List of mayors of Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie City Hall houses the mayor's office.

This is a list of the people who have served as mayor of the city of Erie , Erie County, in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Erie's city government consists of a mayor and a city council. The mayor's office includes an elected city treasurer and city controller. The mayor also served as the President of the Select Council for the first nine years of Erie's incorporation. ^[1]

A mayor was limited to only one term of two years until 1890, when it was then lengthened to three years during the second term of Charles S. Clarke. ^[2] After 1890, mayors were an unlimited number of terms. The most notable example of the unlimited number of terms was Mayor Louis J. Tullio who was in office for eight consecutive terms from 1966 to 1989.

#	Name	Term	Party	Notes
48	Joseph Schember	January 2, 2018- present	Democratic	Incumbent
47	Joseph E. Sinnott	January 2, 2006–January 2, 2018	Democratic
46	Richard E. Filippi	2002–2006	Democratic
45	Joyce A. Savocchio	1990–2002	Democratic
*	Patricia Liebel	November 12, 1989–1990	Democratic	Served as Acting mayor [3]
44	Louis J. Tullio	1966–November 12, 1989	Democratic	Unable to complete term [3]
43	Charles B. Williamson	1962–1965	Republican	[3]
42	Arthur J. Gardner	1955–1962	Democratic	Appointed mayor after Flatley was removed from office [4] [5]
*	George J. Brabender	December 14, 1954–January 5, 1955		Served as Acting Mayor [4]
41	Thomas W. Flatley	1952–1954	Democratic	Removed from office [3] [6]
40	Clairence K. Pulling	1950–1952	Republican	[4]
39	Joseph C. Martin	1948–1949		Replaced Hickey, who died of a heart attack [4] [7]
38	Sherman T. Hickey, Jr.	1948–August 28, 1948	Democratic	Died in office [4] [7]
37	Gale H. Ross	1947–1948		Appointed for remainder of Barber's unexpired term [4] [8]
36	Charles R. Barber	1936–1947	Republican	Appointed State Secretary of Welfare in 1947 [3] [4] [9]
35	James Patrick Rossiter	1932–1936	Democratic	[4]
34	Joseph Crane Williams	1924–1932		[3] [10]
33	Miles Brown Kitts	1916–1924	Republican	[3] [11]
32	Bernard J. Veit	1915		Died before taking office [12]
31	William J. Stern	1911–1915	Democratic	[13]
30	Bernard Cochran	1910–1910
29	Michael Liebel Jr.	1908–1911	Democratic	[3] [14]
*	Michael Liebel Jr.	1906–1907	Democratic	Appointed in September 1906 then elected in February 1907 to complete Saltsman's unexpired term
28	Robert J. Saltsman	1905–1906	Democratic	Died in office [4] [15]
27	William Hardwick	1902–1904		[4]
26	John Depinet	1900–1901	Republican	[4]
25	Robert J. Saltsman	1896-04-06–1899	Democratic	[16]
24	Walter Scott	1893–1896		[17]
23	Charles S. Clarke	1890–1893		[2]
Term length extended to 3 years in 1890
23	Charles S. Clarke	1889–1893		[2]
22	John C. Brady	February 1887–1889	Democratic	[18] [19]
21	Frank A. Mizener	1886–1887		Appointed for remainder of Adams' unexpired term [4] [20]
20	Franklin Farrar Adams	1885–1886		Resigned [21]
19	Philip August Becker	1883–1885		[22] [23] [24]
18	Joseph McCarter	1881–1883		[25]
17	David T. Jones	1878–1881		[25]
16	Selden Marvin	1877–1878		[25] [26]
15	John W. Hammond	1876–1877		[27] [28]
14	Henry Rawle	1874–1876		[27]
13	Charles Manning Reed	1872–1874	Republican	[27] [28] [29] [30] [31]
12	William L. Scott	1871–1872	Democratic
11	Orange Noble	1867–1871		[32] [33]
10	William L. Scott	1866–1867	Democratic
9	Fernando Freeman Farrar	1865–1866		[32] [34]
8	Prescott Metcalf	1862 – 1865	Republican	[35]
7	Sherburn Smith	1859–1862		[36] [37]
6	Wilson Laird	1858–1859		[36]
5	James Hoskinson	1857–1858		[36]
4	Wilson Laird	1855–1857		[36] [38]
3	Alfred King	1853–1855		[39] [40]
2	Murray Whallon	1852–1853		[36]
1	Thomas G. Colt	1851–1852		First mayor of Erie [1] [41]

Burgesses

From 1805 until 1850, the Borough of Erie was headed by a burgess. The title of mayor has been used since the City of Erie was incorporated on April 14, 1851.

Name	Starting Year	Ending Year	Date of Birth	Date of Death
B. B. Vincent	1850	1850	August 4, 1803	July 21, 1876
Alexander W. Brewster	1849	1849	1795	May 26, 1851
Charles W. Kelso	1848	1848
William Kelley	1846	1847
Charles W. Kelso	1845	1845
Thomas H. Sill	1843	1844	October 11, 1783	February 7, 1856
Thomas Stewart	1842	1842
Rufus S. Reed	1841	1841	October 11, 1775	June 1, 1846
Myron Goodwin	1840	1840
William Kelley	1839	1839
James L. White	1838	1838
J. B. Laughead	1836	1837
Joseph M. Sterrett	1834	1835
Thomas H. Sill	1833	1833	October 11, 1783	February 7, 1856
Tabor Beebe (acted for Forster)	1832	1832
Thomas Forster (elected but did not serve)	1832	1832	May 16, 1762	1836
George A. Eliot	1831	1831
William Johns	1830	1830
Thomas H. Sill	1829	1829	October 11, 1783	February 17, 1856
Tabor Beebe	1828	1828
John C. Wallace	1825	1827	February 14, 1771	December 8, 1827
John Morris	1822	1824
Judah Colt	1820	1821
George Moore	1818	1819
Thomas H. Sill	1816	1817	October 11, 1783	February 7, 1856
George Moore	1814	1815
Judah Colt	1813	1814
Samuel Hays	1812	1813
John C. Wallace	1810	1812	February 14, 1771	December 8, 1827
George Buehler	1808	1809
Thomas Wilson	1807	1807	1772	October 4, 1824
John C. Wallace	May 5, 1806	1806	February 14, 1771	December 8, 1827

