Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut

Last updated
Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut
Incumbent
Arunan Arulampalam
since January 1, 2024
TypeMayor
FormationJune 18, 1774
First holderThomas Seymour

The following table lists the individuals who served as mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, their political party affiliations, and their dates in office, as well as other information. [1]

Contents

History

The city of Hartford switched from a mayor–council government to a council–manager government in 1947. [2] The mayor was chosen from among the city council until 1969, when the mayor began to be directly elected in partisan elections. [2] [3]

In the 1990s and early 2000s, there were three unsuccessful efforts to amend to city charter to switch from a "weak mayor" system to a "strong mayor" system. [2] Advocates for reform argued a switch to a strong-mayor system would "ameliorate the sense of citizen frustration with the Hartford government and the many problems facing the city," such as a significant drop in the city's population (11.1% from 1990 to 1994, the largest drop for a large U.S. city), crime, a broken school system (which had been taken over by the state), an overstaffed and costly fire department, and a scandal-ridden police department, as well as lackluster economic development. [2] [3] Under the system then in place, the mayor had no vote in the city council, and had only the power to veto council legislation. [2] The city council was also solely responsible for hiring or firing the city manager, with the mayor having no formal role. [2] The mayor also lacked effective executive power; it was the city manager who appointed and supervised department heads. [2] The mayor could only hire and fire his own secretary. [3] Moreover, the mayor's salary was very low, $30,000, which discouraged qualified candidates from running. [3] Because of this system, the mayor's influence was based solely on his "ability to cobble together a council coalition," and the mayor's functions were mostly those of "a policy advocate rather than a player in policy implementation." [2]

in 2000, proposed charter revisions written by a Charter Revision Commission would have eliminated the city manager, made the mayor the chief executive of the city, increase the mayor's salary from $30,000 to $105,000, increased the size of the city council (from nine to fifteen), and switched to elections of council members by ward rather than at-large. [3] The proposed charter revisions were put to a vote in a city special election; the majority of voters supported the revisions, but the revision fell short of the required 15% of all registered voters, and so the proposal failed. [3]

In January 2002, shortly after taking office, mayor Eddie A. Perez—an advocate for a strong-mayor government—formed a new fifteen-member Charter Review Commission to review the charter and recommend changes. [2] The commission recommended several changes, many of which had been recommended by the previous commission. The revision proposed shifted to a strong-mayor system in which the mayor would serve as chief executive officer and chief operating officer of the city, appoint a majority of the board of education, appoint all department heads, remove department heads (with the approval of six council members), and prepare and present the annual city budget to the council. On November 5, 2002, the revisions went to a city vote, and all were approved, with about 77% of voters approving the changes, effective with the 2003 election. [2] [3]

List of mayors

The following table lists the individuals who served as mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. [1]

