Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida

Mayor of Tallahassee
Mayor of Tallahassee
	Seal of the City of Tallahassee
	Flag of the City of Tallahassee
	Incumbent; John E. Dailey; since November 19, 2018
Style	The Honorable
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Charles Haire
Formation	1826
Salary	$80,289
Website	[1]

The mayor of Tallahassee is head of the executive branch of the government of Tallahassee, Florida.

For part of the city's history the office of mayor was a rotating position chosen among city commissioners.^[1] Tallahassee switched to the direct election of its mayors in 1997.

List

Florida Territory

Mayor	Years	Notes
Charles Haire	1826	^[2] was elected Intendant
David Ochiltree	1827	moved to Florida from Fayetteville, North Carolina.^[3] He also served as a justice of the peace.^[4] Ochiltree died in 1834 at his residence on Rocky Comfort Creek (Florida). He was a colonel and was a member elect of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida for Gadsden County when he died.^[5]
John Y. Gary	1828–1829
Leslie A. Thompson	1830
Charles Austin	1831
Leslie A. Thompson (2nd term)	1832–1833
Robert J. Hackley	1834	Hackley was a pioneer settler sent by his father to an area by Tampa Bay. He was dispossessed of his land for the establishment of Fort Brooke.^[6] A case on behalf of his heirs went to the Supreme Court.^{[citation needed]}
William Wilson	1835
John Rea	1836
William P. Gorman	1837
William Hilliard	1838
R. F. Ker	1839
Leslie A. Thompson (3rd term)	1840
Francis W. Eppes	1841–1844

Statehood

Mayor	Years	Notes
James A. Berthelot	1845	He also served in the General Assembly^[7] and campaigned for another office on a no tax anti bond platform advertised on a poster.^[8] He was a mason and part of the Grand Lodge of Florida
Simon Towle	1846	He was also a state comptroller. Owned the Towle House in Tallahassee, Florida^[9]
James Kirksey	1847	Also delegate to the 1861 Secession Convention of Florida
F. H. Flagg	1848
Thomas James Perkins	1849
David Porter Hogue	1850–1851	a lawyer^[10] who served as Attorney General in Florida.^[11]
David S. Walker	1852	went on to serve as the eighth Governor of Florida from 1866 to 1868.
Richard Hayward	1853
Thomas Hayward	1854–1855
Francis W. Eppes (2nd term)	1856–1857
David Porter Hogue (2nd term)	1858–1860

Civil War era and Reconstruction

Mayor	Years	Notes
P. T. Pearce	1861–1865	appointed a trustee of the West Florida Seminary
Francis W. Eppes (3rd term)	1866	grandson of Thomas Jefferson
David Porter Hogue (3rd term)	1867–1868
Thaddeus Preston Tatum	1869–1870	Tatum was a druggist and served in the Battle of Natural Bridge. Lived September 27, 1835 - July 4, 1873 and is buried in the Old City Cemetery.^[12]
Charles Edgar Dyke	1871	a Conservative newspaper editor^[13] of the Floridian & Journal
C. H. Edwards	1872–1874
David S. Walker Jr.	1875	Son of David S. Walker
Samuel Walker	1876

Post-Reconstruction

After World War I

Mayor	Years	Notes
Jesse Talbot Bernard	1877	First Democratic mayor after Reconstruction, which ended the year he was elected.
David S. Walker Jr. (2nd term)	1878–1879
Henry Bernreuter	1880	born in Columbus, Georgia to German immigrants, he moved as a child with his family to Florida. He was a Confederate veteran who later served as sheriff and police chief.^[14]^[15]
Edward Lewis	1881
Charles C. Pearce	1884–1885
George W. Walker	1886
A. J. Fish	1887
Robert B. Gorman	1888–1889	Son of former mayor, William P. Gorman. Served in the Confederate Army and was postmaster in Tallahassee.^[16]^[17] As mayor, he signed on to a letter from the merchants of Tallahassee to the U.S. Army's Chief of Engineers calling for the St. Marks River to be made navigable to promote trade.^[18] In 1889 he reported on negotiations with a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania company for a water works system.^[19]
Richard B. Carpenter	1890–1894	A shopkeeper, he went into bankruptcy and had a legal case for exemption given individuals declaring bankruptcy, even though the firm was established as a separate entity. Decided on appeal in his favor.^[20]
Jesse Talbot Bernard (2nd term)	1895–1896	a teacher and judge who travelled around Florida to hear cases. Served in the Confederate Army.^[21]
R. A. Shine	1897
Robert B. Gorman (2nd term)	1898–1902
William L. Moor	1903–1904	^[22]
John Ward Henderson	1905	^[23] He also served as a legislator.^[24]
Foster Clinton Gilmore	1906
William M. McIntosh Jr.	1907	he also served as Chief Clerk of the state's Comptroller Office.^[25]
Foster Clinton Gilmore (2nd term)	1908
Francis B. Winthrop	1909	The Florida State Archives have a photo of the family home^[26] as well as a photo of Winthrop, age 3.^[27] Florida State University has a photo of him in what appears to be a military uniform c. 1918^[28] as well as some of his business documents in a collection of his family's papers.^[29] His family owned the Barrow Hill Plantation and a house at 610 North Magnolia, which he lived in with his wife for years.
Dexter Marvin Lowry	1910–1917

