of 40 candidates by the city council). However, he was also the last mayor to serve the city with full authority as the populace subsequently voted in a referendum for council-manager form of government in 2004 which stripped the mayor position of most of his or her powers. Instead, a new city manager and the city council would hold non-ceremonial power (the decision to include this initiative on the 2004 ballot was made prior to the appointment of McClinton, possibly in reaction to Felker's alleged abuses). In 2004, McClinton decided against running for a full term as a "ceremonial" mayor.
During his time as mayor, Topeka celebrated its 150th anniversary. The city was also honored by a visit from George W. Bush, Stephen Breyer and John Kerry, celebrating the anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision which ended racial segregation in schools and the renovated Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. Mayor McClinton created a large diverse group of community leaders and charged them to create a Riverfront Development Plan. He submitted that plan to the city council prior to leaving office. The Riverfront Plan was approved by the council, received approval by the Kansas Legislature, and signed into law by former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Mayor McClinton created new community development strategies to revitalize the inner city, his new program received a Regional Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. McClinton, along with other national mayors collaborated with the White House to eradicate homelessness in 10 years. Through mayor McClinton's leadership, the City of Topeka was recognized with several "Best Practices" citations. Mayor McClinton created a partnership with the University of Kansas to forgive tuition for students who returned to the community and committed to community service.
After leaving office in 2005, Mayor McClinton worked with a local developer in several states revitalizing inner cities. In 2007, Mayor McClinton moved to the Dallas area. McClinton is Director, Community Development and Housing, Tarrant County, TX. Tarrant County is the 15th largest county in the United States. He also owns McClinton Consulting. McClinton is the father of two daughters, Jameika (McClinton) Knight and Tawana McClinton and has six grandchildren.
In 2020, McClinton became a Biden/Harris(TX)Delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
Career
At the age of 19, he began a long career of supervisory and management in both public agencies and in the private sector. His career in management and administration includes mental health management, correctional hospital administration, state nursing board management, correctional management, both adult and juvenile justice administration, human resource and project management. McClinton has in excess of twenty years of administrative and managerial experience managing people, projects, resources and a multitude of operational budgets.
Topeka is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 126,587. The Topeka metropolitan statistical area, which includes Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, and Wabaunsee Counties, had a population of 233,870 in the 2010 census.
Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 undergraduate students and nearly 800 graduate students. The university's assets include a $158 million endowment. As of 2008, Washburn also took over overseeing the technical school in the area, Washburn Tech.
Isabell Masters of Topeka, Kansas, was a five-time perennial third-party candidate for President of the United States.
Arthur Allen Fletcher was an American government official and Republican politician, he was a pioneer of affirmative action" as he was largely responsible for the Revised Philadelphia Plan.
The Tornado outbreak sequence of June 1966 was a series of tornado outbreaks which occurred between June 2 and June 12. The nearly two week event of severe weather was mainly concentrated in the Midwestern region of the United States, but was widely spread out to areas as far south as Texas and Florida, and as far east as New York.
William Wallace Bunten was an American politician from Kansas. He served as mayor of Topeka, Kansas, having been elected to a four-year term in 2005 and re-elected in 2009. Before being elected mayor, he served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1963 to 1991 and in the Kansas Senate from 2003 to 2004. He previously ran for mayor in 2001 and in a special election in 2003. To date, Bunten is the last member of the Republican Party to serve as Topeka mayor.
Duane Pomeroy is a Kansas politician and teacher who has served on the Topeka city council continuously since January 1993, was deputy mayor of Topeka, Kansas under Butch Felker, and then became acting mayor from November 2003 to early January 2004 after a scandal forced Felker's resignation. As a member of the council, he was barred from being selected as a replacement mayor and James McClinton was appointed to the position in December 2003 and sworn in the following month.
Harry L. "Butch" Felker III was an American politician and former Mayor of Topeka, Kansas who served two full terms and one portion of a term, resigning in 2003 due to political pressure as a result of a scandal.
Washburn Rural High School is a public high school located in southwest Topeka, Kansas, operated by Auburn–Washburn USD 437, and serves students in grades 9–12. The school is next to Washburn Rural Middle School. In 2007, Edward Raines became the new principal. The "Junior Blue" is the School mascot with the school colors being blue and white. The average annual enrollment is approximately 1,900 students.
Richard L. Berkley was an American politician who was the 50th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri from 1979 to 1991.
Delano Eugene Lewis was an American attorney, businessman and diplomat. He was the United States ambassador to South Africa from 2000 to 2001, and previously held leadership roles at the Peace Corps and National Public Radio. He was the father of actor Phill Lewis.
John Thomas Marten is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.
Robert Stone was the Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives and a prominent attorney and civic leader in Kansas.
Douglas S. Wright was an American attorney and politician who was the mayor of Topeka, Kansas and a candidate for the United States Congress. Wright, who served as Mayor of Topeka from 1983 to 1989, was the son of another former Topeka mayor, Chuck Wright, who led the city from 1965 to 1969.
In the United States, there are several distinct types of mayors, depending on the system of local government.
Larry E. Wolgast is an American politician who served as Mayor of Topeka, Kansas from 2013 to 2018. He previously served as Kansas Secretary of Human Resources during the administration of Governor John W. Carlin.
James E. Doyle was an American educator, businessman, and politician. Doyle served as the mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, from 1997 until 2011, becoming the longest consecutive serving mayor in the city's history. Doyle also served in the Pawtucket city council from 1970 to 1997 by winning re-election to the council in thirteen elections. Doyle has been credited with shepherding the revitalization of Pawtucket, as well as the expansion of the city's arts scene, during his thirteen years as the mayor.
Charles Wesley Wright, Jr. was an American politician, former advertising executive, publisher, and Christmas tree farmer who served as the mayor of Topeka, Kansas, from 1965 until 1969. Wright was mayor on June 8, 1966, when an F5 tornado devastated Topeka, killing 16 people, left 4,500 residents homeless, and caused an estimated $100 million in property damage. He led the cleanup and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the tornado to rebuild the city and Washburn University.
Michelle De La Isla is an American politician who served as the mayor of Topeka, Kansas from 2018 to 2022. She previously served on the Topeka City Council from 2013 to 2018. De La Isla was the city's first Latina and single mother to serve as mayor. She was the Democratic nominee for Kansas's 2nd congressional district in the 2020 election, but lost.
Michael Padilla is an American politician who is the mayor of Topeka, Kansas, serving since January 2022. Prior to becoming mayor, Padilla was a member of the Topeka Police Department for 33 years and served one term on Topeka's city council.
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