Notes

• A mayor was inaugurated on the first Monday of April 1896. ^[42] Mayors were inaugurated on the first Monday of January 1916 and January 1924, with elections having been held the previous November. ^{[10] [43]}
• At least two mayors died in office: Robert J. Saltsman (1906) and Sherman Hickey, Jr. (1948). One mayor-elect, Bernard Veit, died soon after his election in November 1915, before he could be inaugurated.
• Thomas W. Flatley was removed from office in 1954 in a gambling and bribery scandal. George J. Brabender served as acting mayor for less than a month, from December 14, 1954 until January 5, 1955, to fill Flatley's unexpired term. ^[4]
• Franklin F. Adams resigned in 1885. Frank A. Mizener completed his unexpired term. ^[4]
• Bernard Cochran served as acting mayor from March to May 1910, covering the absence of Michael Liebel, Jr. ^[4]
• The Abraham Lincoln funeral train stopped in Erie with Mayor F. F. Farrar aboard. ^[44] Mr. Lincoln made a pre-inaugural rail trip through nearby Girard, Pennsylvania on his way to Washington, D.C. from Illinois.
• Ralph W. Tilloston, twice the Socialist candidate for mayor of Erie, was convicted in United States District Court on March 20, 1919 of violation of the Espionage Act. ^[45]
• Mario S. Bagnoni (April 2, 1922 – August 5, 2005) was named honorary Mayor of Erie for a day in June 2005. He served eight terms (32 years) on the Erie City Council and was five times elected president of the council. The Mario S. Bagnoni Council Chambers, located in Erie City Hall, were posthumously named in his honor in September 2005. ^[46] He made two attempts to become Erie mayor. He retired in 1971 as deputy chief of detectives for the Erie Police Department, which he had served since it was the Erie Bureau of Police in 1949. He is interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Fairview, Pennsylvania.

References

1. Bates 1884 1, p. 535
2. Miller 1909 2, p. 31
3. "Mayors of Erie". The Political Graveyard.
4. Carney, John G. (1960). Highlights of Erie Politics. p. 184.
5. Lima News. Lima, OH. February 6, 1955.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. Bedford Gazette. Bedford, PA. October 21, 1954.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. Warren Times-Mirror. Warren, PA. September 2, 1948.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
8. Charleroi Mail. Charleroi, PA. February 23, 1955.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. Pottstown Mercury. Pottstown, PA. December 22, 1948.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. Bates 1884 2, p. 828
11. Newark Advocate. Newark, OH. April 1, 1916.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
12. Bates 1884 2, 847
13. Bates 1884 1, p. 523, 528–529
14. Miller 1909 1, p. 251
15. Altoona Mirror. Altoona, PA. September 11, 1906.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
16. North Adams Transcript. North Adams, MA. April 7, 1896.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
17. Miller 1909 1, p. 797
18. Walling, Emory A (1928). Memoirs of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Bench and Bar. Erie Printing Co.
19. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 6. p. 598.
20. Bates 1884 1, p. 365
21. Miller 1909 2, p. 9 – 12
22. Bates 1884 1, p. 542
23. "About Us". Erie Insurance Group. Archived from the original on 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
24. Miller 1909 2, p. 57
25. Bates 1884 1, p. 541
26. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 6. p. 558.
27. Bates 1884 1, p. 540
28. Miller 1909 1, p. 782
29. Edwardsville Intelligencer. Edwardsville, IL. March 28, 1872.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
30. Bates 1884 2, p. 921
31. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 6. p. 544.
32. Bates 1884 1, p. 539
33. Blairsvill Press. Blairsville, PA. May 8, 1869.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
34. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 6. p. 636.
35. Bates 1884 1, p. 536 – 539
36. Bates 1884 1, p. 536
37. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 6. pp. 401, 522.
38. Miller 1909 1, p. 383
39. S.J.M. Eaton. (1868). Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio. Lewis Publishing Co. pp. 274–275. ISBN   0-524-02114-7. OCLC   25263433.
40. Pennsylvania State Archives, Alfred King Collection
41. Miller 1909 1, p. 616, 624
42. North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, April 7, 1896
43. Bates, Samuel P (1884). History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 1. Chicago: Warner, Beer's and Company. p. 529.
44. Syracuse Daily Courier and Union. Syracuse, NY. April 29, 1865.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
45. Erie Socialist Is Convicted of Espionage Today, Warren (Pennsylvania) Evening Times, March 20, 1919
46. Erie City Council Agenda, September 7, 2005 Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography

• Bates, Samuel P (1884). History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 1. Chicago: Warner, Beer's and Company.
• Bates, Samuel P (1884). History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 2. Chicago: Warner, Beer's and Company.
• Miller, John (1909). A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 1. Chicago: Lewis Publishing.
• Miller, John (1909). A Twentieth Century History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 2. Chicago: Lewis Publishing.