#NamePartyServedNotes
1Thomas Seymour Federalist June 18, 1774 – May 28, 1812Resigned
2 Chauncey Goodrich FederalistJune 8, 1812 – September 9, 1815Died in office; Served simultaneously as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut
3 Jonathan Brace FederalistSeptember 9, 1815 – November 22, 1824
4 Nathaniel Terry Whig November 22, 1824 – March 28, 1831
5 Thomas Scott Williams WhigMarch 28, 1831 – April 27, 1835
6 Henry Leavitt Ellsworth Democratic April 27, 1835 – June 15, 1835Resigned
7Jared GriswoldWhigJune 15, 1835 – November 22, 1835Died in office
8Jeremy HoadleyWhigNovember 23, 1835 – April 18, 1836
9Henry HudsonWhigApril 18, 1836 – April 20, 1840
10 Thomas Kimberly Brace WhigApril 20, 1840 – April 17, 1843Resigned
11Amos M. CollinsDemocraticApril 17, 1843 – April 19, 1847
12Philip RipleyDemocraticApril 19, 1847 – April 21, 1851
13Ebenezer FlowerDemocraticApril 21, 1851 – April 18, 1853
14William Jas. HamersleyDemocraticApril 18, 1853 – April 17, 1854
15 Henry C. Deming DemocraticApril 17, 1854 – April 12, 1858
16Timothy M. AllynRepublicanApril 12, 1858 – April 8, 1860
17 Henry C. Deming DemocraticApril 9, 1860 – February 27, 1862Resigned
18 Charles S. Benton DemocraticFebruary 10, 1852 – April 14, 1862Elected by Common Council
19William Jas. HamersleyDemocraticApril 14, 1862 – April 11, 1864
20Allyn S. StillmanRepublicanApril 11, 1864 – April 9, 1866
21 Charles R. Chapman DemocraticApril 9, 1866 – April 1, 1872
22Henry C. RobinsonRepublicanApril 1, 1872 – April 6, 1874
23Joseph H. SpragueDemocraticApril 6, 1874 – April 1, 1878
24 George G. Sumner DemocraticApril 1, 1878 – April 5, 1880
25 Morgan Bulkeley RepublicanApril 5, 1880– April 2, 1888
26John G. RootRepublicanApril 2, 1888 – April 7, 1890
27Henry C. DwightRepublicanApril 7, 1890 – April 4, 1892
28William Waldo HydeDemocraticApril 4, 1892 – April 2, 1894
29Leveret BrainardRepublicanApril 2, 1894 – April 6, 1896
30Miles B. PrestonDemocraticApril 6, 1896 – April 2, 1900
31Alexander HarbisonRepublicanApril 2, 1900 – April 7, 1902
32Ignatius A. SullivanDemocraticApril 7, 1902 – April 4, 1904
33William F. HenneyRepublicanApril 4, 1904 – April 7, 1908
34Edward W. HookerRepublicanApril 7, 1908 – April 5, 1910
35 Edward L. Smith DemocraticApril 5, 1910 – April 2, 1912
36 Louis R. Cheney RepublicanApril 2, 1912 – April 7, 1914
37Joseph H. LawlerDemocraticApril 7, 1914 – April 4, 1916
38Frank A. HagartyRepublicanApril 7, 1916 – April 7, 1918
39Richard J. KinsellaDemocraticApril 2, 1918 – April 4, 1920
40 Newton C. Brainard RepublicanApril 6, 1920 – May 2, 1922
41Richard J. KinsellaDemocraticApril 4, 1922 – April 6, 1924
42Norman C. StevensRepublicanApril 1, 1924 – May 1, 1928
43Walter E. BattersonRepublicanApril 3, 1928 – December 1, 1931
44William J. RankinDemocraticNovember 3, 1931 – December 4, 1933
45Joseph W. BeachRepublicanNovember 7, 1933 – December 3, 1935
46John A. PilgardDemocraticNovember 5, 1935 – November 14, 1935Died before taking oath of office
47 Thomas J. Spellacy DemocraticDecember 3, 1935 – June 18, 1943Elected to first term by Common Council; resigned in fourth term.
48Dennis P. O'ConnorDemocraticJune 24, 1943 – December 7, 1943Elected by Common Council
49William H. MortensenRepublicanDecember 7, 1943 – December 4, 1945
50Cornelius A. MoylanRepublicanDecember 4, 1945 – December 24, 1946Died in office
51 Edward N. Allen RepublicanJanuary 3, 1947 – January 6, 1948Elected by Common Council
52Cyril ColemanDemocraticJanuary 6, 1948 – December 4, 1951
53Joseph V. CroninDemocraticDecember 4, 1951 – December 1, 1953
54Dominick J. DeLuccoDemocratic1953–1955
55Joseph V. CroninDemocratic1955–1957
56 James H. Kinsella Democratic1957–1960
57Dominick J. DeLuccoDemocraticNovember 14, 1960 – December 5, 1961Deputy mayor, succeeded to office
58William E. GlynnDemocraticDecember 5, 1961 – December 7, 1965
59George B. KinsellaDemocraticDecember 7, 1965 – December 5, 1967
60 Antonina Uccello RepublicanDecember 5, 1967 – April 12, 1971Resigned to take U.S. Department of Transportation post;
City's first female mayor; first female mayor of a state capital [4]
61George A. AthansonDemocraticApril 12, 1971 – December 1, 1981Deputy mayor, succeeded to office
62 Thirman L. Milner DemocraticDecember 1, 1981 – December 1, 1987City's first black mayor, and first black elected mayor in New England [5]
63 Carrie Saxon Perry DemocraticDecember 1, 1987 – December 7, 1993City's first black female mayor, and first black female elected mayor of a major Northeastern city [6]
64Michael P. PetersDemocraticDecember 7, 1993 – December 4, 2001
65 Eddie A. Perez DemocraticDecember 4, 2001 – June 26, 2010Resigned after being convicted on federal corruption charges [7]
City's first Hispanic mayor [8]
66 Pedro Segarra DemocraticJune 26, 2010 – December 31, 2015City Council president, succeeded Perez; city's first openly gay mayor [9]
67 Luke Bronin DemocraticJanuary 1, 2016–December 31, 2023
68 Arunan Arulampalam DemocraticJanuary 1, 2024–present

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Kevin Flood, Mayors of Hartford, HartfordHistory.net (retrieved April 26, 2015).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 H. George Frederickson, Gary Alan Johnson & Curtis H. Wood, The Adapted City: Institutional Dynamics and Structural Change (M.E. Sharpe: 2004), pp. 145–47.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wendy L. Hassett, "Hartford: Politics Trumps Professionalism" in More Than Mayor or Manager: Campaigns to Change Form of Government in America's Large Cities (James H. Svara & Douglas J. Watson eds., Georgetown University Press: 2010), pp. 70–75.
  4. ↑ Editorial, Trail-Blazing Former Hartford Mayor Ann Uccello Turns 90, Hartford Courant (May 18, 2012).
  5. ↑ Thirman Milner (born October 29, 1933), Hartford Courant.
  6. ↑ The 1993 Elections: Connecticut; Mayor Perry Is Denied a Fourth Term by Voters in Hartford, New York Times (November 4, 2001).
  7. ↑ Michael Winter, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez resigns after corruption conviction, USA Today (June 18, 2010).
  8. ↑ Jenna Carlesso, Former Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez Sentenced To Three Years in Prison, Hartford Courant (September 15, 2010).
  9. ↑ Jenna Carlesso, Hartford Mayor Segarra Honored By Out Magazine, Hartford Courant (November 17, 2010).
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