List of mayors of Baltimore

Last updated

Mayor of the
City of Baltimore
Flag of Baltimore, Maryland.svg
Brandon Scott Oct23 (53269715478).jpg
Incumbent
Brandon Scott
since December 8, 2020
Residence Private residence
Term length Four years
Inaugural holder James Calhoun
1794
Formation1797
Website Official website

The mayor of Baltimore is the head of the executive branch of the government of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills, ordinances, or resolutions passed by the unicameral Baltimore City Council. In addition, the Mayor oversees all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and shares with the Governor of Maryland, responsibilities for the public school system within the city limits. As of December 8, 2020, the Office of the Mayor of the City of Baltimore has changed hands 62 times with 53 different individuals in assuming office in the 223 years of city government, 1797–2020. The Office of the Mayor is located in the historic Baltimore City Hall located at 100 Holliday Street in downtown Baltimore.

Contents

History

James Calhoun was first elected in 1794 under the old Baltimore Town government with a group of town commissioners, and continued as the first mayor under the new City Charter in 1796–97, when the city was incorporated as the "City of Baltimore" under the authority of the Maryland General Assembly, which had originally authorized the port in 1706 and the creation of a town in 1729 and its laying out in early 1730. Calhoun continued to serve for another seven years until 1804.

Baltimore had been the county seat of surrounding Baltimore County, which had been "erected" (authorized) in 1659 as the fifth county designated in the Province of Maryland and first county in northern Maryland, since finagling a scheme to move the courthouse from old Joppa in 1767. The city was separated from the adjacent County by the provisions of the new second Maryland Constitution of 1851 and became an independent city with the same status as the other 22 (later 23) counties of Maryland. Then the seat for Baltimore County was moved after a referendum to Towsontown (later Towson), a few miles north of Baltimore, with the building there in 1854 of its first courthouse structure.

Six individuals are credited with multiple, non-consecutive returns to the office after completing an initial term, and are counted as separate mayoralties. These are: Edward Johnson (twice), John Montgomery, Ferdinand C. Latrobe (elected four times), Howard W. Jackson, William F. Broening, and Theodore R. McKeldin.

The mayor was originally elected to a term of two years under the original City Charter of 1796–1797. In 1920, the charter was amended so the mayor serves a term of four years. [1] There are no limits on the number of terms a mayor may serve.

For years, the mayor was elected in the year immediately preceding the presidential election. However, in 2012, the 2015 election was postponed to 2016 in order to better align with national elections. As a result, incumbent Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had her term extended an additional year. An earlier attempt to move the mayoral election to the same year as presidential elections was made in 1999, but went awry when the General Assembly refused to move the primary election. As a result, then-incumbent Martin O'Malley was nominated for a second term in 2003, then had to wait over a year to run in and win the general election. [2]

Baltimore has experienced major turnover in the mayor's office in recent years, in large part due to corruption scandals. In September 2015, incumbent mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced she would not seek re-election, setting up a hotly-contested primary election in the heavily Democratic city in 2016. [3] Maryland State Senator Catherine Pugh defeated former mayor Shelia Dixon, who resigned from office in 2010 after pleading guilty to misappropriating holiday gift cards intended to serve poor Baltimore residents. Pugh easily defeated Republican Alan Walden and Green Party candidate Joshua Harris to become the 50th Mayor of Baltimore, and was sworn in on December 6, 2016. Pugh resigned on May 2, 2019, amid a scandal in which Pugh was accused of, and eventually pled guilty to charges of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion regarding a scheme to sell copies of a self-published children's book series, known as Healthy Holly, to the University of Maryland Medical System without competition. [4] Upon Pugh's resignation, then-City Council President Jack Young took over as Mayor. In the 2020 Democratic primary, Young went up against Dixon, his successor as City Council President Brandon Scott, former T. Rowe Price executive and Obama administration Treasury Department official Mary Miller, former federal prosecutor and deputy Attorney General of Maryland Thiruvendran Vignarajah. Scott narrowly edged out Dixon, with Young finishing a distant fifth. Brandon Scott was elected with more than 70% of the vote in the November general election, and was sworn in as the city's 52nd Mayor on December 8, 2020.

