List of mayors of Tampa, Florida

Mayor of Tampa
Seal of the City of Tampa
Flag of the City of Tampa
Incumbent
Jane Castor
since May 1, 2019
StyleThe Honorable
Term length4 years
limited to two consecutive terms
Inaugural holderJoseph B. Lancaster
Formation1856
Salary$160,384[1]
Websitewww.tampagov.net/mayor

The Mayor is the highest elected official in Tampa, Florida. Since its incorporation in 1856, the town has had 59 mayors. Tampa had no mayor from 1862 until 1866, during which time the city government was temporarily suspended during and immediately after the American Civil War.

Election process

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In 1910, the white supremacist White Municipal Party was established in Tampa. It excluded African Americans from being members effectively excluding African American voters from having influence in the city's mayoral elections from 1910 until 1947.

Since 1953, Tampa's municipal elections (including those for mayor) have been non-partisan. All qualified candidates are entered into the general election without a primary election. Candidates are required to disclose a party affiliation. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters to decide the outcome.[2]

Terms and term limits

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From the establishment of Tampa's city charter of 1856 until 1896, Tampa's mayors served one year terms. The term was extended to two years in 1896 and to four years in 1924.

From 1856 until 1920, Tampa mayors could not serve consecutive terms but were permitted to run again after being out of office for one full term. This resulted in several mayors serving multiple non-consecutive terms, especially in the late 1800s. In 1920, term limits were abolished entirely.

Since 1983, Tampa mayors have been limited to two consecutive terms, but they may run again after spending at least a full four-year term out of the office.[2][3]

