Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida

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

Mayor of Tallahassee
Oak Tree Logo of the City of Tallahassee
Incumbent John E. Dailey since November 19, 2018
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Charles Haire
Formation	1826
Website

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

• 1826 Charles Haire (Florida politician)[2] was elected Intendant
• 1827 David Ochiltree, 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]
• 1828-1829 John Y. Gary
• 1830 Leslie A. Thompson
• 1831 Charles Austin (politician)
• 1832-1833 Leslie A. Thompson
• 1834 Robert J. Hackley, 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.
• 1835 William Wilson (Florida politician)
• 1836 John Rea (Florida politician)
• 1837 William P. Gorman
• 1838 William Hilliard (Florida politician)
• 1839 R. F. Ker
• 1840 Leslie A. Thompson
• 1841–1844 Francis W. Eppes

Statehood

• 1845 James A. Berthelot, 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
• 1846 Simon Towle, was also a state comptroller. Owned the Towle House (Tallahassee, Florida)[9]
• 1847 James Kirksey
• 1848 F. H. Flagg
• 1849 Thomas J. Perkins (Florida politician)
• 1850-1851 D. P. Hogue (also David P. Hogue or David Porter Hogue, a lawyer[10] who served as Attorney General in Florida.[11]
• 1852 David S. Walker
• 1853 Richard Hayward (Florida politician)
• 1854-1855 Thomas Hayward (Florida politician)
• 1856-1857 Francis W. Eppes
• 1858-1860 D. P. Hogue

Civil War era and Reconstruction

• 1861-1865 P. T. Pearce, he was appointed a trustee of the West Florida Seminary
• 1866 Francis W. Eppes, grandson of Thomas Jefferson, returned to office
• 1867-1868 D. P. Hogue
• 1869-1870 Thaddeus Preston 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]
• 1871 Charles Edgar Dyke, a Conservative newspaper editor[13] of the Floridian & Journal
• 1872-1874 C. H. Edwards
• 1875 David S. Walker, Jr.
• 1876 Samuel Walker

Post-Reconstruction

• 1877 Jesse Bernard (also known as J. T. Bernard and Jesse Talbot Bernard), first Democratic mayor after Reconstruction, which ended the year he was elected.
• 1878-1879 David S. Walker, Jr.
• 1880 Henry Bernreuter, 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]
• 1881 Edward Lewis (Florida politician)
• 1882 John W. Nash
• 1883 Edward Lewis (Florida politician)
• 1884-1885 Charles C. Pearce
• 1886 George W. Walker (Tallahassee, FL mayor)
• 1887 A. J. Fish
• 1888-1889 R. B. 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]
• 1890-1894 Richard B. Carpenter, a shopkeeper. Later 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]
• 1895-1896 Jesse Talbot Bernard, a teacher and judge who travelled around Florida to hear cases. Served in the Confederate Army. He kept a diary.[21]
• 1897 R. A. Shine
• 1898-1902 R. B. Gorman, return to office of mayor

20th century to WWII

• 1903-1904 William L. Moor[22]
• 1905 John Ward Henderson,[23] he also served as a legislator.[24]
• 1906 F. C. Gilmore
• 1907 W. M. McIntosh, Jr., he also served as Chief Clerk of the state's Comptroller Office.[25]
• 1908 F. C. Gilmore
• 1909 Francis B. Winthrop, 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 ca. 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.
• 1910-1917 D. M. Lowry
• 1918 J. R. McDaniel
• 1919-1921 Guyte P. McCord, played on the 1904 Florida State College football team and scored a touchdown in the state championship game against Stetson.
• 1922-1923 A. P. McCaskill
• 1924-1925 B. A. Meginniss
• 1926 W. Theo Proctor
• 1927 B.A. Meginniss
• 1928-1929 W. Theo Proctor
• 1930 G. E. Lewis
• 1931 Frank D. Moor
• 1932-1933 W. L. Marshall
• 1934 J. L. Fain
• 1935 Leonard A. Wesson
• 1936 H. J. Yaeger[30] (H. Jack Yaeger)
• 1937 L. A. Wesson (Leonard A. Wesson, lived at 503 McDaniel)
• 1938 J. R. Jinks
• 1939 S. A. Wahnish
• 1940 F. C. Moor
• 1941 Charles S. Ausley
• 1942 Jack W. Simmons
• 1943 A. R. Richardson
• 1944 Charles S. Ausley
• 1945 Ralph E. Proctor

