| Mayor of Philadelphia |
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|---|---|
Seal of City of Philadelphia |
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| Term length | 4 years |
| Inaugural holder | Humphrey Morrey |
| Formation | 1691 |
| Website | Office of the Mayor |
The Mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current Mayor of Philadelphia is Michael Nutter.
Contents |
The first mayor of Philadelphia, Humphrey Morrey, was appointed by city founder William Penn. Edward Shippen was appointed by Penn as first mayor under the charter of 1701, then was elected to a second term by the City Council. Subsequent mayors, who held office for one year, were elected by the city council from among their number.
No compensation was paid to the earliest office-holders, and candidates often objected strongly to their being selected, sometimes choosing even to pay a fine rather than serve. In 1704 Alderman Griffith Jones was elected but declined to serve, for which he was fined twenty pounds. In 1706, Alderman Thomas Story was similarly fined for refusing office. In 1745, Alderman Abraham Taylor was fined thirty pounds for refusing the mayoralty; Council then elected Joseph Turner, who also refused and was likewise fined.[1] Others who refused election included Richard Hill (1717), Isaac Norris (1722), John Mifflin and Alexander Stedman, while William Coxe pleaded illness (1758), Samuel Mifflin (1761), William Coxe and Daniel Benezet (1762), and John Barclay and George Roberts (1792). Robert Wharton declined in 1800 and 1811, amid serving for 14 one-year terms, making him the most-often-elected (16 times, including refusals) and longest-serving (14 years) mayor of Philadelphia.[2]
In 1747, at the request of retiring Mayor William Attwood, Council resolved to institute an annual salary of 100 pounds for the office.[1] Nevertheless, that same year, Anthony Morris secretly fled to Bucks County to avoid being notified of his election to the mayoralty. When after three days he could not be located, a new election had to be arranged, and Attwood was re-elected to a second term.
Beginning in 1826, Council could elect any citizen of Philadelphia to the mayoralty. From 1839, mayors were elected by popular vote. If no candidate won a majority of the popular vote, then the joint Councils (Select and Common) would decide between the two leading candidates. John Swift was the first mayor to be elected directly by the people in the 1840 election.
The length of the term of office was extended to two years in 1854, to three years in 1861, and to four years in 1885. A two-consecutive-term limit was instituted in 1951.
| Mayor | Term | Political party |
|---|---|---|
| Humphrey Morrey | 1691–1701 | (appointed by William Penn) |
| Edward Shippen | 1701–1703 | (appointed by Penn to a one-year term, elected by Council to another) |
| Anthony Morris | 1703–1704 | |
| Griffith Jones | 1704–1705 | |
| Joseph Willcox | 1705–1706 | |
| Nathan Stanbury | 1706–1707 | |
| Thomas Masters | 1707–1709 | (two one-year terms) |
| Richard Hill | 1709–1710 | |
| William Carter | 1710–1711 | |
| Samuel Preston | 1711–1712 | |
| Jonathan Dickinson | 1712–1713 | |
| George Roch | 1713–1714 | |
| Richard Hill | 1714–1717 | (three one-year terms) |
| Jonathan Dickinson | 1717–1719 | (two one-year terms) |
| William Fishbourn | 1719–1722 | (three one-year terms) |
| James Logan | 1722–1723 | |
| Clement Plumsted | 1723–1724 | |
| Isaac Norris | 1724–1725 | |
| William Hudson | 1725–1726 | |
| Charles Read | 1726–1727 | |
| Thomas Lawrence (I) | 1727–1729 | (two one-year terms) |
| Thomas Griffitts | 1729–1731 | (two one-year terms) |
| Samuel Hasell | 1731–1733 | (two one-year terms) |
| Thomas Griffitts | 1733–1734 | |
| Thomas Lawrence (I) | 1734–1735 | |
| William Allen | 1735–1736 | |
| Clement Plumsted | 1736–1737 | |
| Thomas Griffitts | 1737–1738 | |
| Anthony Morris | 1738–1739 | |
| Edward Roberts | 1739–1740 | |
| Samuel Hasell | 1740–1741 | |
| Clement Plumsted | 1741–1742 | |
| William Till | 1742–1743 | |
| Benjamin Shoemaker | 1743–1744 | |
| Edward Shippen (II) | 1744–1745 | |
| James Hamilton | 1745–1746 | |
| William Attwood | 1746–1748 | (two one-year terms) |
| Charles Willing | 1748–1749 | |
| Thomas Lawrence (I) | 1749–1750 | |
| William Plumsted | 1750–1751 | |
| Robert Strettell | 1751–1752 | |
| Benjamin Shoemaker | 1752–1753 | |
| Thomas Lawrence (I) | 1753–1754 | |