List

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# Mayor Term start Term end Terms   Party
1 Joseph B. Lancaster February 14, 1856 November 25, 1856 12 American
2 Darwin A. Branch (1st term) November 25, 1856 December 6, 1856 Acting American
3 Alfonso DeLaunay December 6, 1856 February 9, 1857 Partial Democratic
4 Darwin A. Branch (2nd term) February 9, 1857 February 10, 1858 1 American
5 Madison Post February 10, 1858 February 12, 1859 1 American
6 James McKay Sr. February 12, 1859 February 1, 1860 1 Democratic
7 John P. Crichton February 1, 1860 February 2, 1861 1 Democratic
8 Hamlin V. Snell February 2, 1861 February 3, 1862 1 Democratic (Southern)
9 John Jackson February 3, 1862 February 22, 1862 Acting Democratic (Southern)
10 Edward A. Clarke October 25, 1866 January 1, 1867 1 Democratic
11 Josiah A. Ferris January 1, 1867 March 1, 1869 1 12 Democratic
12 John T. Lesley March 1, 1869 October 4, 1869 12 Democratic
/ John A. Henderson 1 July 6, 1870 mid 1872 2 Democratic
13 James E. Lipscomb August 11, 1873 August 13, 1876 3 Democratic
14 Harlan P. Lovering August 14, 1876 August 14, 1877 1 Democratic
15 Thomas Jackson (1st term) August 14, 1877 August 14, 1878 1 Democratic
16 John P. Wall August 14, 1878 August 14, 1880 2 Democratic
17 Henry C. Ferris August 14, 1880 February 19, 1881 1 Democratic
18 Matthew E. Haynsworth February 19, 1881 March 22, 1881 Acting Democratic
19 George B. Sparkman (1st term) March 22, 1881 August 14, 1883 2 Democratic
20 Duff Post (1st term) August 14, 1883 August 13, 1886 3 Democratic
21 Herman Glogowski (1st term) August 13, 1886 July 15, 1887 1 Republican
22 George B. Sparkman (2nd term) July 15, 1887 March 8, 1888 1 Democratic
23 Herman Glogowski (2nd term) March 8, 1888 March 6, 1889 1 Republican
24 Thomas Jackson (2nd term) March 6, 1889 March 5, 1890 1 Democratic
25 Herman Glogowski (3rd term) March 5, 1890 March 4, 1891 1 Republican
26 Duff Post (2nd term) March 4, 1891 March 4, 1892 1 Democratic
27 Herman Glogowski (4th term) March 4, 1892 March 10, 1893 1 Republican
28 Frederick A. Salomonson (1st term) March 10, 1893 March 9, 1894 1 Republican
29 Robert W. Easley March 9, 1894 March 8, 1895 1 Democratic
30 Frederick A. Salomonson (2nd term) March 8, 1895 June 5, 1896 1 Republican
31 Myron E. Gillett June 5, 1896 June 5, 1898 1 Republican
32 Frank C. Bowyer June 5, 1898 June 8, 1900 1 Democratic
33 Francis L. Wing (1st term) June 8, 1900 June 4, 1902 1 Independent[citation needed]
34 James McKay Jr. June 5, 1902 June 5, 1904 1 Democratic
35 Frederick A. Salomonson (3rd term) June 5, 1904 June 7, 1906 1 Republican
36 William H. Frecker June 8, 1906 June 4, 1908 1 Republican
37 Francis L. Wing (2nd term) June 4, 1908 June 6, 1910 1 Independent
38 Donald B. Mckay (1st term) June 6, 1910 June 10, 1920 3 White Municipal Party[4]
39 Horace Cadwell Gordon June 10, 1920 January 4, 1921 12 White Municipal Party[4]
40 Charles H. Brown January 4, 1921 January 8, 1924 1 White Municipal Party[4]
41 Perry G. Wall January 8, 1924 January 3, 1928[5] 1 White Municipal Party[4]
42 Donald B. Mckay (2nd term) January 3, 1928 October 27, 1931 1 White Municipal Party[4]
43 Thomas N. Henderson October 27, 1931 November 3, 1931 Partial White Municipal Party[4]
44 Robert E. Lee Chancey November 3, 1931 November 3, 1943 3 White Municipal Party[4]
45 Curtis Hixon November 3, 1943 May 21, 1956 3 12 White Municipal Party[4]/Democratic
46 Junie L. Young Jr. May 21, 1956 October 2, 1956 Acting Democratic
47 Nick Nuccio (1st administration) October 2, 1956 October 1, 1959 1 Democratic[2]
48 Julian Lane October 1, 1959 October 1, 1963 1 Democratic
49 Nick Nuccio (2nd administration) October 1, 1963 October 3, 1967 1 Democratic
50 Dick A. Greco (1st administration) October 3, 1967 April 1, 1974 2 Democratic
51 Richard L. Cheney † April 1, 1974 June 19, 1974 Acting Democratic
52 Lloyd Copeland June 19, 1974 October 3, 1974 Acting Republican
53 William F. Poe October 3, 1974 October 1, 1979 1 Republican
54 Bob Martinez October 3, 1979 July 16, 1986 1 12 Democratic
Republican
55 Sandra Freedman July 16, 1986 April 1, 1995 2 Democratic
56 Dick A. Greco (2nd administration) April 1, 1995 April 1, 2003 2 Democratic
57 Pam Iorio April 1, 2003 March 31, 2011 2 Democratic
58 Bob Buckhorn April 1, 2011 May 1, 2019 2 Democratic
59 Jane Castor May 1, 2019 Incumbent 1 Democratic
Notes

Deceased in office.
1 Following the lapse of the city charter in October 1869, Hillsborough County took over responsibility for providing principal services. However, Tampa needed some form of municipal government to monitor the services being provided by the county and the state. As a result, a municipal election was held on July 6, 1870, in which Henderson was elected mayor.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ salarygenius.com/fl/tampa/salary/city-mayor-salary
  2. ^ a b c Kerstein, Robert (2001). Politics and Growth in Twentieth Century Tampa. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0813020839.
  3. ^ Goffard, Christopher (27 October 2000). "Greco allies hit term limits". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Iorio, Pam (2001). "Colorless Primaries: Tampa's White Municipal Party". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 79 (3): 297–318. JSTOR 30150855.
  5. ^ "Perry G. Wall - 41st Mayor Of Tampa". City of Tampa, Florida. City of Tampa. June 17, 2014.
  6. ^ John Henderson's mayor profile Archived 2010-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
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