List of mayors of Richmond, Virginia
| Mayor of Richmond | |
|---|---|
 Incumbent Levar Stoney since January 1, 2017 | |
| Style | The Honorable |
| Term length | Four years (since 2005) |
| Inaugural holder | William Foushee, Sr. |
| Formation | July 2, 1782 |
| Website | Office of the Mayor |
The Mayor of Richmond is the chief executive of the government of Richmond, Virginia, as stipulated by the city's charter.
This list includes mayors who were appointed by the Richmond City Council as well as those who were elected by popular vote.
The current Mayor of Richmond, (and 80th in the sequence of regular mayors), is Democrat Levar Stoney who succeeded Dwight C. Jones, a Baptist pastor and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 2016. Jones was first elected in 2008, he won a second term in November 2012.[1]
Contents
1 History
2 List of mayors
2.1 Appointed mayors (1782-1853)
2.2 Popularly-elected mayors (1853-1948)
2.3 City Council appointed mayors (1948-2005)
2.4 Popularly-elected mayors (since 2005)
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links
History
Richmond's original City Hall building, used from 1814 to 1874
William Foushee, a physician, was the first mayor of Richmond, Virginia
The City of Richmond was founded in 1737 by William Byrd II.
In May 1782, Virginia General Assembly expressed desire to move inland, to a place less exposed to British incursions than Williamsburg. Richmond had been made the temporary capital after urging from Thomas Jefferson years earlier, and it was soon decided to make the move permanent.
Two months later, on July 2nd, a charter was written up, and the city was incorporated. Twelve men were to be elected from the City at-large and were to select one of their own to act as Mayor, another to serve as Recorder and four to serve as Aldermen. The remaining six were to serve as members of the Common Council. All positions had term limits of three years, with the exception of the mayor who could only serve one year consecutively. A vote was held at a meeting the following day, and Dr. William Foushee, Sr. was chosen as the first mayor.
In March 1851, the decision was made to replace the original Richmond City Charter. It was decided that all city officials were to be popularly elected. After the 12-year tenure of William Lambert and his short-term replacement by recorder Samuel C. Pulliam, elections were held, with Joseph C. Mayo coming out on top.
Mayo was deposed in April 1865, weeks before the end of the American Civil War, when Union forces captured the city.
The system set forth by the Second City Charter worked as long as the City was small and most voters knew personally, the qualifications of the men for whom they were voting and the requirements for the jobs to which they were elected.
Beginning in 1948, Richmond eliminated the popularly elected mayor's office, and instituted a council-manager form of government. This lasted until 2004, when the City Charter was changed once again, bringing back the popularly elected mayor. Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder was elected mayor that year. Of Virginia's 38 cities, only Richmond does not have a council-manager form of government.
List of mayors
Appointed mayors (1782-1853)
| Mayor | Political Party | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Foushee, Sr. | No party | July 3, 1782 | June 30, 1783 |
| 2 | John J. Beckley | No party | July 1, 1783 | July 6, 1784 |
| 3 | Robert Mitchell | No party | July 7, 1784 | 1785 |
| 4 | John Harvie | No party | 1785 | 1786 |
| 5 | William Pennock | No party | December 10, 1786 | 1786 |
| 6 | Richard Adams, Jr. | No party | 1786 | February 21, 1788 |
| 7 | John J. Beckley | No party | February 22, 1788 | March 9, 1789 |
| 8 | Alexander McRobert | No party | March 10, 1789 | March 9, 1790 |
| 9 | Robert Boyd | March 10, 1790 | 1790 | |
| 10 | George Nicolson | 1790 | December 12, 1790 | |
| 11 | Robert Mitchell | December 13, 1790 | 1791 | |
| 12 | John Barrett | 1791 | 1792 | |
| 13 | Robert Mitchell | 1792 | 1793 | |
| 14 | John Barrett | 1793 | 1794 | |
| 15 | Robert Mitchell | 1794 | 1795 | |
| 16 | Andrew Dunscomb | 1795 | 1796 | |
| 17 | Robert Mitchell | 1796 | 1797 | |
| 18 | James McClurg | 1797 | 1798 | |
| 19 | John Barrett | 1798 | 1799 | |
| 20 | George Nicholson | 1799 | 1800 | |
| 21 | James McClurg | 1800 | 1801 | |
| 22 | William Richardson | 1801 | 1802 | |
| 23 | John Foster | 1802 | 1803 | |
| 24 | James McClurg | 1803 | 1804 | |
| 25 | Robert Mitchell | 1804 | 1805 | |
| 26 | William DuVal | 1805 | 1806 | |
| 27 | Edward Carrington | 1806 | 1810 | |
| 28 | David Bullock | 1810 | 1811 | |
| 29 | Benjamin Tate | 1811 | 1812 | |
| 30 | Thomas Wilson | 1812 | 1813 | |