After World War I

Mayor	Years	Notes
J. R. McDaniel	1918
Guyte P. McCord	1919–1921	played on the 1904 Florida State College football team and scored a touchdown in the state championship game against Stetson
A. P. McCaskill	1922–1923
Ben A. Meginniss	1924–1925
W. Theo Proctor	1926	(b.1892, d.1986)
Ben A. Meginniss (2nd term)	1927
W. Theo Proctor (2nd term)	1928–1929
G. E. Lewis	1930
Frank D. Moor	1931
W. L. Marshall	1932–1933
John L. Fain	1934
Leonard A. Wesson	1935
H. J. Yaeger	1936	^[30] (H. Jack Yaeger)
Leonard A. Wesson (2nd term)	1937
J. R. Jinks	1938
Samuel A. Wahnish	1939	First Jewish mayor
Frank D. Moor (2nd term)	1940
Charles Saxon Ausley	1941
Jack W. Simmons	1942
A. R. Richardson	1943
Charles Saxon Ausley (2nd term)	1944
Ralph E. Proctor	1945

Post-World War II

Mayor	Years	Notes
Fred S. Winterle	1946	He and his son were involved in the oil distribution business.^[31]
George I. Martin	1947
Fred N. Lowry	1948	Younger brother of former mayor Dexter Marvin Lowry^[32]
Robert C. Parker	1949–1950
William H. Cates	1951
B. A. Ragsdale	1952
William T. Mayo	1953
H. C. Summitt	1954
J. T. Williams	1955–1956	Died November 24, 1970^[33]
Fred S. Winterle (2nd term)	1956
John Yaeger Humphress	1956–1957
J. W. Cordell	1957
Davis H. Atkinson	1958
Hugh E. Williams Jr.	1959
George Stanton Taff	1960
J. W. Cordell (2nd term)	1961
Davis H. Atkinson	1962
Samuel E. Teague Jr.	1963
Hugh E. Williams, Jr. (2nd term)	1964
George Stanton Taff (2nd term)	1965
William Haywood Cates (2nd Term)	1966	Longest-serving city commissioner in history of Tallahassee. In 1971, he was defeated by the first African American elected as commissioner, James R. Ford. His son drowned in a hunting accident. Was a religion professor at Florida State University and helped found religious organizations in Tallahassee.^[34]
John A. Rudd, Sr.	1967
Gene Berkowitz	1968	^[35] He also served as a City Commissioner in Tallahassee^[36] His wife was a schoolteacher.^[37] As a commissioner he voted to reopen the city's pools in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.^[35]
Spurgeon Camp	1969
Lee A. Everhart	1970	founder and president of building company Everhart Construction Company^[38]
Gene Berkowitz (2nd term)	1971
James R. Ford	1972	First African-American mayor
Joan Heggen	1973	First female mayor
Russell R. Bevis	1974
Earl Yancey	1974	His wife Lucy was the granddaughter of Florida politician Robert Flournoy Hosford.
Johnny Jones	1975
James R. Ford (2nd term)	1976
Ben W. Thompson	1977
Neal D. Sapp	1978	He was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army and graduated from Florida State University. He was a software developer and businessman. He died March 26, 2004.
Sheldon E. Hilaman	1979	Former school principal.^[39] Known as "Shad". Hillaman Golf Course is named for him.^[40]
Richard P. Wilson	1980
Hurley W. Rudd	1981	also served as a city commissioner and multiple terms in the Florida legislature^[41]
James R. Ford (3rd term)	1982
Carol Bellamy	1983
Kent Spriggs	1984	Civil Rights lawyer who also edited a book about Civil Rights leaders in the deep south. Appeared on C-Span while mayor discussing his duties.^[42]
Hurley W. Rudd (2nd term)	1985
Jack L. McLean Jr.	1986	Second African-American mayor
Betty Harley	1987
Frank Visconti	1988
Dorothy Inman-Crews	1989	First female African-American mayor
Steve Meisberg	1990
Debbie Lightsey	1991
Bob Hightower^[43]	1992
Dorothy Inman-Crews (2nd term)	1993
Penny Herman	1994
Scott Maddox	1995
Ron Weaver (mayor)	1996	4th African American mayor^[44]^[45]
Scott Maddox (2nd term)	1997–2003	first directly elected mayor^[46]
John Marks	2003–2014
Andrew Gillum	2014–2018	Ran for governor in 2018 but lost narrowly to Ron DeSantis^[47]
John E. Dailey	2018–present