Some well-known political and historical figures to have held the office of Mayor of Baltimore include:

List of Mayors of Baltimore

#PortraitMayorTerm startTerm endTerms PartyNotes
1
James Calhoun (Baltimore Mayor).jpg
James Calhoun 179718045None
2
Thorowgood Smith (Baltimore Mayor).jpg
Thorowgood Smith 180418082None
3
Edward Johnson Mayor of Baltimore by Rembrandt Peale.jpg
Edward Johnson 180818164 Democratic-Republican
4 George Stiles 181618191 12 Democratic-Republican Resigned during second term, died shortly after.
(3)
Edward Johnson Mayor of Baltimore by Rembrandt Peale.jpg
Edward Johnson 18191820Partial Democratic-Republican Elected by the 1818 electors to finish out Mayor Stiles' term.
5 John Montgomery 182018221 Democratic-Republican
(3)
Edward Johnson Mayor of Baltimore by Rembrandt Peale.jpg
Edward Johnson 182218241 Democratic-Republican
(5) John Montgomery 182418261 Democratic-Republican
6 Jacob Small 182618312 12 Democratic-Republican Resigned from office.
7
WilliamSteuartMayorBaltimore.jpg
William Steuart 18311832Partial Democratic-Republican Elected by the 1830 electors to finish out Mayor Small's term.
8
Portrait of Jesse Hunt (RP-F-2001-7-926-27).jpg
Jesse Hunt 183218351 12 Whig Resigned from office.
9
General Samuel Smith Rembrandt Peale.jpeg
Samuel Smith 183518381 12 Democratic First elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Hunt's term, elected to a full term in 1836.
10
Gen. Sheppard C. Leakin (cropped).png
Sheppard C. Leakin 183818401 Whig
11 Samuel Brady 18401842Partial Whig Resigned from office.
12
Solomon Hillen Jr.jpg
Solomon Hillen Jr. 18421843Partial Democratic First elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Brady's term, elected to a full term in 1842. Resigned from office.
13 James O. Law 18431844Partial Democratic Elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Hillen's term.
14 Jacob G. Davies 184418482 Whig
15
Portrait of Elijah Stansbury Jr (cropped).png
Elijah Stansbury Jr. 184818501 Democratic
16 John H.T. Jerome 185018521 Democratic
17
JohnSmithHollins.jpeg
John S. Hollins 185218541 Whig
18
SamuelHinks.jpeg
Samuel Hinks 185418561 American
19
Thomas Swann of Maryland - photo portrait seated.jpg
Thomas Swann 185618602 American
20
Gabrielle D. Clements, Hon. George William Brown, 1901, City of Baltimore Circuit Court.jpg
George W. Brown 18601861Partial Constitutional Union Arrested and removed from office by the Union Army for Confederate sympathies.
21 John C. Blackburn 18611861PartialNonePresident of the First Branch of the City Council and served as Mayor Ex Officio from Mayor Brown's arrest until October 1861.
22
Charles Joseph Baker (1821-1894).png
Charles J. Baker 18611862PartialNoneServed as Mayor Ex Officio from October 1861 to January 1862, when Chapman was elected until the new First Branch organized and elected a President in January 1862. He was not recognized as an acting mayor until 1989. [5] [6]
23 John L. Chapman 186218673 12 Republican President of the First Branch of the City Council and served as Mayor Ex Officio from January to November 1862. Elected to three terms. His final term was reduced from two years to one year per the new Maryland Constitution.
24 Robert T. Banks 186718711DemocraticThe Maryland Constitution of 1867 extended the term of office from two to four years. The term was reduced back to two years in 1870.
25
Joshua Van Sant (Baltimore mayor).jpg
Joshua Van Sant 187118752 Democratic
26
Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe.jpg
Ferdinand C. Latrobe 187518771 Democratic
27
George Proctor Kane.jpg
George P. Kane 18771878Partial Democratic Died in office.
(26)
Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe.jpg
Ferdinand C. Latrobe 187818811 12 Democratic First elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Kane's term, elected to a full term in 1879.
28
William Pinkney Whyte 1865-1880 Maryland politician.jpg
William P. Whyte 188118831 Democratic
(26)
Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe.jpg
Ferdinand C. Latrobe 188318851 Democratic
29
Sketch of Ex Mayor Hodges (cropped).png
James Hodges 188518871 Republican
(26)
Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe.jpg
Ferdinand C. Latrobe 188718891 Democratic
30 Robert C. Davidson 188918911 Democratic
(26)
Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe.jpg
Ferdinand C. Latrobe 189118952 Democratic
31
Mr. Alcaeus Hooper (1903) (cropped).png
Alcaeus Hooper 189518971 Republican
32
WilliamT Malster.jpg
