| Mayor of the City of Fort Wayne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Term length | Four years, no limit |
| Inaugural holder | George W. Wood |
| Formation | 1840 |
| Website | Office of the Mayor |
This is a list of mayors of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The mayor is the chief executive of the city, charged with overseeing the operation of all local government departments. Mayoral terms are four years, with no limit on the number of terms an individual may be elected to.
| No. | Portrait | Mayor | Term start | Term end | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | George W. Wood (1808–1871; aged 63) | May 1, 1840 | July 5, 1841 | Whig | |
| 2 | Joseph Morgan (1795-1851; aged 56) | July 5, 1841 | January 1843 | Whig | ||
| 3 | Henry Lotz (1797–1845; aged 48) | January 1843 | 1845 | Whig | ||
| 4 | John M. Wallace (1820–1866; aged 46) | 1845 | 1846 | Whig | ||
| 5 |  | Merchant W. Huxford (1798–1877; aged 79) | 1846 | 1849 | Democratic | |
| 6 | William Stewart (1st) (1798-1873; aged 74) | 1849 | 1852 | Democratic | ||
| 7 | Philip G. Jones (1808-1859; aged 50) | 1852 | 1853 | Know Nothing | ||
| 8 | Charles Whitmore (1819–1892; aged 73) | 1853 | 1855 | Democratic | ||
| (6) | William Stewart (2nd) (1798-1873; aged 74) | 1855 | 1857 | Democratic | ||
| 9 |  | Samuel S. Morss (1811–1862; aged 51) | 1857 | 1859 | Know Nothing | |
| 10 |  | Franklin P. Randall (1st) (1812–1892; aged 79) | 1859 | 1865 | Democratic | |
| 11 | James Worden (1819–1884; aged 65) | 1865 | 1866 | Democratic | ||
| 12 | Benjamin Saunders (1810-1870; aged 60) | 1866 | 1867 | Democratic | ||
| 13 | Henry Sharp (1809–1900; aged 91) | 1867 | 1869 | Republican | ||
| (10) | | Franklin P. Randall (2nd) (1812–1892; aged 79) | 1869 | 1873 | Democratic | |
| 14 |  | Charles A. Zollinger (1st) (1838–1893; aged 55) | 1873 | 1885 | Democratic | |
| 15 |  | Charles F. Muhler (1841–1899; aged 58) | 1885 | 1889 | Republican | |
| 16 |  | Daniel L. Harding (1843-1912; aged 69) | 1889 | May 7, 1891 | Republican | |
| (14) | | Charles A. Zollinger (2nd) (1838–1893; aged 55) | May 7, 1891 | December 27, 1893 | Democratic | |
| 17 | Henry P. Scherer (1st) (1855–1917; aged 61) | December 27, 1893 | May 1894 | Democratic | ||
| 18 |  | Chauncey B. Oakley (1833–1903; aged 69) | May 1894 | 1896 | Republican | |
| (17) | Henry P. Scherer (2nd) (1855–1917; aged 61) | 1896 | May 9, 1901 | Democratic | ||
| 19 |  | Henry C. Berghoff (1856–1925; aged 69) | May 9, 1901 | January 10, 1906 | Democratic | |
| 20 |  | William J. Hosey (1st) (1854–1937; aged 83) | January 10, 1906 | 1910 | Democratic | |
| 21 |  | Jesse Grice (1852–1915; aged 63) | 1910 | January 5, 1914 | Republican | |
| (20) | | William J. Hosey (2nd) (1854–1937; aged 83) | January 5, 1914 | 1918 | Democratic | |
| 22 | W. Sherman Cutshall (1868–1939; aged 71) | 1918 | 1922 | Republican | ||
| (20) | | William J. Hosey (3rd) (1854–1937; aged 83) | 1922 | January 4, 1926 | Democratic | |
| 23 | William C. Geake (1874-1965; aged 90) | January 4, 1926 | 1930 | Republican | ||
| (20) | | William J. Hosey (4th) (1854–1937; aged 83) | 1930 | 1935 | Democratic | |
| 24 | Harry W. Baals (1st) (1886–1954; aged 67) | 1935 | January 1, 1948 | Republican | ||
| 25 | Henry E. Branning, Jr. (1890–1970; aged 80) | January 1, 1948 | 1952 | Democratic | ||
| (24) | Harry W. Baals (2nd) [a] (1886–1954; aged 67) | 1952 | May 9, 1954 | Republican | ||
| 26 | Robert Meyers (1913–2007; aged 93) | May 9, 1954 | December 31, 1959 | Republican | ||
| 27 | Paul Mike Burns (1917–2011; aged 93) | January 1, 1960 | December 31, 1963 | Democratic | ||
| 28 | Harold S. Zeis (1912–1975; aged 62) | January 1, 1964 | December 31, 1971 | Republican | ||
| 29 | Ivan A. Lebamoff (1932–2006; aged 73) | January 1, 1972 | December 31, 1975 | Democratic | ||
| 30 |  | Robert E. Armstrong (1925–2008; aged 82) | January 1, 1976 | December 31, 1979 | Republican | |
| 31 |  | Winfield Moses (1st) [b] (born in 1943; age 81) | January 1, 1980 | July 8, 1985 | Democratic | |
| 32 | Cosette Simon [c] (born in 1953; age 70) | July 8, 1985 | July 19, 1985 | Democratic | ||
| (31) | | Winfield Moses (2nd) [d] (born in 1943; age 81) | July 20, 1985 | December 31, 1987 | Democratic | |
| 33 |  | Paul Helmke (born in 1948; age 75) | January 1, 1988 | December 31, 1999 | Republican | |
| 34 |  | Graham Richard (born in 1947; age 77) | January 1, 2000 | December 31, 2007 | Democratic | |
| 35 |  | Tom Henry (1951–2024; aged 72) [e] | January 1, 2008 | March 28, 2024 | Democratic | |
| 36 | Karl Bandemer (born in 1945; age 78) | March 28, 2024 | April 23, 2024 | Democratic | ||
| 37 | Sharon Tucker (born in 1972; age 51–52) | April 23, 2024 | Incumbent | Democratic |
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Indiana after Indianapolis, and the 83rd-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen and Whitley counties which had an estimated population of 423,038 as of 2021. Fort Wayne is the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana. In addition to the two core counties, the combined statistical area (CSA) includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Steuben, and Wells counties, with an estimated population of 649,105 in 2021.
