Mayor of St. Louis
| Mayor of The City of St. Louis | |
|---|---|
 Flag of St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Style | His/Her Honor |
| Residence | Mayors House |
| Term length | Four years |
| Inaugural holder | William Carr Lane |
| Formation | 19th century |
| Website | Office of the Mayor |
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| Elections in Missouri |
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The mayor of St. Louis is the chief executive officer of St. Louis's city government. The mayor has a duty to enforce city ordinances and the power to either approve or veto city ordinances passed by the board of aldermen.[1]
Forty-six individuals have held the office of mayor of St. Louis, four of whom — William Carr Lane, John Fletcher Darby, John Wimer, and John How — served non-consecutive terms. The most terms served by a mayor was by Lane, who served eight full terms plus the unexpired term of Darby. The current mayor is Lyda Krewson who took office April 18, 2017. Francis Slay is the longest-serving mayor of St. Louis. The second-longest-serving mayor was Henry Kiel, who took office April 15, 1913 and left office April 21, 1925, a total of 12 years and nine days over three terms in office. Two others — Raymond Tucker, and Vincent C. Schoemehl — also served three terms as mayor, but served seven fewer days. The shortest serving mayor was Arthur Barret, who died 11 days after taking office.
Duties and powers
St. Louis was incorporated as a city on December 9, 1822, shortly following the state of Missouri's admission to the Union four months prior. In accordance with its new charter, the city changed its governance to a mayor-council format and elected its first mayor, William Carr Lane, on April 7, 1823.[2]
Elections
The mayor is elected for four years during the general municipal election, which is held every two years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April. Primary elections are held in March prior to the general municipal election. The mayor is usually sworn during the first session of the Board of Aldermen two weeks after the election. The next election for mayor will be in 2021.
Under the original city charter, the mayor was elected to a one-year term. The mayor served a two-year term after the adoption of a new city charter in 1859.[3] The mayor's office was extended to its present four-year term after passage of the Charter and Scheme in 1876 which separated the City of St. Louis from St. Louis County.[4] The mayor is not term limited.
Succession
If the office of mayor becomes vacant through death, resignation, recall, or removal by the board of aldermen, the president of the board of aldermen becomes mayor until a special mayoral election can be held; if the office is only temporarily vacant due to disability of the mayor, the president only acts out the duties of mayor. Should both offices be vacant, the vice-president of the board of aldermen becomes mayor.[1]
Five people have acted as mayor: Wilson Primm following the resignation of John Darby; Ferdinand W. Cronenbold following the resignation of Chauncey Filley; Herman Rechtien following the death of Arthur Barret; George W. Allen following the resignation of David Francis; and Aloys P. Kaufmann following the death of William Becker.
List of mayors and gallery
-
Nathan Cole, 20th mayor of St. Louis -
David R. Francis, 26th mayor of St. Louis, 27th Governor of Missouri, 20th U.S. Secretary of the Interior -
Rolla Wells, 30th mayor of St. Louis
Notes
- A. ^ 46 people have served as mayor, four twice; the table includes these non-consecutive terms as well.
- B. ^ The fractional terms of some mayors are not to be understood absolutely literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple mayors served, due to resignations, deaths and the like.
- C. a b Samuel Merry was elected mayor of St. Louis in April 1833, however, his eligibility was questioned by the City Council as he was a federal officer—United States Receiver of Public Moneys in St. Louis. Merry filed suit to force the council's compliance and in October 1833, he was ruled ineligible by the Missouri Supreme Court.[5] Johnston was elected mayor in a special mayoral election held a month later on November 9. Page continued to serve as mayor until the case was settled and Johnston elected.[6][7]
- D. ^ Darby resigned from office. William Carr Lane was later elected to fill the vacancy.[8]
- E. ^ As president of the Board of Aldermen, Primm acted as mayor following the resignation of Darby.[9]
- F. ^ Oliver Filley's second term was the first mayoral term to last 2 years.[3]
- G. ^ Daniel G. Taylor was the candidate of a one-time coalition of traditional Missouri Democrats, pro-slavery activists, and secessionists calling itself the "Union Anti-Black Republican" ticket. The coalition was suspicious of the Abolitionist platform of the Republican party, and argued that St. Louis should not be governed by "Black Abolitionists" who would support newly elected President Lincoln in acting, including the use of military force, to prevent secession of southern states. Mayor Taylor worked in concert with Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, until Jackson fled the state capitol to establish a Confederate aligned state government-in-exile. Mayor Taylor then cooperated with the new conservative-Unionist Governor, Hamilton Gamble.
- H. ^ Chauncey Filley resigned after serving one year of his two-year term as mayor due to poor health.[10][11]
- I. ^ As president of the Board of Common Council, Cronenbold acted as mayor following the resignation of Chauncey Filley.
- J. a b Died in office.
- K. ^ Barret became suddenly ill and died after only 11 days in office.[12][13]
- L. ^ As president of the City Council, Rechtin acted as mayor following the death of Arthur Barret.[13][14]
- M. a b Henry Overstolz was declared defeated by James Britton in the 1875 election, but contested the election and was seated as mayor nine months later after a recount of the ballots.[15]
- N. ^ Per the new city charter of 1876, Overstolz became the first mayor of St. Louis elected to a four-year term.[4]
- O. ^ Resigned from office to become Governor of Missouri.[16]
- P. ^ As president of the City Council, Allen acted as mayor following the resignation of David Francis.[16][17]
- Q. ^ As president of the Board of Aldermen, Kaufmann became mayor following the death of William Becker. He was later elected mayor, in a special mayoral election in November 1944, to fill Becker's unexpired term.[18]
Other high offices held
This is a table of governorships, congressional and other federal offices, and ranking diplomatic positions in foreign countries held by St. Louis mayors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Missouri.
