List of mayors of Louisville, Kentucky

Last updated

Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville mayor and mandala (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Craig Greenberg
since January 2, 2023
Formation1828
First holder John Bucklin
Website Office of the Mayor

The history of Louisville, Kentucky, United States, as a city is considered to have started on February 13, 1828, the date of the first city charter. From the time of its first organization as a village, on February 7, 1781, until its incorporation as a city, it was governed by a board of trustees. At the time when its growth and commercial importance demanded the change of its government, it was chartered by the state legislature into a city of five wards and placed under the government of a mayor and city council, the latter being composed of ten members, two from each ward.

Contents

History of the office

The first election under the Act of Incorporation took place in March 1828. All free white males who had lived in the city for at least six months prior to the election could vote, although mayors were not elected directly initially. The two top vote-getters were referred to the governor, who selected the mayor from the two, with senate approval. The early mayor was relatively weak, acting mostly as a Justice of the Peace, serving a one-year term, and lacking a vote on the City Council except to break ties.

A change to the charter in 1838 allowed for direct election of a mayor, extended the term to three years, and prevented incumbents from running for re-election. The term was reduced to two years from 1851 to 1870, then returned to three, and was finally set at four years by the Kentucky Legislature in 1894. In the early 20th century, corruption and political machines were rampant, causing mayors of both parties to be removed from office by courts. All legislative power was given to the Board of Aldermen in 1929. Mayoral term limits were set at three in 1986.

On January 6, 2003, the city of Louisville and Jefferson County governments merged to form the government of Louisville Metro, and the office of Mayor of Louisville Metro was created.

Incorporated city

MayorImageTerm beganTerm endedPolitical party
John Bucklin Mayor John Carpenter Bucklin.jpg 18281833
John Joyes 18341836
W. A. Cocke 18361836Whig
Frederick A. Kaye 18371840 Whig
David L. Beatty 18411843Democratic
Frederick A. Kaye 18441846Whig
William R. Vance 18471850Whig
John M. Delph 18501852Whig
James Stephens Speed James Stephens Speed.jpg 18531854Whig
John Barbee 18551856 Know Nothing
William S. Pilcher 1857August 1858 [1] Know Nothing
Thomas W. Riley August 1858April 1859 [2] Whig
Thomas H. Crawford April 18591860 Unionist
John M. Delph 18611862 Unionist
William Kaye William Kaye drawing (cropped).png 18631865 Democratic
Philip Tomppert 1865December 28, 1865 [3] Democratic
James S. Lithgow James S. Lithgow portrait (cropped).png January 2, 1866February 14, 1867 [4] Democratic
Philip Tomppert February 14, 18671868Democratic
Joseph H. Bunce 1869March 1870Democratic
John G. Baxter Baxter brooks.jpg 18701872Democratic
Charles D. Jacob Hon. Charles D. Jacob (cropped).png 18731878Democratic
John G. Baxter Baxter brooks.jpg 18791881Democratic
Charles D. Jacob Hon. Charles D. Jacob (cropped).png 18821884Democratic
P. Booker Reed Booker-Reed.jpg 18851887Democratic
Charles D. Jacob Hon. Charles D. Jacob (cropped).png 18881890Democratic
William L. Lyons May 12, 1890 [5] August 1890Democratic
Henry S. Tyler 1891January 14, 1896 [6] Democratic
Robert Emmet King January 14, 1896January 31, 1896
(pro tem)
Republican
George Davidson Todd George Davidson Todd.png January 31, 1896December 1897Republican
Charles P. Weaver December 1897December 1901Democratic
Charles F. Grainger Charles F. Grainger.jpg December 1901December 1905Democratic
Paul C. Barth Paul C. Barth.jpg December 1905July 1907 [7] Democratic
Robert Worth Bingham Robert Worth Bingham (1871-1937).png July 1907December 1907 [8] Democratic
James F. Grinstead December 1907December 1909Republican
William O. Head William O. Head (1859-1931).jpg December 1909December 1913Democratic
John H. Buschemeyer John Henry Buschemeyer (1869-1935).png December 1913December 1917Democratic
George Weissinger Smith December 1917December 1921 Republican
Huston Quin December 1921December 1925 Republican
Arthur A. Will Arthur A. Will LCCN2014718926.tif December 1925June 1927 [9] Republican
Joseph T. O'Neal June 1927December 1927Democratic
William B. Harrison December 1927December 1933Republican
Neville Miller December 1933December 1937Democratic
Joseph D. Scholtz Joseph D. Scholtz (standing, cropped).tif December 1937December 1941Democratic
Wilson W. Wyatt Wilson W. Wyatt 1946.jpg December 1941December 1945Democratic
E. Leland Taylor December 1945February 16, 1948 [10] Democratic
Charles R. Farnsley Charles R. Farnsley.jpg February 16, 1948December 1953Democratic
Andrew Broaddus December 1953December 1957Democratic
Bruce Hoblitzell December 1957December 1961Democratic
William Cowger William O. Cowger.jpg December 1961December 1965Republican
Kenneth A. Schmied December 1965December 1969Republican
Frank W. Burke Frank W. Burke.jpg December 1969December 1, 1973Democratic
Harvey I. Sloane December 1, 1973December 1, 1977Democratic
William B. Stansbury December 1, 1977January 1, 1982Democratic
Harvey I. Sloane January 1, 1982January 1, 1986Democratic
Jerry Abramson Jerry E. Abramson.jpg January 1, 1986January 1, 1999Democratic
David L. Armstrong January 1, 1999January 5, 2003Democratic

