List of mayors of Asheville, North Carolina

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This is a list of mayors from Asheville, North Carolina. This position was originally called the chairman of the Board of Commissioners but changed to mayor in 1857. [1] [2] Asheville historian Foster Sondley wrote that no reports of elected officials were kept until 1845. [3]

Contents

Mayors were traditionally elected in May; however, the term year is typically the year elected rather than the range from June to May. In the early years, mayors were elected for one-year terms. Later, terms were expanded to two years and, then, to four years. In 1915, the Board of Aldermen was changed to the Board of Commissioners. [2]

Year in officeMayorVice or assistant mayorReferences
1842James McConnell Smith [4]
18xx ?James Washington Patton (1803–1861) [5]
1845Isaac B. Sawyer [3]
July 24, 1849 – March 28, 1855James McConnell Smith [1] [2] [a]
1857–1858Isaac B. Sawyer [6] [2] [b]
1860Edward James Aston [2]
1861Isaac B. Sawyer [2]
1862–1866Edward James Aston [7] [8]
1866Montroville Patton [2] [c]
1866J. M. Israel [2]
1867–1868Oscar Eastman [9] [2] [d]
1868S. G. Kerr [2]
1869 Thomas D. Johnston [10] [11] [12]
1870M. E. Carter [2]
1871John Jones [2]
1872–1874 J. E. Rankin [2] [e]
1875W. L. Hilliard [13]
1876 J. E. Rankin [2]
1877–1881A. T. Summey [14] [15] [2] [f]
1882–1883 Virgil S. Lusk [16] [17]
1884–1886Edward James Aston [18] [19] [8]
1887–1888Herschel S. Harkins [20] [21]
1889–1893Charles D. Blanton [22] [23] [24] [25]
1893–1894Thomas Walton PattonEd Hay [26] [27] [28]
1895Theodore Fulton Davidson [29] [30]
1896William J. Cocke [31] [32]
1897J. E. Rankin [2]
1898F. M. Miller [2]
1899–1900W. A. Blair [33] [2]
1901–1902F. M. Miller [34] [2]
1903–1904C. T. Rawls [34] [2]
1905–1906Alfred Smith Barnard [34] [2]
1907–1910John A. Campbell [34] [2]
1911–1919 J. E. Rankin [34] [2]
1919–1923Edward Gallatin Roberts [35] [11] [2]
1923–1927John H. Cathey [2]
1927– December 11, 1930Edward Gallatin Roberts [35] [11] [2] [g]
December 1930Harry W. Plummer [36] [37] [2]
1931–1933Otis Green [38] [2]
1933–1934Wickes WamboltA. C. Avery [39] [2]
1935–December 1938Robert M. WellsHolmes Bryson [2] [40] [h]
December 1938 – 1941Holmes BrysonL. Lyons Lee [2] [40] [41] [42]
1941–1947L. Lyons LeeJames E. Divelbiss [2] [43]
1947–1951Clarence E. MorganFred L. Seeley Jr. (1947–1948) [44] [2]
1951–1969Earl W. Eller [11] [2] [45]
1969–1971Wayne S. Montgomery [45]
1971–1975Richard A. Wood Jr.Calvin W. Marshall [45]
1975–1977Eugene C. OchsenreiterBill B. Horton [45]
1977–1983Roy TranthamBill B. Horton (1977–1978) [45] [46] [47]
Ralph D. Morris (1979–1981)
Norma Price (1981–1982)
1983–1984Larry McDevittWilhelmina Bratton [45] [47]
1985–1988W. Louis BissetteMary Lloyd Frank (1985–1986) [45] [47]
Kenneth Michalove (1987–1988)
1989–1992Kenneth M. MichaloveWilliam G. Moore (1989–1990) [45] [47]
Eugene W. Ellison (1991–1992)
1993–1996Russell MartinChris Peterson (1993–1994) [45] [47]
Barbara Field (1995–1996)
1997–2001Leni SitnickEdward C. Hay Jr. [48] [45] [49] [47]
M. Charles Cloninger (1999–2000)
2001–2005Charles Worley Terry Bellamy (2001–2002)
R. Carl Mumpower (2003–2004)
2005–2013 Terry Bellamy Holly Jones (2005–2006) [45] [50] [51] [47]
Jan Davis (2007–December 2010)
Brownie Newman (December 2010 – 2011)
Esther Manheimer (2012–2013)
2013–present (2023) Esther Manheimer Marc Hunt (2013–2015) [52] [53] [54] [47]
Gwen Wisler (2015–2019)
Sheneika Smith (2021)
Sandra Kilgore (2022–2023)

See also

Notes

  1. Smith's title was chairman of the Board of Commissioners.
  2. In 1857, Sawyer became the first to have the title mayor.
  3. Patton resigned before the end of his term.
  4. Eastman resigned before the end of his term.
  5. Rankin was elected in 1872 and re-elected in 1873 and 1874.
  6. Summey was elected in 1877, 1879, 1889, and 1881.
  7. Roberts resigned before the end of his term.
  8. Wells resigned before the end of his term to become the solicitor of the 19th District.

