List of mayors of Somerville, Massachusetts

Mayor of Somerville
Former City Seal (1872–1972) depicting George Washington
Incumbent Katjana Ballantyne since January 3, 2022
Seat	Somerville City Hall
Term length	Two years
Formation	1872
First holder	George O. Brastow
Website	www.somervillema.gov/mayor

From 1841 until 1872 Somerville was run by the Board of Selectmen, because up to that point Somerville was still incorporated as a town. The Mayor is the current head of the municipal government in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Mayors of Somerville, Massachusetts

#	Mayor	Picture	Term	Party
1st	George O. Brastow		January 1, 1872 – January 5, 1874
2nd	William Henry Furber		January 5, 1874 – January 3, 1876
3rd	Austin Belknap		January 3, 1876 – January 1878
4th	George A. Bruce		January 1878 – 1880	Republican
5th	John Adams Cummings		1881–1884
6th	Mark F. Burns		1885–1888	Republican
7th	Charles G. Pope		1889–1891	Republican
8th	William H. Hodgkins		1892 – January 6, 1896	Republican
9th	Albion A. Perry		January 6, 1896 – 1898	Citizens and Republican
10th	George O. Proctor		1899–1900	Republican
11th	Edward Glines		January, 1901 – January 4, 1904	Republican
12th	Leonard B. Chandler		January 4, 1904 – January 1, 1906	Republican
13th	Charles Arnold Grimmons		January 1, 1906 – January 4, 1909	Republican
14th	John M. Woods		January 4, 1909 – January 2, 1911	Republican
15th	Charles A. Burns		January 2, 1911 – January 5, 1914	Republican
16th	Zebedee E. Cliff		January 5, 1914 – January 7, 1918	Republican
17th	Charles W. Eldridge		January 7, 1918 – January 1922	Republican
18th	John M. Webster		January 1922 – January 4, 1926	Republican
19th	Leon Martin Conwell		January 4, 1926 – January 6, 1930	Republican
20th	John J. Murphy		January 6, 1930 – January 1, 1934	Democratic
21st	James E. Hagan		January 1, 1934 – January 6, 1936	Democratic
22nd	Leslie E. Knox		January 6, 1936 – January 3, 1938	Republican
23rd	John M. Lynch		January 3, 1938 – January 1943	Democratic
24th	G. Edward Bradley		January 1943 – January 1950	Democratic
25th	John M. Lynch		January 1950 – January 1954	Democratic
26th	William J. Donovan		January 1954 – November 24, 1959
(Acting)	Paul M. Haley		November 24, 1959 – January 1960
27th	Harold W. Wells		January 1960 – January 1, 1962	Democratic
28th	Lawrence F. Bretta		January 1, 1962 – July 17, 1967	Democratic
(Acting)	John R. Havican		July 17, 1967 [1] – January 1968
29th	James F. Brennan		January 1968 – January 1970
30th	S. Lester Ralph		January 1970 – January 1978	Democratic
31st	Thomas F. August		January 1978 – January 1980
32nd	Eugene C. Brune		January 1980 – January 1990	Democratic
33rd	Michael Capuano		January 1, 1990 – January 5, 1999	Democratic
(Acting)	William M. Roche		January 5, 1999 – May 20, 1999
34th	Dorothy Kelly Gay		May 21, 1999 – January 5, 2004	Democratic
35th	Joseph Curtatone		January 5, 2004 — January 3, 2022	Democratic
36th	Katjana Ballantyne		January 3, 2022 —	Democratic
37th	Jake Wilson [2]		January 2026 —

See also

• Timeline of Somerville, Massachusetts

References

1. "Havican Takes Over As Somerville Mayor". The Boston Globe. July 17, 1967.
2. "Jake Wilson poised to be Somerville's next mayor after Willie Burnley Jr. concedes", bostonglobe.com, November 4, 2025

• City of Somerville, Massachusetts (1901.), Municipal Manual of the City of Somerville, Massachusetts: published in the Year 1901, Somerville, MA: City of Somerville, Massachusetts, pages. 175–180; 189–204.