- * Denotes those offices that the mayor resigned to take.
- † Denotes those offices that the mayor resigned to be mayor.
| Mayor | Mayoral term | Other offices held | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Carr Lane | 1823–1829 1837–1840 |
Missouri State Representative (1826–1828, 1830–1834) Governor of New Mexico Territory (1852–1853) |
[19] |
| John Fletcher Darby | 1835–1837 1840–1841 |
Missouri State Senator (1838–1840) U.S. Representative (1851–1853) |
[20] [21] |
| Luther Martin Kennett | 1850–1853 | U.S. Representative (1855–1857) | [22] |
| Nathan Cole | 1869–1871 | U.S. Representative (1877–1879) | [23] |
| Joseph Brown | 1871–1875 | Missouri State Senator (1868–1871) | [24] |
| James H. Britton | 1875–1876 | Missouri State Representative (1852–1856) | [24] |
| David R. Francis | 1885–1889 | Governor of Missouri* (1889–1893) U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1896–1897) Ambassador to Russia (1916–1917) |
|
| Henry Ziegenhein | 1897–1901 | Missouri State Representative (1876–1878); | [25][26] |
| James F. Conway | 1977–1981 | Missouri State Representative (1966–1974) Missouri State Senator† (1974–1977) |
[27] [27][28][29] |
Living former mayors
As of September 2019[update], five former mayors were alive (with all of them having served in the position since 1977), the oldest being James F. Conway (1977–1981, born 1933). The most recent death of a former mayor was that of John H. Poelker (1973–1977), on February 9, 1990.
| Name | Mayoral term | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| James F. Conway | 1977–1981 | June 27, 1932 |
| Vincent C. Schoemehl | 1981–1993 | October 30, 1946 |
| Freeman Bosley, Jr. | 1993–1997 | July 20, 1954 |
| Clarence Harmon | 1997–2001 | 1940 |
| Francis Slay | 2001–2017 | March 18, 1955 |
References
- General
- "St. Louis Mayors". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- "Laws of the City of St. Louis". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- Cornwell, Charles H. (1965). St. Louis Mayors: Brief Biographies. St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Public Library.
- Reavis, L. U. (1876). Saint Louis: The Future Great City of the World (Centennial ed.). St. Louis: C. R. Barns. pp. 74–77. OCLC 2186198. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- Stevens, Walter Barlow (1911). St. Louis: The Fourth City, 1764-1911. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. pp. 91–123. OCLC 9351989. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- Charters
- "St. Louis City Charter". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- The Scheme of Separation Between St. Louis City and County and the Charter of the City of St. Louis, with All Amendments and Modifications to May 1, 1902: And Constitutional Provisions Specially Applicable to the City of St. Louis. St. Louis: Woodward & Tiernan Printing Co. 1902. OCLC 19450592. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- The Ordinances of the City of St. Louis. St. Louis: George Knapp & Co., Printers and Binders. 1861. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- Specific
- ^ a b "St. Louis City Charter, Article VII". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ Conard, Howard Louis (1901). Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri. Vol. 1. New York ; Louisville ; St. Louis: The Southern History Company. pp. 569–572. OCLC 32872107.
- ^ a b "St. Louis Mayors: Oliver D. Filley". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ a b "St. Louis Mayors: Henry Overstolz". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ State v. Samuel Merry (Mo. 1833), Text.
- ^ "St. Louis Mayors: John W. Johnston". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ^ Shepard, Elihu Hotchkiss (1870). The Early History of St. Louis and Missouri. Saint Louis: Southwestern Book and Publishing Company. p. 112. OCLC 2804761. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ^ Stevens, Walter Barlow (1911). St. Louis: The Fourth City, 1764-1911. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. p. 112. OCLC 9351989. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis". Daily Commercial Bulletin and Missouri Literary Register. 1837-12-02.
- ^ "St. Louis Mayors: Chauncey I. Filley". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ Missouri Democrat. 1864-03-16.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Reavis, L. U. (1875). Saint Louis: The Future Great City of the World (Biographical ed.). Saint Louis, MO: Gray, Baker & Co. pp. 467–470. OCLC 1805694. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ a b "Arthur B. Barret. The Mayor's Illness Results in Death This Morning". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1875-04-24.
- ^ "A Municipal Row". The Inter Ocean. 1875-05-19.
- ^ "St. Louis Mayors: James H. Britton". St. Louis Public Library. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ a b "The City Hall Change". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2 January 1889. p. 10.
- ^ "Next Municipal Chief". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2 January 1889. p. 2.
- ^ "Aloys P. Kaufmann". The New York Times. 1984-02-15. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ "Missouri State Legislators 1820-2000". MO.gov. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ "Missouri State Legislators 1820-2000". MO.gov. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ "DARBY, John Fletcher". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- ^ "KENNETT, Luther Martin". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- ^ "COLE, Nathan". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- ^ a b "Missouri State Legislators 1820-2000". MO.gov. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ "Missouri State Legislators 1820-2000". MO.gov. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ State Almanac and Official Directory of Missouri for 1878. Saint Louis: John J. Daly & Co. 1878. p. 31. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Missouri State Legislators 1820-2000". MO.gov. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1975–1977. Jefferson City and St. Louis, Missouri: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc. pp. 94–95. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1977–1978. Jefferson City and St. Louis, Missouri: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc. p. 93. Retrieved 2010-05-12.