The federal district of the United States was first designated by the amended Residence Act of 1790. That Act designated that the President could appoint three commissioners to locate, define and survey an area not exceeding ten miles square as the capital district, following the Constitutional mandate to do so.[1] From 1791 to 1802 the District was managed by that three-member Board of Commissioners of the Federal City as listed below.
With the passage of the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, the District was brought under the direct political control of Congress. The Board of Commissioners was dissolved. That Act made no provision for an executive for the District as a whole. The District consisted of five political subdivisions: three cities with their own municipal governments, and two rural counties. The pre-existing city of Georgetown and its mayors are listed below. The pre-existing city of Alexandria, Virginia, had its own list of mayors before, during and after its inclusion in the District. And the new City of Washington was chartered shortly after the District, in 1802. Its mayors also appear below. The rural county west of the Potomac, formerly Virginia, was Alexandria County. Finally to the east and outside the cities, formerly Maryland, lay Washington County, D.C. (Both counties were governed by levy courts made of providentially appointed Justices of the Peace, whose members do not appear below. Prior to 1802, those Justices of the Peace were appointed by the governors of Maryland and Virginia, after which they were appointed by the President until they were abolished in 1871).
In 1846, Alexandria County and the City of Alexandria returned to Virginia, leaving the District with two independent cities and one county.
In 1871, with the District of Columbia Organic Act, those three subdivisions within the District were unified into a single government, whose chief executive was a territorial Governor. As listed below, only two served before this office was abolished in 1874, and replaced with a temporary three-member Board of Commissioners appointed by the President. The board was made permanent in 1878 and this system continued until 1967, when it was replaced by a single mayor-commissioner and city council appointed by the President. Finally, in 1974, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act allowed for District residents to elect their own mayor.
Currently, the Mayor of the District of Columbia is popularly elected to a four-year term with no term limits. Even though District of Columbia is not a state, the district government also has certain state-level responsibilities, making some of the mayor's duties analogous to those of United States governors. The current mayor of the District of Columbia is Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, who has served in the role since January 2, 2015.
The lists on this page include all of the chief executives of the District of Columbia in their various forms.
Commissioners of the Federal City (1791–1802)
The 1790 Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States, Act of March 3, 1791, 1 Stat. 214, set up a board of three commissioners to survey and define the territory of the Federal City, and to purchase land for development and oversee the construction of all federal buildings. Some reports name Thomas Johnson as the chairman of the Board of Commissioners, but it appears there was no chair, even if Johnson acted in the manner of a chair. The commission had very little to do with the municipal regulation of the District and when their board was dissolved their powers were transferred to the "Superintendent", "Commissioner to Superintend Public Buildings" and the "Chief Engineer of the United States Army." The local public affairs were instead governed by a Levy Court made up of Justices of the Peace who, until passage of the Organic Act of 1801 were commissioned by the governors of Virginia (for Arlington County) and Maryland (for Prince George's and Montgomery County – the north part of the District remained part of these counties until 1801), and in the Federal city their powers were transferred to the Mayor and local government.[2] During this time William Thornton, Robert Bowie, Daniel Carroll, and Robert Brent were some of the men who served on the Levy Court of Prince George's County.[3]
The persons listed below are the mayors of the now-defunct City of Washington, which was officially granted a formal government in 1802. The Mayor of Washington had authority over city services, appointments, and local tax assessments; however, the duties of the mayor mostly consisted of requesting appropriations from Congress to finance the city. From 1802 to 1812, the mayor was appointed by the President of the United States. Between 1812 and 1820, the city's mayors were then selected by a city council. From 1820 to 1871 the mayor was popularly elected. The present-day boundaries of the "Old City" were Rock Creek to the west, Florida Avenue to the north, and the Anacostia River to the east and south.
Starting in March 1801 the County of Washington, which included the city (or corporation) of Washington and the city of Georgetown, was governed by a Levy Court, of unfixed number, made up of Justices of the Peace chosen by the President. It was one of these Justice of the Peace appointments, made in the 24 hours between the passage of the Organic Act of 1801 and the end of John Adams' term that became the subject of Marbury v. Madison. In 1804, the Levy Court lost the power to tax the residents of Washington City, but in 1808 the city was required to contribute to the revenue of the county and in 1826 the Levy Court lost the power to tax those in Georgetown.[3] An 1812 law fixed the number of judges to seven, two from east of Rock Creek but outside of Washington City, two from west of Rock Creek but outside of Georgetown and three from Georgetown, with none from Washington City until an 1848 law added four members from the city. Even when the City of Washington was not represented on the Levy Court, they were still required to contribute to the costs of the county, except for bridges and roads outside its boundaries. The court was again changed in 1863 when it was reduced to nine members, three from the city of Washington, one from Georgetown, and five from county lands outside the city. The Levy Court was disbanded in 1871 with the Mayor when congress consolidated all the remaining governments in DC. Some of the more prominent members of the Levy Court include Thomas Corcoran, John Cox, George W. Riggs, and Sayles J. Bown[2]
From 1751 to 1789, Georgetown was governed by Commissioners who were either appointed by an act of Maryland or were elected by the other commissioners to fill vacancies. in 1790 the government was changed to include a Mayor, a Recorder, Aldermen and a Common Council. During this time it was governed by nineteen different commissioners.[8]
Georgetown was a town in Maryland until 1801, when it became a municipality within the District of Columbia. From 1802 until 1871, mayors of Georgetown were elected to one-year terms, with no term limits.[9] Like the City of Washington and Washington County, Georgetown's local government ceased to exist in 1871, when Congress merged the three entities into the single District government.[10]
In 1871, Congress created a territorial government for the entire District of Columbia, which was headed by a governor appointed by the President of the United States to a four-year term. Due to alleged mismanagement and corruption, including allegations of contractors bribing members of the District legislature to receive contracts,[11] the territorial government was discontinued in 1874.