References

  1. 1 2 "James McConnell Smith (1787-1856)". Caswell County North Carolina. December 7, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Snyder, Hart (July 17, 1960). "34 Have Served as Asheville Mayors In 111 Year". Asheville Citizen-Times. p. 174. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 Sondley, F. A. (1930). A History of Buncombe County North Carolina. Asheville: The Advocate Printing Co. p. 663.
  4. "At a Meeting of the Citizens of Asheville". Asheville Messenger. October 21, 1842. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  5. Burhoe, Agnes R. (1994). "Patton, James Washington". NCpedia. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  6. "Our North Carolina Neighbor". Asheville News. June 24, 1858. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "The Mayor Gratefully Acknowledges". The Daily Journal. Wilmington, NC. October 28, 1862. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "A Noble Life, History of the Man Who Done Much for Asheville". Asheville Citizen-Times. December 13, 1893. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Proclamation. $100 Reward". Asheville News. November 19, 1868. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  10. Reidinger, Martin (1988). "Johnston, Thomas Dillard. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography". NCpedia. Chapel Hll: University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Mayors and Postmasters of Asheville, North Carolina". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  12. "Thomas Dillard Johnston". The Farmer and Mechanic. Raleigh, North Carolina. August 6, 1884. p. 2. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Dr. W. L. Hilliard Dead". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 13, 1890. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Asheville. Its Advantages, Attractions and Prospects". The Asheville Weekly Citizen. October 24, 1878. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Beaufort--An Appeal for Help". The Asheville Weekly Citizen. September 4, 1879. p. 4. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Observations". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. May 7, 1882. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "A Letter From the Railroad Authorities". The Asheville Weekly Citizen. October 31, 1883. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  18. "To the Tax Payers of the City of Asheville". Asheville Citizen-Times. August 1, 1885. p. 4. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Sealed Proposals Wanted". Asheville Citizen-Times. July 17, 1886. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Buncombe Barbecue!". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 25, 1887. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Asheville Bonds for Sale". The Daily Sun. Asheville, North Carolina. July 25, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  22. "The New Mayor". Asheville Citizen-Times. May 7, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  23. "Office Asheville Committee Southern Interstate Immigration Convention". The Daily Commercial Herald. Vicksburg, Mississippi. November 14, 1890. p. 2. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  24. "The Mayors About". The Standard. Concord, North Carolina. May 7, 1891. p. 2. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  25. "Asheville's Mayor Arrested for Fast Driving Through the Streets". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. July 9, 1892. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Thomas Walton Patton's 1907 Diary". Buncombe County Special Collections. June 13, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  27. "Patton Elected Mayor of Asheville". The State Chronicle. Raleigh, North Carolina. May 2, 1893. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  28. "The Gridiron Club Witnesses a Cake Walk". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. November 23, 1893. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  29. "Municipal State Elections". The Morganton Herald. May 9, 1895. p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  30. Wright III, David Calep (1986). "Davidson, Theodore Fulton". NCpedia. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  31. "Asheville Pen and Picture Sketch". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. May 17, 1896. p. 4. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  32. "Mayors of Asheville". The Asheville Times. April 2, 1919. p. 4. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  33. "Mayor W. A. Blair". The Asheville Times. June 4, 1899. p. 8. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 "Six Men Have BeenMayor During the Past Twenty Years". The Asheville Times. March 28, 1919. p. 12. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  35. 1 2 Powell, William S. (1994). "Roberts, Edward Gallatin". NCpedia. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  36. "Was Elected Again". The Asheville Times. February 21, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  37. "Miami Man is Heard from WWNC Station". The Asheville Times. April 1, 1931. p. 7. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  38. "W. M. Smathers Named on School Board". The Asheville Times. January 13, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  39. "City Counsel Assistant to Follow Rigsby". The Asheville Times. May 13, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  40. 1 2 "Zeb Nettles Will Be Swoard in Monday as 19th District Judge". The Asheville Times. December 8, 1938. p. 24. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  41. "18 Employees of Standard Oil Awarded Pins". The Asheville Times. February 8, 1939. p. 14. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  42. "Holmes Bryson Is Expected to be Named Mayor". The Asheville Times. May 12, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  43. "Heroes Ball is to be Tonight at Auditorium". The Asheville Times. July 17, 1942. p. 14. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  44. "Clarence E. Morgan is Named Mayor by New Council". The Asheville Times. May 19, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Housing Authority of the City of Asheville Records". UNCA. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  46. "Ralph Davenport Morris, Jr". Asheville Citizen-Times. January 21, 2012. pp. B2. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  47. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Asheville Council: Women and Minorities". Asheville Citizen-Times. December 20, 2017. pp. A6. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  48. "City Council". Asheville Citizen-Times. December 27, 1997. p. 87. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  49. Williams, Melissa (December 5, 2001). "New City Leaders Sworn In". Asheville Citizen-Times. p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  50. Burgess, Joel (December 9, 2009). "Face of Asheville Government Changes". Asheville Citizen-Times. p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  51. Burgess, Joel (February 14, 2012). "Wataer Forum Attracts Crowd". Asheville Citizen-Times. pp. A1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  52. "Sandra Kilgore". The City of Asheville. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  53. "Delays". Asheville Citizen-Times. December 13, 2013. pp. B3. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  54. "Council Seated, Wisler Elected Vice May". Asheville Citizen-Times. December 2, 2015. pp. A6. Retrieved November 19, 2023 via Newspapers.com.