The Mayor of Wilmington is the chief executive of the government of Wilmington, Delaware, as stipulated by the Charter. The current Mayor of Wilmington is Mike Purzycki.
| Elections in Delaware |
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The Mayor of Wilmington is the chief executive of the government of Wilmington, Delaware, as stipulated by the Charter. The current Mayor of Wilmington is Mike Purzycki.
| Rank | Image | Mayor | Start | End | Party | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Richard Bayard [1] | 1832 | 1834 | Whig | Wilmington incorporated in 1832. |
| 2 | Nicholas Williamson | 1834 | 1843 | Whig | ||
| 3 | David C. Wilson | 1843 | 1845 | Whig | ||
| 4 | Alexander Porter | 1845 | 1848 | Whig | ||
| 5 | William Huffington | 1848 | 1850 | Democratic | ||
| 6 | Joshua Driver | 1850 | 1851 | |||
| 7 | Columbus Evans | 1851 | 1852 | Whig | Editor of the Delaware Republican. | |
| 8 | William Hemphill Jones | 1852 | 1853 | First mayor elected by popular vote. | ||
| 9 | John Alderdice | 1853 | 1854 | Publisher of The Journal . | ||
| 10 | Heyward, James F. | 1854 | 1855 | |||
| 11 | William Wiggins | 1855 | 1856 | |||
| 12 | William Huffington | 1856 | 1857 | Democratic | Non-continuous terms. | |
| 13 | George Sparks | 1857 | 1858 | |||
| 14 | Thomas Young | 1858 | 1860 | |||
| 15 | Vincent Glipin | 1860 | 1863 | |||
| 16 | John Turner | 1863 | 1865 | |||
| 17 | Joshua Maris | 1865 | 1867 | |||
| 18 | Joshua Valentine | 1867 | 1872 | |||
| 19 | Joshua Simms | 1872 | 1875 | Democratic | ||
| 20 |  | William G. Whiteley | 1875 | 1878 | Democratic | |
| 21 | John Allmond | 1878 | 1882 | |||
| 22 | John Wales | 1882 | 1885 | Son of Senator John Wales. | ||
| 23 | Calvin Rhoads | 1885 | 1891 | Democratic | Choir director | |
| Sandsbury Wiley | 1891 | 1893 | Republican | Term changed to two years, Saturday election in June. | ||
| E. G. Shortridge | 1893 | 1894 | Republican | |||
| Charles Jefferies | 1895 | ? | Democratic | |||
| John Fahey | 1899 | ? | Democratic | |||
| George Fisher | 1903 | 1903 | ||||
| Charles Bird | 1903 | ? | Democratic | |||
| Horace Wilson | 1905 | 1907 | Republican | |||
| Harrison Howell | 1911 | 1915 | Republican | |||
| John Lawson | 1919 | ? | ||||
| LeRoy Harvey | 1921 | 1923? | Founded Wilmington Music School. | |||
| William Taylor | ? | 1925 | Republican | Lost at Sea | ||
| George Forrest | 1923 | 1931 | First intern at Delaware Hospital. | |||
| Frank Sparks | 1931 | 1933 | Republican | |||
| William Speer | 1933 | 1935 | Democratic | |||
| Walter Bacon | 1935 | 1940 | Republican | Resigned when elected Governor. | ||
| Albert James | 1941 | 1944 | Republican | Filled term of Gov. Bacon. | ||
| Thomas Herlihy | 1945 | 1946 | Republican | Resigned when appointed Chief Judge of Municipal Court. | ||
| Joseph Wilson | 1947 | 1949 | Republican | |||
| James Hearn | 1949 | 1953 | Republican | |||
| August Walz | 1954 | 1955 | Republican | |||
| 47 |  | Eugene Lammot | 1957 | 1960 | Democratic | Resigned when elected Lt. Gov. Election Tues. in Nov. |
| 48 | John Baribarz | 1961 | 1969 | Democratic | 1968 Occupation | |
| 49 | Harry Haskell [2] | 1969 | 1973 | Republican | ||
| 50 | Thomas Maloney | 1973 | 1977 | Democratic | ||
| 51 | William McLaughlin | 1977 | 1984 | Democratic | ||
| 52 | Daniel Frawley | 1985 | 1993 | Democratic | Stadium named after. | |
| 53 | James Sills [3] | 1993 | 2001 | Democratic | First African American Mayor | |
| 54 | James Baker | 2001 | 2013 | Democratic | First 3-Term Mayor with 4-year terms | |
| 55 |  | Dennis Williams | 2013 | 2017 | Democratic | Served in the Delaware House of Representatives |
| 56 |  | Mike Purzycki [4] | 2017 | Currently Serving | Democratic | Spearheaded successful Riverfront redevelopment |
| Rank | Chief Burgess | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shipley, William | 1739 | William Penn granted charter on November 16, 1739. |
| 2 | Way, Joseph | 1742 | |
| 3 | Shipley, William | 1743 | 2nd non-consecutive term. |
| 4 | Hannum, Robert | 1744 | |
| 5 | Peters, Joseph | 1745 | |
| 6 | Stapler, John | 1748 | Stapler Park named after |
| 7 | Few, James | 1750 | |
| 8 | Littler, Joshua | 1751 | |
| 9 | Stapler, John | 1752 | 2nd non-consecutive term. |
| 10 | Littler, Joshua | 1753 | 2nd non-consecutive term. |
| 11 | Littler, Joshua | 1754 | 3rd term. |
| 12 | Dawes, Edward | 1755 | |
| 13 | Stapler, John | 1756 | 3rd non-consecutive term. |
| 14 | Gilpin, Thomas | 1757 | |
| 15 | Stapler, John | 1758 | 4th non-consecutive term. |
| 16 | McKinly, John | 1759 | |
| 17 | Dawes, Edward | 1762 | |
| 18 | Lea, John | 1764 | Lea Blvd. named after. |
| 19 | Way, Joseph | 1765 | |
| 20 | McKinly, John | 1767 | |
| 21 | Bennet, Joseph | 1770 | Bennet Street named after. |
| 22 | McKinly, John | 1771 | |
| 23 | Robinson, Nicholas | 1774 | |
| 24 | McKinly, John | 1775 | |
| 25 | Bennett, Joseph | 1777 | |
| 26 | Stidham, Joseph | 1778 | |
| 27 | Broom, Jacob | 1783 | Broom Street named after. |
| 28 | Kean, Thomas | 1784 | |
| 29 | Broom, Jacob | 1785 | |
| 30 | Gibbson, James | 1786 | |
| 31 | Way, Thomas | 1788 | |
| 32 | Shallcross, Joseph | 1790 | Shallcross Avenue named after. |
| 33 | Bush, David | 1792 | |
| 34 | Broom, Jacob | 1794 | |
| 35 | Brynberg, Peter | 1796 | |
| 36 | Warner, Joseph | 1798 | |
| 37 | Tilton, Hehemiah | 1799 | |
| 38 | Brobson, James | 1801 | |
| 39 | Hendrickson, Isaac | 1802 | |
| 40 | Brobson, James | 1803 | |
| 41 | Lea, James | 1806 | |
| 42 | Dixon, Isaac | 1807 | |
| 43 | Brobson, James | 1808 | |
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