Mayor of Galveston explained

The mayor of Galveston is the official head of the city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas. The incumbent mayor is Craig Brown, who was elected in 2020, re-elected in 2022,[1] [2] and was re-elected to another three-year term on May 4, 2024.[3] He took office in July 2020, succeeding the previous mayor, Jim Yarbrough.[4]

History

Local politics in Galveston have a tradition of being nonpartisan. There are no party labels on local ballots.[5]

Commission government

When Galveston originated the commission form of government, starting the year 1901,[6] [7] the mayor officially held the title of "Mayor-President" and was president of the board of commissioners. Galveston's first mayor under the commission system was William T. Austin, who served for four years.

Council-manager government

The city of Galveston has had a council-manager system of government since its adoption of the form in 1961.[8]

List of mayors and mayor-presidents of the board of commissioners

Below is a list of Galveston's mayors and presidents of the Board of Commissioners.

No.ImageMayorTerm startTerm endPartyNote
1John Melville AllenMarch 1839June 1840Democratic[9] First Mayor of Galveston
2John H. WaltonJune 1840May 1841
3John Melville Allen18411842Democratic
4James M. Branham18421843Announced a curfew for all blacks, free and slave, in the city of Galveston that prohibited being in public after 8pm without a permit and forbade being in public after 10pm in all cases.[10]
5John Melville Allen18431846Democratic
6John Seabrook Sydnor18461847Plantation owner that operated "the largest slave market west of New Orleans in the heart of Galveston".[11]
7Joseph Bates18481848WhigFought in the Second Seminole War, was a representative of the Alabama legislature.[12]
8Hamilton Stuart18491852DemocraticFounder of the Galveston Civilian,[13] once argued "that the products of slave labor sustain the commerce of the world, civilization and Christianity."
9Michael Seeligson1853June 1853Resigned in June.
10Willard B. Richardson18531854Mayor pro tempore, editor, partner and proprietor of the Galveston News.[14] [15]
11James Cronican18541855Had previously represented the district of Galveston in the First Texas Legislature from February 1846 to December 1847.[16]
12James Edward Haviland18551856
13John Henry Brown18561857DemocraticLater became the mayor of Dallas.
14Thomas Miller Joseph18581862DemocraticLeslie A. Thompson was claimed to be the mayor in 1858 in some later sources. However, he is only mentioned as a city alderman in 1856[17] and 1857.[18]
Vacant18631863
15Charles Henry Leonard18641867DemocraticFormer soldier of the Texian Army, fought to suppress the Córdova Rebellion and Native American revolts in 1838 under General Rusk.[19]
16J. C. Haviland1867June 17, 1867Major General Charles Griffin, commander of the Fifth Military District, ordered Haviland to disband the city's entire police force. Haviland was removed from office by Griffin as he was considered "an impediment to reconstruction"[20] on June 17, 1867.
17Isaac G. Williams18671869Appointed to fill the vacancy after Haviland was removed from office.
18James A. McKee1869March 6, 1871Republican
19Albert SomervilleJune 5, 18711873
20Charles W. Hurley18731875
21Robert L. Fulton18751877Democratic
22D. C. Stone18771879
23Charles Henry Leonard18791881Democratic
24L. C. Fisher18811883
25Robert L. Fulton18831893Democratic
26Ashley Wilson Fly18931899
27Walter Charles Jones18991900Mayor during the Great Storm of 1900.[21]
28William T. Austin19011905First mayor under the commission plan.[22]
Died in office.
29Henry A. Landes19051909Elected as mayor-president after Austin's death.
30Lewis Dallam Fisher19091917Under his administration the seawall was first built.[23]
31Isaac Herbert Kempner19171919Early advocate of the commission form of government.[24]
32Harry O. Sappington 19191921
33Charles H. Keenan19211923
34Baylis Earle Harriss19231925
35John Elias Pearce19251935
36Adrian F. Levy19351939
37Brantly Callaway Harris19391942
38Henry W. Flagg19421943
39George W. Frazer19431947
40Herbert Yemon Cartwright Jr.19471955
41George Roy Clough19551959
42Herbert Yemon Cartwright Jr.19591960
43Edward Schreiber19611962
44Theodore B. Stubbs19621963
45Edward Schreiber19641970
46Marcus Lamar Ross19711973
47Ralph Albert Apfell19731977
48Elias "Gus" Manuel1978February 2, 1984Died in office.
49Janice Reddig Coggeshall19841989
50Barbara Krantz Crews19901996
51Henry Freudenburg III19961998
52Roger Reuben "Bo" Quiroga19982004
53Lyda Ann Thomas20042010
54Joe Jaworski20102012Democratic
55Lewis S. RosenJune 22, 20122014
56James D. "Jim" Yarbrough2014July 15, 2020Democratic
57Craig K. BrownJuly 2020Present

