List of mayors of Spokane

Mayor of Spokane
Incumbent
Lisa Brown
since January 2, 2024
Status
  • Her Honor
  • The Honorable

The mayor of Spokane is the chief executive of city government in Spokane, Washington, the 96th largest city in the United States. The mayor oversees the management and administration of various local government departments. Historically, the mayor of Spokane has had different powers under different forms of government. From its founding until 1960, Spokane used a commission system. On March 8, 1960, voters overwhelmingly approved the adoption of a city manager system, which gave the role of city manager most powers.[1][2] In 2001, Spokane switched to the currently used strong mayor form of government, giving more power to the mayor as chief executive.

List

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Pre-strong mayor system (1881–2001)

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# Photo Mayor Term start Term end
1 Robert W. Forrest 1881 1882[3][4]
2 James N. Glover 1883 1884[3][4][5][6]
3 Anthony M. Cannon 1885 1886[7][3][4]
4 William H. Taylor 1887 1888[3][4]
5 Jacob Hoover 1888 1889[3][4]
6 Francis M. Tull 1889 1889
7 Isaac S. Kaufman 1889 1889[3][4]
8 Fred Furth 1889 1890[3][4]
9 Charles F. Clough 1890 1891[3][8][4][5][6]
10 David B. Fotheringham 1891 1892[3][4][5][6]
11 Daniel M. Drumheller 1892 1893[3][4][5][6]
12 Edward L. Powell 1893 1894[3][4]
13 Horatio N. Belt 1894 1896[3][4]
14 Elmer D. Olmsted 1897 1898[3][8][4]
15 James M. Comstock 1898 1901[3][4]
16 Patrick S. Byrne 1901 1903[3]
17 L. Frank Boyd 1903 1905[3]
18 Floyd L. Daggett 1905–1907[3][8]
19 C. Herbert Moore 1907 1909[3][8][5][6]
20 Nelson S. Pratt 1909 1911[3]
21 William J. Hindley 1911 1913[3][9][5][6]
22 Charles M. Fassett 1914 1916[10][5][6]
23 Charles A. Fleming 1916 1917[5][6]
24 Charles M. Fassett 1918 1920
25 Charles A. Fleming 1920 1929
26 Leonard Funk 1929 1935
27 Arthur W. Burch 1935 1937
28 Frank G. Sutherlin (Sr.) 1937 1945
29 Otto A. Dirkes 1945 1946
30 Arthur Meehan 1945 1955
31 Willard Taft 1955 1958[11]
32 Frank G. Sutherlin (Jr.) 1958 1960[12]
33 Kenneth Lawson 1960 1960
34 Neal R. Fosseen 1960 1967
35 David H. Rodgers 1967 1978
36 Ron Bair 1978 1982
37 James Everett Chase 1982 1986
38 Vicki McNeill 1986 1990
39 Sheri S. Barnard 1990 1994
40 Jack Geraghty 1994 1998
41 John Talbott 1998 2000

Strong mayor system (2001–present)

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Spokane adopted the "strong mayor" form of government in January 2001.

# Photo Mayor Term Party[a] Election Notes
39 John Powers December 28, 2000[13] – December 23, 2003 Democratic[14] 2000 Elected to a truncated term of three years due to the switch to the strong mayor system.[15]
40
James E. West (politician).jpg
James E. West December 23, 2003[16] – December 16, 2005 Republican 2003 Recalled in 2005 over allegations of sexual abuse.[17]
41
Dennis Hession 20070317.jpg
Dennis P. Hession December 16, 2005 – November 27, 2007[18] Democratic Appointed by the city council as mayor following West's recall in 2005.[19]
42
Mary verner.jpg
Mary Verner November 27, 2007[18] – December 30, 2011 Democratic 2007
43 David Condon December 30, 2011[20] – December 30, 2019 Republican 2011
2015
44 Nadine Woodward December 30, 2019[21] – January 2, 2024 Republican 2019
45 Lisa Brown January 2, 2024 – present Democratic 2023

Notes

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  1. ^ Per the Washington State Constitution, mayors are technically nonpartisan, but mayors still often associate with political parties.

References

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  1. ^ Stimson, William. "The Big Quake of 1960". Inlander. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  2. ^ Walters, Daniel. "How the "One-Term Mayor Curse" took out the previous 10 Spokane mayors". Inlander. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Durham, N.W. (1912). History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington: from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume 1. S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. https://archive.org/details/historyofcityofs01durh/page/n8/mode/2up
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Edwards, Jonathan (1910). An Illustrated History of Spokane County, State of Washington. W. H. Lever. https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00edwa/page/n6/mode/2up
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Kip Hill (2018-06-15). "Glover Field, which honored Spokane's third mayor, renamed Redband Park". Spokesman-Review (Photo Archive). Retrieved 2020-05-13. This photo, taken between 1917 and 1920, features several ex-mayors of early Spokane. |2nd of 3-image slide show)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Looking Back: Former Spokane mayors". Spokesman-Review. 1998-08-31. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-04-28. Mayoral group: sometime between 1917 and 1920, eight former mayors of Spokane gathered for this photo.
  7. ^ "ANTHONY M. CANNON DEAD - The End Came Suddenly in the Sturtevant House. WAS THE FATHER OF SPOKANE FALLS He Had Recently Been to Brazil for His Health and Had Apparently Improved - His Busy Career. - View Article - NYTimes.com" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  8. ^ a b c d Durham, N.W. (1912). History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington: from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume 2. S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. https://archive.org/details/historyofcityofs02indurh/page/n6/mode/2up
  9. ^ "Hindley, William J., 1872-1943 - Social Networks and Archival Context".
  10. ^ "Jim Kershner's this day in history". Spokesman-Review. 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2020-04-29. From our archives, 100 years ago: C.M. Fassett was named mayor of Spokane by unanimous vote of his fellow city commissioners. He would finish out the term of the former mayor, W.J. Hindley.
  11. ^ Thomas Clouse (2005-12-24). "Lawyer Kathleen Taft dies". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  12. ^ "The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive". 1991-12-04. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  13. ^ Hansen, Pia K. "'Tis the season to transition". Inlander. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  14. ^ Oliver Staley, S. w. (2000, Nov 03). Strong mayor candidates offer strong contrast talbott, powers offer differing styles, viewpoints: [SPOKANE edition]. Spokesman Review Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/strong-mayor-candidates-offer-contrast-talbott/docview/394907504/se-2
  15. ^ Walters, Daniel. "John Powers- Spokane's first strong mayor - beholds the changes the city has undergone, and pronounces them (mostly) good". Inlander. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  16. ^ "The life of Jim West". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  17. ^ WILEY, By JOHN K. (2005-12-07). "Spokane's mayor ousted in recall vote". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  18. ^ a b "Verner sworn in as Spokane mayor | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  19. ^ "Hession sees 'bright future' | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  20. ^ "Spokane's new mayor takes the reins | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  21. ^ "Nadine Woodward sworn in as Spokane's mayor | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.