List of mayors of Rock Island, Illinois

The office of Mayor of Rock Island, Illinois has existed since the Rock Island's incorporation in 1841 with Benjamin Barrett serving as the city's first mayor. Rock Island adopted a Mayor-Council form of government. It held that form of government for the next 110 years when in 1952 the city adopted a new popular form of city government, the council-manager form. Carl F. Bauer was elected as the first mayor under this form in 1953. This form of government still elected a mayor but the mayor is nothing more than a figurehead whereas the true power lay in the hands of the City Council and City Manager.

The Rock Island mayoralty is a ceremonial position that is often used as a stepping stone for higher political office. Most of Rock Island's mayors did not go far past the mayoralty but a few did, mostly running for State Representative, State Senator, and U.S. Congress. Rock Island held partisan election throughout much of its history. For a brief time from 1911 to 1923, Rock Island's mayor served as a non-partisan mayor; then again in 1923 the City went back to partisan elections. The Republican Party has dominated the mayoralty, the city had more Republican mayors than Democratic mayors. In 1953 when the city adopted the Council-Manager form of government the city once again went to non-partisan elections and it continues to this day.

In 1984 a referendum appeared on the city ballot asking whether voters wanted to adopt partisan elections or continue with non-partisan elections, the referendum was defeated by an overwhelming margin.

Rock Island mayors

Rock Island's mayors since the city's first mayoral election in 1849:

Ben Harper

William McConochie

#	Name	Term start	Term end		Party
1	Benjamin Barrett	1849	1850
2	Joshua Hatch	1850	1851
3	Patrick Whitaker	1851	1852
4	William Frizzell	1852	1854
5	Ben Harper (1817–1887; aged 70)	1854	1855		Republican
6	Benjamin Barrett	1855	1856
7	William Bailey	1856	1857
8	Patrick Gregg	1857	1858
9	Thomas Bulford	1858	1860
10	Calvin Truesdale	1860	1861
11	Bailey Davenport	1861	1866
12	Calvin Truesdale	1866	1867
13	B. H. Kimball	1867	1867
14	William Eggleston	1867	1868
15	Thomas Murdock	1868	1869
16	James Buford	1869	1870
17	Porter Skinner	1870	1871
18	Elijah Carter	1871	1872
19	Thomas Murdock	1872	1873
20	Bailey Davenport	1873	1874
21	Thomas Gaft	1874	1875
22	Bailey Davenport	1875	1876
23	William Butler	1876	1878
24	Elisha Reynolds	1878	1880
25	Henry Carse	1880	1883
26	James Z. Mott	1883	1885
27	Thomas Murdock	1885	1887
28	Virgil M. Blanding	1887	1889
29	William McConochie	1889	1893
30	Thomas J. Medill, Jr.	1893	1895
31	B. Frank Knox	1895	1897
32	Thomas J. Medill, Jr.	1897	1899
33	William McConochie	1899	1901
34	B. Frank Knox	1901	1903
35	William McConochie	1903	1905
36	George W. McCaskrin	1905	1907
37	Harry C. Schaffer	1907	1909
38	George W. McCaskrin	1909	1911
39	Harry M. Shriver	1911	1915
40	William McConochie	1915	1919
41	Harry M. Shriver	1919	1923
42	Walter A. Rosenfield	1923	1927
43	Chester C. Thompson (1893–1971; aged 77)	1927	1933		Democratic
44	Clarence Hodson	1933	1933
45	Herman Brown	1933	1933
46	John Graham	1934	1935
47	Charles Johnson	1935	1935
48	John Bengston	1935	1937
49	Robert P. Galbraith	1937	1945
50	Melvin McKay	1945	1953
51	Carl F. Bauer	1953	1957
52	Warren Yerger	1957	1961
53	Morris E. Muhleman (1915–1998; aged 83)	1961	1965		Republican
54	James H. Haymaker	1965	1977
55	Alan A. Campbell	1977	1978
56	Martin Galex	1977	1978
57	James R. Davis	1979	1985
58	Robert Millett	1985	1989
59	Mark Schwiebert (born in 1950; age 73)	1989	2009		Democratic
60	Dennis E. Pauley	May 1, 2009	2017
61	Mike Thoms (born in 1958; age 65–66)	May 1, 2017	Present