| 31 | John Greenhow | 1813 | 1814 | |
| 32 | Thomas Wilson | 1814 | 1815 | |
| 33 | Robert Gamble | 1815 | 1816 | |
| 34 | Thomas Wilson | 1816 | 1817 | |
| 35 | William H. Fitzwhylson | 1817 | 1818 | |
| 36 | Thomas Wilson | 1818 | May 4, 1818 | |
| 37 | Francis Wicker (acting) | May 5, 1818 | 1819 | |
| 38 | John Adams | 1819 | 1826 | |
| 39 | Joseph Tate | 1826 | 1839 | |
| 40 | Francis Wicker | 1839 | 1840 | |
| 41 | William Lambert | Democratic | 1840 | March 24, 1852 |
| 42 | Samuel C. Pulliam | Democratic | March 25, 1852 | 1853 |
Popularly-elected mayors (1853-1948)
| Mayor | Political Party | Term start | Term end | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Joseph C. Mayo | Democratic | 1853 | April 3, 1865 | |
Fall of Richmond (April 3, 1865) - City under federal authority until appointment of David Saunders as mayor | |||||
| 44 | David J. Saunders | Democratic | July 3, 1865 | April 6, 1866 | |
| 45 | Joseph C. Mayo | Democratic | April 7, 1866 | May 4, 1868 | |
| 46 | George Chahoon | Republican | May 6, 1868 | March 15, 1870 | |
| 47 | Henry K. Ellyson[note 1] | Democratic | March 16, 1870 | June 30, 1871 | |
| 48 | Anthony M. Keiley | Democratic | July 1, 1871 | June 30, 1876 | |
| 49 | William C. Carrington | Democratic | July 1, 1876 | June 30, 1888 | |
| 50 | James Taylor Ellyson | Democratic | July 1, 1888 | June 30, 1894 | |
| 51 | Richard M. Taylor | Democratic | July 1, 1894 | 1904 | |
| 52 | Carlton McCarthy | Democratic | September 1, 1904 | August 31, 1908 | |
| 53 | David C. Richardson | Democratic | September 1, 1908 | September 3, 1912 | |
| 54 | George Ainslie | Democratic | September 4, 1912 | 1924 | |
| 55 | John Fulmer Bright | Democratic | 1924 | 1940 | |
| 56 | Gordon Barbour Ambler | Democratic | 1940 | 1944 | |
| 57 | William C. Herbert | Democratic | 1944 | September 10, 1946 | |
| 58 | Horace H. Edwards | Democratic | September 11, 1946 | 1948 | |
City Council appointed mayors (1948-2005)
| Mayor | Political Party | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 | W. Stirling King | Democratic | 1948 | 1950 |
| 60 | T. Nelson Parker | Democratic | 1950 | 1952 |
| 61 | Edward E. Haddock | Democratic | 1952 | 1954 |
| 62 | Thomas P. Bryan | Democratic | 1954 | 1956 |
| 63 | F. Henry Garber | Democratic | 1956 | 1958 |
| 64 | A. Scott Anderson | Democratic | 1958 | 1960 |
| 65 | Claude W. Woodward | Democratic | 1960 | 1962 |
| 66 | Eleanor P. Sheppard[note 2] | Democratic | July 1, 1962 | June 30, 1964 |
| 67 | Morrill Martin Crowe | Democratic | July 1, 1964 | June 30, 1968 |
| 68 | Philip J. Bagley, Jr. | Democratic | July 1, 1968 | June 30, 1970 |
| 69 | Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. | Democratic | July 1, 1970 | March 7, 1977[note 3] |
| 70 | Henry L. Marsh, III[note 4] | Democratic | March 8, 1977 | June 30, 1982 |
| 71 | Roy A. West | Democratic | July 1, 1982 | June 30, 1988 |
| 72 | Geline B. Williams | Republican | July 1, 1988 | June 30, 1990 |
| 73 | Walter T. Kenney, Sr. | Democratic | July 1, 1990 | June 30, 1994 |
| 74 | Leonidas B. Young, II | Democratic | July 1, 1994 | June 30, 1996 |
| 75 | Larry E. Chavis | Democratic | July 1, 1996 | June 30, 1998 |
| 76 | Timothy M. Kaine | Democratic | July 1, 1998 | September 10, 2001 |
| 77 | Rudolph C. McCollum, Jr. | Democratic | September 11, 2001 | January 1, 2005 |
Popularly-elected mayors (since 2005)
| Picture | Mayor | Political Party | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 |  | Douglas Wilder | Democratic | January 2, 2005 | January 1, 2009 |
| 79 |  | Dwight C. Jones | Democratic | January 1, 2009 | December 31, 2016 |
| 80 |  | Levar Stoney | Democratic | January 1, 2017 | Incumbent |
Notes
| History of Virginia |
|---|
|
 Virginia portal |
^ After Ellyson's election, Mayor Chahoon challenged the new administration's legitimacy and refused to step down. The courts ruled in Ellyson's favor, and he was declared victor of the May election but refused the office because tainted by skullduggery. See Richmond's Municipal War.
^ Sheppard was the first female City Council member in Richmond as well as the first female mayor.
^ Between 1972 and 1976, city council elections were not held by order of the United States Department of Justice. See City of Richmond v. United States.
^ Marsh was the first African-American mayor of Richmond.
References
^ "Voters re-elect mayor, shake up Richmond's City Council". NBC12. November 16, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
External links
- City of Richmond: City Council 1948-Present
- Political Graveyard: Mayors of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area | |
|---|---|
| |
| See also |
|
| |
Category
Portal
