 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for stand-alone lists .(February 2023) |
The mayor of Yazoo City, Mississippi is elected every four years by the population at large. Being the chief executive officer of the city, the mayor is responsible for administering and leading the day-to-day operations of city government. The current mayor of the city is David "Mel" Starling, who was elected in 2022. [1]
City Hall is located at 128 East Jefferson Street.
 |
| Mayor name | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hodge | ||
| M. B. Hamer | 1834 | Referred to as President Pro-Tem |
| Gustavus Cheyney Doane | 1867–1868 | Reconstruction |
| Joseph A. Holt | 1877–1880 | |
| D. R. Barnett | 1882–1884 | |
| C. H. Williams | 1884–1886 | |
| A. M. Roach | 1886–1888 | |
| W. G. Deles | 1888–1892 | |
| Theodore Schmitt | 1892–1894 [2] | |
| John C. Henderson | 1894–1897 | |
| John H. Murphy | 1897 | Interim mayor upon the resignation of Henderson. Died in office. |
| George M. Powell | 1897–1900 [2] |
| Mayor name | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Luke | 1900–1904 [2] | |
| Edwin R. Holmes | 1904–1908 [2] | |
| Edward Luke | 1908–1911 | Returned to office. |
| Thomas H. Campbell, Jr. | 1911–1920 | |
| E. P. Swain | 1920–1928 [2] | |
| J. O. Stricklin, Sr. | 1928–1930 [2] | Died in office shortly after winning decisively for a second term. Committed suicide on Tuesday, April 1, 1930, after shooting and seriously wounding F. R. Birdsall, editor of the Yazoo Sentinel newspaper. [3] The shooting occurred after Birdsall published a story of a grand jury indictment against Stricklin. Birdsall died from his injuries the following day. [4] |
| R. M. Middleton | 1930 [2] | Interim mayor after the death of Stricklin. Finished a distant second in special election to complete remainder of Stricklin's unexpired term. |
| Dewitt M. Love | 1930–1942 [2] | |
| Nathan L. Swayze | 1942–1945 | Died in office |
| R. M. Middleton | 1945 | Interim mayor after the death of Swayze. |
| Charles L. Graeber | 1945–1947 | |
| J. B. Smith | 1947–1948 [2] | |
| William Sidney Perry | 1948–1954 [2] | |
| Harry Applebaum | 1954–1968 | |
| J. F. Barbour III | 1968–1972 [5] | Elected as an Independent, Barbour was one of the first Mississippi politicians to successfully challenge the Democratic Party in the state in the modern era. |
| Floyd E. Johnson | 1972-1978 [6] | |
| Charles E. Fulgham | 1978–1990 [2] | |
| Hugh J. McGraw | 1990–1998 [2] |
| Mayor name | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wardell Leach | 1998–2006 [2] [7] | First African American mayor. Brother of Herman Leach (1937-2023), who in 1979 became the first African American county supervisor in Yazoo County. [7] |
| McArthur Slaughter | 2006–2014 [2] | |
| Diana Delaware | 2014–2022 [8] | First female mayor |
| David "Mel" Starling | 2022– [1] |
And after being presented with a gavel and sworn in by Federal Judge Carlton Reeves, David "Mel" Starling began his tenure as Yazoo City's new mayor.
F. R. Birdsall, editor of the Ya[z]oo Sentinel and member of the State Tax Commission was shot and seriously wounded and J. O. Stricklin, Mayor of Ya[z]oo City, is dead of a self-inflicted wound, as the result of a shooting affray on Main street this afternoon about 1:30 o'clock in which Mayor Stricklin did all the shooting, according to eye witnesses.
Mr. Birdsall died early Wednesday morning from three pistol wounds inflicted by J. O. Stricklin, Sr., mayor of Ya[z]oo City, Tues[d]ay afternoon after which Mr. Stricklin calmly drove his car to the undertaking establishment of his son and shot himself, death ensuing instantly.
Mayor J. F. Barbour III was sworn into office Monday night by his mother, Mrs. J. F. Barbour, Jr. and became one of the youngest chief executive officers in the history of the city.
Alderman Floyd E. Johnson, who was elected Mayor of Yazoo City by polling 1581 votes will take office at regular Council meeting Monday, April 10.
His brother Wardell Leach was Yazoo City's first Black mayor from 1998 through 2006.