William T. Malster 189718991 Republican
33
Thomas Gordon Hayes.png
Thomas G. Hayes 189919031 Democratic
34
Robert McLane Mayor of Baltimore Maryland.jpg
Robert McLane 19031904Partial Democratic Died in office.
35
E. Clay Timanus.jpg
E. Clay Timanus 19041907Partial Republican President of the Second Branch. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Mayor McLane's death.
36
John Barry Mahool (1870-1935).png
J. Barry Mahool 190719111 Democratic Lost reelection.
37
James H. Preston.jpg
James H. Preston 191119192 Democratic Lost reelection.
38
Wm. F. Browning (i.e. Broening) LCCN2014708999.tif
William F. Broening 191919231 Republican Lost reelection.
39 Howard W. Jackson 192319271 Democratic Did not run for reelection.
(38)
Wm. F. Browning (i.e. Broening) LCCN2014708999.tif
William F. Broening 192719311 Republican Did not run for reelection.
(39) Howard W. Jackson 193119433 Democratic Lost reelection in 1943.
40
MarylandGovnr (cropped).jpg
Theodore McKeldin 194319471 Republican Did not run for reelection.
41
Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.jpg
Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. 194719593 Democratic Lost reelection in 1959.
42 J. Harold Grady 19591962Partial Democratic Resigned following appointment as a Judge to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City (Circuit Court).
43 Philip H. Goodman 19621963Partial Democratic City Council President. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Grady's resignation. Lost reelection to a full term.
(40)
MarylandGovnr (cropped).jpg
Theodore McKeldin 196319671 Republican Did not run for reelection.
44
1d'alesandro.jpg
Thomas D'Alesandro III 196719711 Democratic Did not run for reelection.
45
William Donald Schaefer.jpg
William D. Schaefer 197119874 Democratic Baltimore's longest-serving mayor. Resigned following his election as governor.
46
Clarence Burns former mayor of Baltimore ...no wiki pic (48591893316).jpg
Clarence H. Burns 19871987Partial Democratic City Council President. First African-American mayor of Baltimore. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Schaefer's resignation. Lost reelection to a full term.
47
Schmoke.JPG
Kurt Schmoke 198719993 Democratic First African-American elected Mayor of Baltimore. Did not run for reelection in 1999.
48
Martin O'Malley.jpg
Martin O'Malley 199920072 Democratic Resigned following his election as governor.
49
Sheliadixon07 (1).jpg
Sheila Dixon 20072010Partial Democratic City Council President. First female Mayor of Baltimore and first female elected Mayor of Baltimore. Succeeded to the mayoralty following O'Malley's resignation. Elected to a full term in 2007. Resigned from office in January 2010.
50
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake1 (1).jpg
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake 201020161 12 Democratic City Council President. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Dixon's resignation. Elected to a full term in 2011. Did not run for reelection in 2016.
51
Baltimore Mayor Pugh (1).jpg
Catherine Pugh 20162019Partial Democratic Resigned from office May 2, 2019. [7]
52
Jack Young (349349237).jpg
Jack Young 20192020Partial Democratic City Council President. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Pugh's resignation.
53
Brandon Scott Oct23 (53269715478).jpg
Brandon Scott 2020Incumbent Democratic Inaugurated on December 8, 2020

See also

References

  1. "Baltimore City Charter" (PDF). legislativereference.baltimorecity.gov. City of Baltimore. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. Annie Linskey; Julie Scharper (April 2, 2012). "Next Baltimore election delayed for 1 year". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (September 11, 2015). "Baltimore's Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Won't Seek Re-election (Published 2015)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  4. "Ex-Baltimore Mayor Gets 3 Years In Prison For 'Healthy Holly' Children's Book Scheme". NPR.org. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. "Archivist clears space for one of city's forgotten fathers". The Baltimore Sun . January 3, 1989. p. 4. Retrieved September 4, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. Biographical dictionary of American mayors, 1820-1980. 1981. p. 13. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  7. Waldman, Tyler (May 2, 2019). "Mayor Pugh Resigns Amid Cloud Of Scandal, Investigations Into Business Dealings". WBAL (AM) .