Post-World War II

• 1946 Fred S. Winterle, he and his son were involved in the oil distribution business.[31]
• 1947 George I. Martin
• 1948 Fred N. Lowry
• 1949-1950 Robert C. Parker disambig needed
• 1951 William H. Cates
• 1952 B. A. Ragsdale
• 1953 William T. Mayo
• 1954 H. G. Esterwood
• 1954 H. C. Summitt
• 1955-1956 J. T. Williams disambig needed
• 1956 Fred S. Winterle, a return to office
• 1956-1957 John Y. Humphress
• 1957 J. W. Cordell
• 1958 Davis H. Atkinson
• 1959 Hugh E. Williams, Jr.
• 1960 George S. Taft disambig needed
• 1961 J. W. Cordell
• 1962 Davis H. Atkinson
• 1963 S. E. Teague, Jr. (Samuel)
• 1964 Hugh E. Williams, Jr.
• 1965 George S. Taft
• 1966 William Haywood Cates, Sr., longest-serving city commissioner in history of Tallahassee. Eventually lost to the first African American elected as commissioner. His son drowned in a hunting accident. Was a religion professor at Florida State University and helped found religious organizations in Tallahassee.[32]
• 1967 John A. Rudd, Sr.
• 1968 Gene Berkowitz[33] He also served as a City Commissioner in Tallahassee[34] His wife was a schoolteacher.[35] As a commissioner he voted to reopen the city's pools in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.[33]
• 1969 Spurgeon Camp
• 1970 Lee A. Everhart, founder and president of building company Everhart Construction Company[36]
• 1971 Gene Berkowitz, return to office
• 1972 James R. Ford, first African-American mayor
• 1973 Joan Heggen, first woman mayor
• 1974 Russell R. Bevis
• 1974 Earl Yancy
• 1975 Johnny Jones
• 1976 James R. Ford
• 1977 Ben W. Thompson
• 1978 Neal D. Sapp, was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army and graduated from Florida State University with a business. He was a software developer and businessman. He died March 26, 2004.
• 1979 Sheldon E. Hilaman, also served as a City Commissioner. Went by Shad. Hillaman Golf Course is named for him.[37]
• 1980 Richard P. Wilson
• 1981 Hurley W. Rudd, also served as a city commissioner and multiple terms in the Florida legislature[38]
• 1982 James R. Ford[39]
• 1983 Carol Bellamy
• 1984 Kent Spriggs, a 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.[40]
• 1985 Hurley W. Rudd
• 1986 Jack L. McLean Jr., second African-American mayor
• 1987 Betty Harley
• 1988 Frank Visconti
• 1989 Dorothy Inman-Crews, first African-American woman mayor
• 1990 Steve Meisberg
• 1991 Debbie Lightsey
• 1992 Bob Hightower[41]
• 1993 Dorothy Inman-Crews
• 1994 Penny Herman
• 1995 Scott Maddox
• 1996 Ron Weaver (mayor)
• 1997–2003 Scott Maddox, first directly-elected mayor[42]
• 2003–2014 John Marks, longest-serving mayor in the city's history
• 2014–2018 Andrew Gillum, ran for governor in 2018 but lost narrowly to Ron DeSantis[43]
• 2018–present John E. Dailey