Commissioners of the District of Columbia (1874–1878)
From 1874 to 1878 the District was administered by a three-member, temporary Board of Commissioners with both legislative and executive authority, all appointed by the President. They were assisted by an engineer (Captain Richard L. Hoxie). The law made no provision for a President to this board of temporary Commissioners, and none was ever elected, but Commissioner Dennison acted in that capacity at all board meetings he attended.
Presidents of the Board of Commissioners (1878–1967)
In 1878, the Board of Commissioners was made permanent and re-organized. From 1878 to 1967, the District was administered by this new three-member Board of Commissioners with both legislative and executive authority, all appointed by the President. The board comprised one Democrat, one Republican, and one civil engineer with no specified party. The three Commissioners would then elect one of their number to serve as president of the board. While not quite analogous to the role of a mayor, the president of the board was the district's Chief Executive.
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson presented to Congress a plan to reorganize the District's government.[15] The three-commissioner system was replaced by a government headed by a single mayor-commissioner, an assistant mayor-commissioner, and a nine-member district council, all appointed by the president.[15] The mayor-commissioner and his assistant served four-year terms,[16] while the councilmembers served three-year terms.[15] While the council was officially nonpartisan, no more than six of Councilmembers could be of the same political party.[16] Councilmembers were expected to work part-time.[15] All councilmembers and either the mayor-commissioner or his assistant was required to have been a resident of the District of Columbia for the three years preceding appointment.[16] All must be District residents while serving their terms in office.[16]
Council members had the quasi-legislative powers of the former Board of Commissioners, approving the budget and setting real estate tax rates.[15] The mayor-commissioner could, without any Congressional approval, consolidate District agencies and transfer money between agencies, powers that the preceding Board of Commissioners had not possessed since 1952.[17] The mayor-commissioner could veto the actions of the council, but the council could override the veto with a three-fourths vote.[15]
Despite a push by many Republicans and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives to reject Johnson's plan, the House of Representatives accepted the new form of government for the District by a vote of 244 to 160.[18] Johnson said that the new District government would be more effective and efficient.[15]
Walter E. Washington was appointed the first mayor-commissioner, and Thomas W. Fletcher was appointed the first assistant mayor-commissioner.[19] The first Council appointments were Chairman John W. Hechinger, Vice Chairman Walter E. Fauntroy, Stanley J. Anderson, Margaret A. Haywood, John A. Nevius, William S. Thompson, J.C. Turner, Polly Shackleton, and Joseph P. Yeldell.[19]
Walter Edward Washington was an American civil servant and politician. After a career in public housing, Washington was the chief executive of the District of Columbia from 1967 to 1979, serving as the first and only Mayor-Commissioner of the District of Columbia from 1967 to 1974, and as the first Mayor of the District of Columbia from 1975 to 1979.
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen directly by the federal government.
District of Columbia home rule is the District of Columbia residents' ability to govern their local affairs. The District is the federal capital; as such, the Constitution grants the United States Congress exclusive jurisdiction over the District in "all cases whatsoever".
The County of Washington was one of five original political entities within the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States. Formed by the Organic Act of 1801 from parts of Montgomery and Prince George's County, Maryland, Washington County referred to all of the District of Columbia "on the east side of the Potomac, together with the islands therein." The bed of the Potomac River was also considered to be part of Washington County.
The history of Washington, D.C., is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. The site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was first selected by President George Washington. The city came under attack during the War of 1812 in an episode known as the Burning of Washington. Upon the government's return to the capital, it had to manage the reconstruction of numerous public buildings, including the White House and the United States Capitol. The McMillan Plan of 1901 helped restore and beautify the downtown core area, including establishing the National Mall, along with numerous monuments and museums.
District of Columbia retrocession is the act of returning some or all of the land that had been ceded to the federal government of the United States for the purpose of creating its federal district for the new national capital, which was moved from Philadelphia to what was then called the City of Washington in 1800. The land was originally ceded to the federal government by Virginia and Maryland in 1790. After moving through various stages of federal and state approval, the Virginia portion was returned in March 1847.