Louisville Metro

MayorImageTerm beganTerm endedPolitical party
Jerry Abramson Jerry E. Abramson.jpg January 6, 2003January 2, 2011Democratic
Greg Fischer GregFischer.jpg January 3, 2011January 1, 2023Democratic
Craig Greenberg Louisville mayor and mandala (cropped).jpg January 2, 2023PresentDemocratic

See also

Notes

  1. Died in office in August 1858.
  2. Served as mayor Served as mayor pro tempore. Left office in April 1859.
  3. Impeached by Board of Aldermen for failure to approve an infrastructure bill tainted by bribery
  4. Resigned on February 14, 1867, after the Kentucky Court of Appeals restored Tomppert.
  5. Served as mayor pro tempore.
  6. Left office on January 14, 1896.
  7. Removed from office in June 1907 as election was found to be fraudulent.
  8. Appointed interim mayor
  9. Removed from office in June 1927 as election was found to be fraudulent.
  10. Died in office on February 16, 1948.

Related Research Articles

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council member elected by voters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal borough</span> Former type of British and Irish local government

A municipal borough was a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1836 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in Scotland from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of royal burghs and creation of police burghs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles City Council</span> City council; lawmaking body of Los Angeles, U.S.

The Los Angeles City Council is the lawmaking body of Los Angeles, California, United States. It has 15 members from 15 council districts that are spread throughout the city.

The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 2021 as the city's 37th. Each of the 14 councillors represent one of the city's 14 wards.

The Winnipeg City Council is the governing body of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Council is seated in the Council Building of Winnipeg City Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Abramson</span> Kentucky politician

Jerry Edwin Abramson is an American Democratic politician who was the 55th lieutenant governor of Kentucky. On November 6, 2014, Governor Steve Beshear announced that Abramson would step down from his position as lieutenant governor to accept the job of Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama White House. He was replaced by former State Auditor Crit Luallen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Council</span> City council; lawmaking body of New York City, U.S.

The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bucklin</span>

John Carpenter Bucklin was the first mayor of the city of Louisville.

The borough president are the chief executives of the five boroughs of New York City. For most of the city's history, the office exercised significant executive powers within each borough, and the five borough presidents also sat on the New York City Board of Estimate. Since 1990, the borough presidents have been stripped of a majority of their powers in the government of New York City.

A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council, village council, or board of aldermen.

The Lethbridge City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Lethbridge, Alberta. Eight councillors and the mayor comprise the council. The mayor is the city's chief elected official and the city manager is its chief administrative officer. For the 2017–2021 term, the mayor is Chris Spearman and the councillors are Mark Campbell, Jeff Carlson, Jeffrey Coffman, Belinda Crowson, Blaine Hyggen, Joseph Mauro, Rob Miyashiro, and Ryan Parker.

The Louisville Board of Aldermen was the legislative branch of government for the City of Louisville prior to its merger with Jefferson County in 2003. It comprised twelve wards.

Frederick Augustus Kaye Jr. was the fourth and sixth mayor of Louisville, Kentucky. His term of office extended from 1837 to 1840 and 1844 to 1846.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville Metro Council</span>

The Louisville Metro Council is the city council of Louisville, Kentucky. It was formally established in January 2003 upon the merger of the former City of Louisville with Jefferson County and replaced the city's Board of Aldermen and the county's Fiscal Court. Louisville City Hall houses the offices and chambers of the council.

The government of Louisville, Kentucky, headquartered at Louisville City Hall in Downtown Louisville, is organized under Chapter 67C of the Kentucky Revised Statutes as a First-Class city in the state of Kentucky. Created after the merger of the governments of Louisville, Kentucky and Jefferson County, Kentucky, the city/county government is organized under a mayor-council system. The Mayor is elected to four-year terms and is responsible for the administration of city government. The Louisville Metro Council is a unicameral body consisting of 26 members, each elected from a geographic district, normally for four-year terms. The Mayor is limited to a two consecutive term limit, while members of the Louisville Metro Council are not term limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Saginaw, Michigan</span>

The Government of Saginaw, Michigan is a council-manager form of government with a mayor selected from members of the city council by members of the city council. Saginaw is classified as a home rule city under the Michigan Home Rule Cities Act which permits cities to exercise "home rule" powers, among which is the power to frame and adopt its own city charter which serves as the fundamental law of the city, in a manner similar to a constitution for a national or state government. The present charter was adopted in 1935 and took effect on January 6, 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta City Council</span> Legislative body of the city government of Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members: the council president, twelve members elected from districts within the city, and three members representing at-large posts. The city council is the legislative branch of the Atlanta city government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Board of Aldermen</span> Former legislature of New York City

The New York City Board of Aldermen was a body that was the upper house of New York City's Common Council from 1824 to 1875, the lower house of its Municipal Assembly upon consolidation in 1898 until the charter was amended in 1901 to abolish the Municipal Assembly and its upper house, and its unicameral legislature from 1875 to 1897 and 1902 to 1937. The corresponding lower house was known as the Board of Assistants or the Board of Assistant Aldermen from 1824 to 1875, while the upper house was known as the Council from 1898 to 1901. In 1938 a new charter came into effect that replaced the Board of Aldermen with the New York City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston City Charter</span>

The Boston City Charter is a series of State statutes which codifies a system of rules for the government of the City of Boston, Massachusetts. The Charter is not a typical city constitution but rather a series of amendments, General Court rulings, and case law which form the basis of government. The central organs of the Boston City Charter are the Mayoral Office and City Council. The composition of these offices, their term length, manner of election, and scope of power have changed throughout the years.

References