See also

• Timeline of Tallahassee, Florida

References

1. https://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Mayoral-candidate-raises-the-question-of-a-position-overhaul--458071993.html
2. "Tallahassee, Leon County". Viva Florida. Tallahassee: Florida League of Cities. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
3. "d.o. elected intendant in Tallahassee, fla. 1827". Newspapers.com.
4. Burgess, Louis Alexander (1 January 1973). Virginia soldiers of 1776: compiled from documents on file in the Virginia Land Office; together with material found in the Archives Department of the Virginia State Library, and other reliable sources. Genealogical Pub. Co. ISBN 9780806305295 – via Google Books.
5. Floridian and Advocate (Tallahassee, Florida), Dec. 27, 1834, p. 3: Obituary
6. Burnett, Gene M. (1 June 1996). Florida's Past: People and Events That Shaped the State. Pineapple Press Inc. ISBN 9781561641178 – via Google Books.
7. "A Journal of the Proceedings of the House of Representatives of the ... General Assembly of the State of Florida, at Its ... Session". 7 December 2018. p. 3.
8. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Campaign Poster for James A. Berthelot, James M. Gilchrist, and James H. Gibson". Florida Memory.
9. "Towle House - Florida Historical Markers". Waymarking.com.
10. Court, Florida Supreme (10 December 2018). "Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Florida" – via Google Books.
11. Court, Florida Supreme (10 December 2018). "Florida Reports" – via Google Books.
12. "Portrait of Thaddeus Preston Tatum - Tallahassee, Florida". Florida Memory.
13. "Notes on Reconstruction in Tallahassee and Leon County, 1866-1876". The Florida Historical Society Quarterly. 5 (3): 153–158. 1927. JSTOR 30150750.
14. "Henry Bernreuter, Memorial article by friend". The Weekly True Democrat.
15. "BERNREUTER, Henry". Florida Memory.
16. "R B Gorman obit 17 April 1918 - Newspapers.com". Tallahassee Democrat.
17. House, Florida Legislature (8 December 1881). "Journal ..." pp. 2–27.
18. "Report of the Chief of Engineers U.S. Army". U.S. Government Printing Office. 8 December 1889 – via Google Books.
19. "The Engineering Record, Building Record and Sanitary Engineer". McGraw Publishing Company. 8 December 1889.
20. "Mayor r b carpenter bankrupt - Newspapers.com". Tampa Bay Times.
21. Phillips, Rebecca; Bernard, Jesse Talbot (1939). "A Diary of Jesse Talbot Bernard". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 18 (2): 115–126. JSTOR 30145327.
22. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Tallahassee Junior Museum officials". Florida Memory. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
23. History of Florida, Past and Present: Historical and Biographical. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. 1923.
24. "Search Results". Florida Memory.
25. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Portrait of William M. McIntosh Jr. standing by the Capitol - Tallahassee, Florida". Florida Memory.
26. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Winthrop family home at 610 N. Monroe St. in Tallahassee, Florida". Florida Memory.
27. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Francis B. Winthrop at age three". Florida Memory.
28. "Francis B. Winthrop - fsu.digital.flvc.org". fsu.digital.flvc.org.
29. "Winthrop Family Papers, 1592-1970 - FSU Special Collections & Archives". fsuarchon.fcla.edu.
30. Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.). "Mayors and Postmasters of Tallahassee, Florida". Political Graveyard. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
31. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Fred S. Winterle and son's Gulf oil distribution trucks". Florida Memory.
32. "Cates Ave. named for former city commissioner". Tallahassee Democrat.
33. "Letter: Was it Wade or Berkowitz who reopened city pools?". Tallahassee Democrat.
34. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "New City Commissioner Gene Berkowitz with his wife in Tallahassee". Florida Memory.
35. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Gene Berkowitz reading to class in Tallahassee". Florida Memory.
36. Butcher, Lee (10 December 1976). Florida's power structure: who's part of it and why. Trend Pub. ISBN 9780882510699 – via Google Books.
37. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Men on the course at the Winewood Golf Club in Tallahassee, Florida". Florida Memory.
38. 2006 obituary in the Tallahassee Democrat
40. "Kent Spriggs - C-SPAN.org". C-span.org.
41. "Robert S. Hightower". hightowerlaw.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
42. "City Officials". City of Tallahassee. Archived from the original on June 5, 1997 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
43. https://tallahasseereports.com/2020/09/09/i-cried-everyday-former-tallahassee-mayor-andrew-gillum-to-discuss-controversial-incident-on-tamron-hall/