Alexander Robey Shepherd, was one of the most controversial and influential civic leaders in the history of Washington, D.C., and one of the most powerful big-city political bosses of the Gilded Age. He was head of the DC Board of Public Works from 1871 to 1873 and Governor of the District of Columbia from 1873 to 1874. He is known, particularly in Washington, as "The Father of Modern Washington."
Sayles Jenks Bowen son of Josiah Bowen and Deborah Jenks, was the twentieth Mayor of Washington City, District of Columbia, from 1868 to 1870 and, as of 2022, the last Republican mayor in the District of Columbia or any of its sub-jurisdictions. Bowen was one of the most controversial mayors in the history of the American capital, because of his outspoken support of emancipation and racial integration.
The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is an Act of Congress that repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown and established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. Though Congress repealed the territorial government in 1874, the legislation was the first to create a single municipal government for the federal district. Direct rule by Congress continued until the 1973 passage of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, a century later.
The District of Columbia has a mayor–council government that operates under Article One of the United States Constitution and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The Home Rule Act devolves certain powers of the United States Congress to the local government, which consists of a mayor and a 13-member council. However, Congress retains the right to review and overturn laws created by the council and intervene in local affairs.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the United States federal district Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, officially An Act Concerning the District of Columbia, is an organic act enacted by the United States Congress in accordance with Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. It formally placed the District of Columbia under the control of the United States Congress and organized the territory within the district into two counties: Washington County to the north and east of the Potomac River and Alexandria County to the west and south. The charters of the existing cities of Georgetown and Alexandria were left in place and no change was made to their status. The common law of both Maryland and Virginia remained in force within the district. A court was established in each of the new counties.
The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the D.C. Council. In addition, the mayor oversees all district services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and the district public school system. The mayor's office oversees an annual district budget of $8.8 billion. The mayor's executive office is located in the John A. Wilson Building in Downtown Washington, D.C. The mayor appoints several officers, including the deputy mayors for Education and Planning & Economic Development, the district administrator, the chancellor of the district's public schools, and the department heads of the district agencies.
The attorney general for the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District of Columbia. While attorneys general previously were appointed by the mayor, District of Columbia voters approved a charter amendment in 2010 that made the office an elected position beginning in 2015. The current Attorney General is Brian Schwalb, who has served since January 2, 2023.
Daniel Reintzel was an American merchant who served three terms as mayor of mayor of Georgetown, Maryland and mayor of Georgetown, D.C.
Thomas Corcoran Jr. was an Irish American merchant who served as mayor of the town of Georgetown, District of Columbia and 22 terms on the Georgetown Common Council. He also held several appointed positions with the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. He was one of Georgetown's and Washington's first philanthropists, and the father of banker and philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran.
The District of Columbia State Board of Education (SBOE) is an independent executive branch agency of the Government of the District of Columbia, in the United States. The SBOE provides advocacy and policy guidance for the District of Columbia Public Schools, and works with the Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools and the District of Columbia State Superintendent of Education. Charter schools are overseen by the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board.
The District of Columbia Department of Public Works (DPW) is an agency of the government of the District of Columbia, in the United States. The department oversees solid waste and recyclables collection, street cleaning, parking enforcement, and governmental vehicle procurement, maintenance and fueling.
The District of Columbia was created in 1801 as the federal district of the United States, with territory previously held by the states of Maryland and Virginia ceded to the federal government of the United States for the purpose of creating its federal district, which would encompass the new national capital of the United States, the City of Washington. The district came into existence, with its own judges and marshals, through the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801; previously it was the Territory of Columbia. According to specific language in the U.S. Constitution, it was 100 square miles (259 km2).
↑ Clark, Allen C. (1916). "The Mayors of the Corporation of Washington: Thomas Carbery". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 19: 61–62. JSTOR40067058.
↑ Tindall, William (1922). "The Executives and Voters of Georgetown, District of Columbia". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 24: 89–117. JSTOR40067161.
↑ Ecker, Grace Dunlop (1933). A Portrait of Old Georgetown. Garrett & Massie. p.8.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Carper, Elsie (June 2, 1967). "Johnson Orders New D.C. Rule: Hill Has 60 Days To Act on Plan, But Can't Alter It". The Washington Post. p.A1. ProQuest143089272.
1 2 3 4 "How the District Will Be Run Under Single Head, Council". The Washington Post. August 10, 1967. p.A1. ProQuest143177148.
↑ Kaiser, Robert G. (June 2, 1967). "Reorganization Plan Redistributes Current Powers". The Washington Post. p.A7. ProQuest143135451.
↑ Carper, Elsie; Milius, Peter (August 10, 1967). "House Accepts New D.C. Rule". The Washington Post. p.A1. ProQuest143033620.
1 2 Asher, Robert L. (November 2, 1967). "Senate Confirms Council: White House Oath Taking Likely for 9". The Washington Post. p.A1. ProQuest143013366.
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