| Post: | Mayor |
| Body: | Tallahassee |
| Insignia: | Seal of Tallahassee, Florida.png |
| Insigniasize: | 100px |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of the City of Tallahassee |
| Flag: | File:Flag of Tallahassee, Florida (2002–2020).svg |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the City of Tallahassee |
| Flagsize: | 120px |
| Incumbent: | John E. Dailey |
| Incumbentsince: | November 19, 2018 |
| Style: | The Honorable |
| Termlength: | 4 years |
| Formation: | 1826 |
| Salary: | $80,289 |
| Inaugural: | Charles Haire |
| Website: | https://talgov.com/Main/Home.aspx |
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.
| Image | 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. | |
| 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 | ||
| Image | 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 | ||
| Image | 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 | ||
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Talbot Bernard | 1877 | First Democratic mayor after Reconstruction, which ended the year he was elected. | [He was born in [[Portsmouth, Virginia]] on August 20, 1829 to Rev. Overton and Martha J. (Thomas) Bernard. He graduated from Centenary College in Louisiana and was briefly a professor of languages there before moving to Florida. He received an LL. D. from the University of Florida, and was admitted to the bar in Newnansville, Florida in 1854. He practiced there until 1861 when he joined Gamble’s artillery. He rose to assistant quartermaster, Eighth Florida infantry with rank of captain of cavalry and in 1864 was transferred to General Robert E. Lee’s staff where he was charged with the transport of hospital trains. He moved to Tallahassee in 1866, went on a 6-month European trip, and was elected in 1867 to be principal of the State Seminary at Tallahassee, serving for eighteen months. In January 1869, he was appointed Leon County Court judge by the governor and served in that office for four years. In 1872 he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to be alternate centennial commissioner. In 1875 he was elected to the committee of 13 executive centennial commissioners and served until 1879, making numerous trips to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for planning. In 1850 he married Mary E. Bradford of Leon County, daughter of Thomas A. Bradford and his wife. Their surviving children were M. Bettie, wife of W. G. Powell; Overton; Rubie B., wife of Thomas B. Byrd; and Jessie T., wife of Frank C. Groover. Bernard was a Royal Arch Mason and belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.][14] --> | |
| 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.[15] [16] | ||
| 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.[17] [18] 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.[19] In 1889 he reported on negotiations with a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania company for a water works system.[20] | ||
| 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.[21] | ||
| Jesse Talbot Bernard (2nd term) | 1895–1896 | a teacher and judge who travelled around Florida to hear cases. Served in the Confederate Army.[22] | ||
| R. A. Shine | 1897 | |||
| Robert B. Gorman (2nd term) | 1898–1902 | |||
| William L. Moor | 1903–1904 | [23] | ||
| John Ward Henderson | 1905 | [24] He also served as a legislator.[25] | ||
| Foster Clinton Gilmore | 1906 | |||
| William M. McIntosh Jr. | 1907 | he also served as Chief Clerk of the state's Comptroller Office.[26] | ||
| Foster Clinton Gilmore (2nd term) | 1908 | |||
| Francis B. Winthrop | 1909 | The Florida State Archives have a photo of the family home[27] as well as a photo of Winthrop, age 3.[28] Florida State University has a photo of him in what appears to be a military uniform [29] as well as some of his business documents in a collection of his family's papers.[30] 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 | |||
| Image | 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 | [31] (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 | ||
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fred S. Winterle | 1946 | He and his son were involved in the oil distribution business.[32] | |
| George I. Martin | 1947 | ||
| Fred N. Lowry | 1948 | Younger brother of former mayor Dexter Marvin Lowry[33] | |
| 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[34] | |
| 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 | ||
| 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.[35] | |
| John A. Rudd, Sr. | 1967 | ||
| Gene Berkowitz | 1968 | [36] He also served as a City Commissioner in Tallahassee[37] His wife was a schoolteacher.[38] As a commissioner he voted to reopen the city's pools in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. | |
| Spurgeon Camp | 1969 | ||
| Lee A. Everhart | 1970 | founder and president of building company Everhart Construction Company[39] | |
| 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.[40] Known as "Shad". Hillaman Golf Course is named for him.[41] | |
| Richard P. Wilson | 1980 | ||
| Hurley W. Rudd | 1981 | also served as a city commissioner and multiple terms in the Florida legislature[42] | |
| 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.[43] | |
| 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[44] | 1992 | ||
| Dorothy Inman-Crews (2nd term) | 1993 | ||
| Penny Herman | 1994 | ||
| Scott Maddox | 1995 | ||
| Ron Weaver (mayor) | 1996 | 4th African American mayor[45] [46] | |
| Scott Maddox (2nd term) | 1997–2003 | first directly elected mayor[47] | |
| John Marks | 2003–2014 | ||
| Andrew Gillum | 2014–2018 | Ran for governor in 2018 but lost narrowly to Ron DeSantis[48] | |
| John E. Dailey | 2018–present | ||