Allen County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 385,410, making it the third-most populous county in Indiana. The county seat and largest city is Fort Wayne, the second largest city in Indiana.
Mark Edward Souder was an American politician and businessman from Indiana. A Republican, he was a U.S. Representative from 1995 to 2010.
The mayor of St. Louis is the chief executive officer of St. Louis's city government. The mayor has a duty to enforce city ordinances and the power to either approve or veto city ordinances passed by the Board of Aldermen. The current mayor is Tishaura Jones, who took office on April 20, 2021.
Harry William Baals was an American politician who was the Republican mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1934 to 1947, and from 1951 until his death in 1954.
Walter Paul Helmke, Jr. is an American politician, and the former president of the Washington, DC-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. He held this position from July 2006 to July 10, 2011. He is a former mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana and a former president of The United States Conference of Mayors. As of 2023, he is the last Republican to hold the office of mayor.
Winfield "Win" C. Moses Jr. is a retired American politician from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
George W. Wood (1808–1871) was an American politician and newspaperman. He was elected as the first mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1840. He served only 16 months before resigning on July 5, 1841. He continued in later life as a newspaperman in the Fort Wayne area.
Mitchell Van "Mitch" Harper is an American politician from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Thomas Christopher Henry was an American businessman and politician who was the 35th Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 2008 until his death. A member of the Democratic Party, Henry served five terms on Fort Wayne City Council from 1984 to 2004, representing the 3rd District. Afterwards, he ran for and won the Democratic mayoral primary in 2007, before defeating Republican Matt Kelty in the 2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election. Henry served as mayor of Fort Wayne for five terms, becoming the city's longest-serving mayor.
Robert E. Meyers was an American politician and judge. He served as the 26th mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, succeeding Harry W. Baals, who died in office in 1954. A reluctant mayor, he served out the term of Baals after winning a special election and declined to run for reelection, citing the fact he went to school to be a lawyer, not a politician.
Phil GiaQuinta is a Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing the House District 80, which contains much of southern Ft. Wayne, since November 8, 2006. He currently serves as House Minority Leader for the Democratic caucus of the Indiana House.
Charles Augustus Zollinger was an American Civil War hero on the Union side, and later served six terms as Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana. As a Colonel in the Union Army, he led troops into battle at Murfreesboro, Shiloh, Franklin and Nashville. Born in Wiesbaden in the German Confederation to German parents of Swiss heritage, he emigrated along with his family in 1848, arriving in New York before settling in Sandusky, Ohio and soon after moving to Marion, near Fort Wayne, Indiana.
BAALS is a music festival which is primarily focused on electronic dance music, dance music and jam bands. The festival takes place in the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana and has been organized since 2012. Each year the festival earmarks and donates $5,000 to a local charity, cause or nonprofit. The first edition of the festival took place in 2012 as a downtown block part called House 4 a House. In 2014 the festival expanded to Headwaters Park at which point it changed its name to the BAALS Music Festival.
The 2019 United States elections were held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. This off-year election included gubernatorial elections in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi; regularly-scheduled state legislative elections in Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, and New Jersey; and special elections for seats in various state legislatures. Numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local elections also occurred. Three special elections to the United States House of Representatives also took place in 2019 as a result of vacancies.
Elections are held in Fort Wayne, Indiana to elect the city's mayor. Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to be held every four years, in the year immediately preceding that of United States presidential elections.
Henry Carl Berghoff was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman who cofounded the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company and served as the 19th Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana from May 9, 1901, to January 10, 1906.
Sharon Tucker is an American politician who has served Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana since April 2024. She previously served as a Fort Wayne City Councilwoman from the 6th District from 2020 to 2024, and previously served as a member of the Allen County Council from 2015 to 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as Treasurer of the Allen County Democratic Party, and Vice Chair in 2016. On April 20, 2024, she was selected by her party in a caucus to serve the remainder of the term of Tom Henry, who died on March 28, 2024. Tucker is the city’s first African-American Mayor, and the city’s second female mayor in its history. Tucker succeeded Acting Mayor Karl Bandemer.
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