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Galveston Mayor - Craig Brown. November 28, 2023. City of Galveston, Texas.
  2. News: Galveston Mayor Craig Brown announces third bid. June 14, 2023. The Daily News.
  3. News: Grunau. Sarah. Galveston County elections: city council candidate considering calling recount after loss by one vote. Houston Public Media. May 6, 2024.
  4. News: Galveston interim Mayor Brown seeks to stave off challenges from ex-mayor, three other candidates. Houston Chronicle. October 21, 2020.
  5. News: In unusual move, county GOP backs Quiroga for mayor. The Daily News. November 25, 2020.
  6. Rice. Bradley R.. The Galveston Plan of City Government by Commission: The Birth of a Progressive Idea. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 78. 4. 365–408. April 1975. 30238355.
  7. Web site: Rice. Bradley R.. Commission Form of City Government. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  8. Web site: City History. City of Galveston. February 4, 2024.
  9. Book: Wheeler, Kenneth W.. To Wear a City's Crown; the Beginnings of Urban Growth in Texas, 1836-1865. 1968. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard University Press. 74. The Wayback Machine. The incumbent mayor, John B. Allen,[sic] a professional revolutionist who had been with Lord Byron when he died in Greece and who had been a military hero at the Battle of San Jacinto, was a dedicated democrat..
  10. Web site: Torget. Andrew J.. "Mayor's Office," Civilian and Galveston Gazette, April 16, 1842. Texas Slavery Project. University of Virginia. December 25, 2023.
  11. Book: Wheeler, Kenneth W.. To Wear a City's Crown; the Beginnings of Urban Growth in Texas, 1836-1865. 1968. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard University Press. 108. The Wayback Machine.
  12. Web site: Ragan. Cooper K.. Joseph Bates. Texas State Historical Association. November 1, 1994.
  13. Anonymous (June 9, 2020) Galveston Civilian Texas State Historical Association
  14. Darst, Maury (1995) Galveston News Texas State Historical Association
  15. Web site: City of Galveston Planning Commission. 19P-016 Staff Report. City of Galveston.
  16. Web site: James Cronican. Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Texas Legislative Reference Library.
  17. Book: Fayman. W. A.. Reilly. T. W.. Fayman & Reilly's Galveston City Directory for 1875-76. 1875. Galveston. Strickland & Clark, Stationers, Printers and Lithographers. University of North Texas Libraries.
  18. Book: Richardson, W. D.. Galveston Directory for 1859--60: with a Brief History of the Island, Prior to the Foundation of the City. The Successive Mayoralties of the City to the Present Time–Provisions of the Present Charter and Ordinances Now in Force. Also Some Account of the Various Public Institutions, Improvements, Commerce, &c., of the City.. 1859. Galveston. The "News" Book and Job Office. University of North Texas Libraries.
  19. Web site: PGM Charles H. Leonard. Grand Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Texas. November 30, 2023.
  20. Web site: Galveston Police Department. 2012 Annual Report - History of the Department. City of Galveston. 9.
  21. Book: Various. Coulter. John. 1900. The Complete Story of the Galveston Horror. United Publishers of America. January 7, 2021. Project Gutenberg.
  22. Hornady. J. R.. 1911. Amazing Growth of a New Idea; How Four Cities Found Freedom and Prosperity in the Commission Plan Initiated by Galveston, Texas. Uncle Remus's Home Magazine. Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia State University. 10.
  23. News: Fisher. Lewis. Galveston's Splendid System. San José, California. San Jose Mercury and Herald. December 15, 1912. 17. University of California, Riverside Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
  24. Hyman. Harold M.. 1988. I.H. Kempner and the Galveston Commission Government. The Houston Review. 10. 2. 68. Houston History Magazine - University of Houston.