Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut

Last updated
Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut
Prometheum Debate-3 close up (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Caroline Simmons
since 2021
TypeMayor
Term length 4 years
Formation1894
First holderCharles H. Leeds

The mayor of Stamford, Connecticut , United States, is the city's chief executive.

Contents

History of the mayoralty

Before 1945, the city charter of the City of Stamford divided the city into two separate political jurisdictions: a central city with a "strong mayor" form of government and a town which employed the traditional town meeting form of government. [1] From the 1930s, reformers began seeking to change this system on the grounds that it accorded too much power to the mayor and that the separation of the town and city for some purposes but not others "was an outmoded and inefficient way to govern a modern city." [1]

In 1946, the Charter Consolidation Inquiry Commission, created by the Connecticut General Assembly, issued recommendations for Stamford government to unify under a single jurisdiction led by a strong mayor, and with a city council (called the Board of Representatives) of forty members, with two elected from twenty districts. [1] These recommendations were approved by Stamford voters and the new system took effect on April 15, 1949. [1]

Stamford retains its strong-mayor form of government today. [1] The mayor appoints the departments heads, acts as chief executive officer of the city, and is responsible for presenting the budget to the board of finance, city council, and planning board. [1] The city council approves the budget and passes ordinances and resolutions. [1] Both the mayor and the city council serve four-year terms, and there are no term limits. [1]

List of mayors of Stamford

The following table lists the mayors of Stamford, as well as their dates in office, their dates of birth, and (if deceased) their dates of death. [2] [3]

NameServedPartyDate of birthDate of deathNotes
Charles H. Leeds1894-1895January 9, 1834November 6, 1914
Edwin L. Scofield 1895-1897June 18, 1852January 14, 1918
William J. H. Bohannan1897-1899March 9, 1865August 29, 1947
Edward J. Tupper1899-1900September 19, 1853October 2, 1922
Homer Stille Cummings 1900-1902 Democrat April 30, 1870September 10, 1956
Charles H. Leeds1902-1904January 6, 1873February 7, 1967
Homer Stille Cummings 1904-1906 Democrat April 30, 1870September 10, 1956Subsequently Attorney General of the United States (1933-1939)
Edward J. Tupper1906-1910September 19, 1853October 2, 1922
Charles E. Rowell1911-1913May 3, 1849March 29, 1914
Walter G. Austin1913-1915December 9, 1853January 14, 1937
John M. Brown1915-1915November 7, 1856December 10, 1915
John J. Treat1916-1922June 10, 1873February 7, 1928
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. 1923-1924 Democrat April 23, 1894January 18, 1970
John F. Keating1924-1926September 8, 1876September 15, 1946
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. 1927-1928 Democrat April 23, 1894January 18, 1970
William W. Graves1928-1930October 28, 1868December 26, 1965
John F. Keating1934-1935September 8, 1876September 15, 1946
Joseph P. Boyle1930-19341883May 25, 1948
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. 1935-1936 Democrat April 23, 1894January 18, 1970Subsequently representative from Connecticut's 4th congressional district
Edward A. Gonnoud1936-1938 Democrat September 12, 1892June 26, 1951
Charles E. Moore1938-1940 Republican June 29, 1884June 22, 1967
Edward A. Gonnoud1940-1942 Democrat September 12, 1892June 26, 1951
Charles E. Moore1942-1949 Republican June 29, 1884June 22, 1967
George T. Barrett1949-1951 Republican November 29, 1884October 11, 1954
Thomas F. J. Quigley1951-1957 Democrat April 19, 1903November 9, 1996
Webster C. Givens1957-1959 Republican [4] December 23, 1898September 7, 1968
James Walter Kennedy 1959-1963 Democrat June 8, 1912June 26, 1977Subsequently Commissioner of the NBA (1963–1975)
William F. Hickey Jr. 1963-1963 Democrat May 28, 1929July 21, 2016
Thomas C. Mayers1963-1967 Republican [5] March 21, 1909December 20, 1997
Bruno E. Giordano1967-1969 Democrat [5] July 29, 1929May 27, 2016
Julius Morris Wilensky1969-1973 Republican [6] October 10, 1916October 25, 2004
Frederick P. Lenz, Jr.1973-1975 Democrat [6]
Louis A. Clapes1975-1983 Republican [7] April 10, 1917November 20, 1990
Thom Serrani1983-1991 Democrat [8] 1948Elementary school redistricting plan sent South Field Village Housing Projects children to Cove Schools
Stanley J. Esposito1991-1995 Republican
Dannel Patrick "Dan" Malloy 1995-2009 Democrat July 21, 1955Subsequently governor of Connecticut
Michael Pavia 2009-2013 Republican
David R. Martin 2013–2021 Democrat February 23, 1953
Caroline Simmons 2021–Present Democrat February 10, 1986First female mayor in Stamford history

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Peter F. Burns, Electoral Politics Is Not Enough: Racial and Ethnic Minorities and Urban Politics (State University of New York Press, Albany, 2006), pp. 25-26.
  2. Stamford Mayors, Stamford Board of Representatives.
  3. Stamford Mayors Archived 2015-04-27 at archive.today , Ferguson Library.
  4. "More of a Long Story".
  5. 1 2 "Former Stamford mayor Bruno Giordano dies at 86". Stamford Advocate. 30 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Democrat Elected in Stamford, Beating 2-Term C. O. P. Mayor". The New York Times. 7 November 1973.
  7. "Louis Clapes, 73, Dies; Ex-Mayor of Stamford". The New York Times. 25 November 1990.
  8. Judson, George (27 October 1991). "Stamford, Hoping for Growth, Chooses a Mayor". The New York Times.

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