| Charles Willing | 1754 | (Replaced Thomas Lawrence (I), deceased) |
| William Plumsted | 1754–1756 | (Replaced Charles Willing, deceased) (two one-year terms) |
| Attwood Shute | 1756–1758 | (two one-year terms) |
| Thomas Lawrence (II) | 1758–1759 | |
| John Stamper | 1759–1760 | |
| Benjamin Shoemaker | 1760–1761 | |
| Jacob Duché, Sr. | 1761–1762 | |
| Henry Harrison | 1762–1763 | |
| Thomas Willing | 1763–1764 | |
| Thomas Lawrence (II) | 1764–1765 | |
| John Lawrence | 1765–1767 | (two one-year terms) |
| Isaac Jones | 1767–1769 | (two one-year terms) |
| Samuel Shoemaker | 1769–1771 | (two one-year terms) |
| John Gibson | 1771–1773 | (two one-year terms) |
| William Fisher | 1773–1774 | |
| Samuel Rhoads | 1774–1775 | |
| Samuel Powel | 1775–1776 | |
| (vacant) | 1776–1789 | |
| Samuel Powel | 1789–1790 | |
| Samuel Miles | 1790–1791 | |
| John Barclay | 1791–1792 | |
| Matthew Clarkson | 1792–1796 | (four one-year terms) |
| Hilary Baker | 1796–1798 | (two one-year terms) |
| Robert Wharton | 1798–1800 | (two one-year terms) |
| John Inskeep | 1800–1801 | |
| Matthew Lawler | 1801–1805 | (four one-year terms) |
| John Inskeep | 1805–1806 | |
| Robert Wharton | 1806–1808 | (two one-year terms) |
| John Barker | 1808-1810 | (two one-year terms) |
| Robert Wharton | 1810–1811 | |
| Michael Keppele | 1811–1812 | |
| John Barker | 1812–1813 | |
| John Geyer | 1813–1814 | |
| Robert Wharton | 1814–1819 | (five one-year terms) |
| James Nelson Barker | 1819–1820 | |
| Robert Wharton | 1820–1824 | (four one-year terms) |
| Joseph Watson | 1824–1828 | (four one-year terms) |
| George Mifflin Dallas | 1828–1829 | |
| Benjamin Wood Richards | 1829 | |
| William Milnor | 1829–1830 | |
| Benjamin Wood Richards | 1830–1831 | |
| John Swift | 1832–1838 | |
| Isaac Roach | 1838–1839 | |
| John Swift | 1839–1841 | (two one-year terms) |
| John Morin Scott | 1841–1844 | Whig |
| Peter McCall | 1844–1845 | |
| John Swift | 1845–1849 | Whig (1st popularly elected) |
| Joel Jones | 1849–1850 | |
| Charles Gilpin | 1850–1854 | Whig |
| Robert Thomas Conrad | 1854–1856 | Whig, two-year terms instituted |
| Richard Vaux | 1856–1858 | Democratic |
| Alexander Henry | 1858–1866 | People's Party, National Union Party, (Aligned with Republican Party)[3] |
| Morton McMichael | 1866–1869 | Republican |
| Daniel Fox | 1869–1872 | Democratic |
| William Strumberg Stokley | 1872–1881 | Republican |
| Samuel George King | 1881–1884 | |
| William Burns Smith | 1884–1887 | Republican |
| Edwin Henry Fitler | 1887–1891 | Republican (four-year terms instituted) |
| Edwin Sydney Stuart | 1891–1895 | Republican |
| Charles Franklin Warwick | 1895–1899 | Republican |
| Samuel Howell Ashbridge | 1899–1903 | Republican |
| John Weaver | 1903–1907 | Republican |
| John E. Reyburn | 1907–1911 | Republican |
| Rudolph Blankenburg | 1911–1916 | Republican (independent) elected on Keystone-Democratic ticket[4] |
| Thomas B. Smith | 1916–1920 | Republican |
| J. Hampton Moore | 1920–1924 | Republican |
| W. Freeland Kendrick | 1924–1928 | Republican |
| Harry Arista Mackey | 1928–1931 | Republican |
| J. Hampton Moore | 1932–1936 | Republican |
| Samuel Davis Wilson | 1936–1939 | Republican |
| George Connell | 1939–1940 | Acting mayor for the balance of Wilson's term after Wilson's death. |
| Robert Eneas Lamberton | January 1, 1940 – August 22, 1941 | Republican (died in office) |
| Bernard Samuel | August 22, 1941 – January 7, 1952 | Republican |
| Joseph S. Clark Jr. | January 7, 1952 – January 2, 1956 | Democratic |
| Richardson Dilworth | January 2, 1956 – February 12, 1962 | Democratic (elected to two four-year terms; resigned) |
| James Hugh Joseph Tate | February 12, 1962 – January 3, 1972 | Democratic (succeeded Dilworth; then elected to two four-year terms) |
| Frank L. Rizzo | January 3, 1972 – January 7, 1980 | Democratic (two four-year terms) |
| William J. Green III | January 7, 1980 – January 2, 1984 | Democratic |
| W. Wilson Goode | January 2, 1984 – January 6, 1992 | Democratic (two four-year terms) |
| Edward G. Rendell | January 6, 1992 – December 21, 1999 | Democratic (elected to two four-year terms; resigned) |
| John F. Street | December 21, 1999 – January 7, 2008 | Democratic (succeeded Rendell; elected to two four-year terms) |
| Michael Nutter | January 7, 2008–present | Democratic (incumbent) |
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