The Mayor of Charlottesville is the president of the City Council in Charlottesville, Virginia. Before 1888, Charlottesville was a town within Albemarle County, Virginia, and the electorate directly chose a mayor in regular elections. In 1888, Charlottesville incorporated as a city independent of the county but continued to select its mayors in the same fashion. Since 1922, however, the popular electorate has chosen a number of individuals to serve on city council - initially three, then five from 1928 to the present. From 1922 through 2006 those elections took place in May or June each even-numbered year. Beginning in 2007, council elections moved to November of odd-numbered years.[1] The elected councilors chose one of their own members to serve as leader of the council with the title of "mayor" but with no distinct legal or executive authority. The mayor presides over council meetings and occasionally plays a role as the ceremonial head of city government.

List of mayors

Popularly elected mayors (1853–1922)

(partial list)

Mayor Political party Term start Term end
Christopher L. Fowler[2][3] April 1868
T. W. Savage[3] April 1868 March 1870
N. H. Massie[3] March 1870 April 1870
Christopher L. Fowler[3] April 1870 1870
William L. Cochran[3][4] 1870 1875?
Richard F. Harris[5] 1875 1881
B. R. Pace[6] July 1, 1881 July 1, 1883
Richard F. Harris[7][5] July 1, 1883 1888
Samuel Baker Woods[8] 1888 1892
L. T. Hanckel[9][10] 1892 1894
John Shelton Patton[11] Democratic[12] 1894 1896
J. Samuel McCue[13] Democratic[12] 1896 August 31, 1900
Charles W. Allen[14] September 1, 1900 August 31, 1902
J. Samuel McCue Democratic September 1, 1902 August 31, 1904
George W. Olivier[15][16] September 1, 1904 August 31, 1908
Elbridge G. Haden[17] September 1, 1908 August 31, 1912
Alpheus V. Conway[18] September 1, 1912 August 31, 1916
Elbridge G. Haden[17] September 1, 1916 August 31, 1920
Benjamin E. Wheeler[19] September 1, 1920 August 31, 1922

City Council chosen mayors (1922–present)

Mayor Political party Tenure start Tenure end Terms
John R. Morris[20] Democratic September 1, 1922 August 31, 1924 1
Jury Y. Brown Democratic September 1, 1924 August 31, 1930 3
Frederick L. Watson Democratic September 1, 1930 August 31, 1932 1
Frederick W. Twyman Democratic September 1, 1932 August 31, 1934 1
W. Dandridge Haden Democratic September 1, 1934 August 31, 1938 2
George T. Huff Democratic September 1, 1938 August 31, 1940 1
W. Dandridge Haden Democratic September 1, 1940 August 31, 1942 1 (3 total)
J. Emmett Gleason Democratic September 1, 1942 August 31, 1944 1
Roscoe S. Adams Democratic September 1, 1944 August 31, 1948 1
Gus Tebell Democratic September 1, 1948 August 31, 1950 1
Strother F. Hamm Democratic September 1, 1950 August 31, 1952 1
William R. Hill Democratic September 1, 1952 August 31, 1954 1
Sol B. Weinberg Democratic September 1, 1954 August 31, 1956 1
Robert M. “Jack” Davis Democratic September 1, 1956 August 31, 1958 1
Thomas J. Michie Democratic September 1, 1958 August 31, 1960 1
Louie L. Scribner[21] Democratic September 1, 1960 August 31, 1962 1
Bernard J. Haggerty Democratic September 1, 1962 August 31, 1964 1
Lindsey B. Mount Democratic September 1, 1964 August 31, 1966 1
Burkett A. Reynolds Democratic September 1, 1966 August 31, 1968 1
Gunther "Dutch" Vogt Republican September 1, 1968 August 31, 1970 1
Mitchell Van Yahres Democratic September 1, 1970[22] July 3, 1972 1
Francis H. Fife Democratic July 3, 1972[23] July 1, 1974 1
Charles H. Barbour Democratic July 1, 1974[24] July 1, 1976 1
Nancy K. O'Brien Democratic July 1, 1976[25] July 1, 1978 1
Laurence A. Brunton Republican July 1, 1978[26] July 1, 1980 1
Francis L. Buck Democratic July 1, 1980 July 1, 1988 4
Elizabeth "Bitsy" Waters Democratic July 1, 1988[27] July 2, 1990 1
Alvin Edwards Democratic July 2, 1990[28] July 1, 1992 1
Tom Vandever Democratic July 1, 1992[29] July 4, 1994 1
David Toscano Democratic July 4, 1994[30] July 1, 1996 1
Kay Slaughter Democratic July 1, 1996[31] July 1, 1998 1
Virginia Daugherty Democratic July 1, 1998[32] July 3, 2000 1
Blake Caravati Democratic July 3, 2000[33] July 1, 2002 1
Maurice Cox Democratic July 1, 2002[34] July 1, 2004 1
David Brown Democratic July 1, 2004[35] January 7, 2008 2
Dave Norris Democratic January 7, 2008[36] January 3, 2012 2
Satyendra Huja Democratic January 3, 2012[37] January 4, 2016 2
Michael Signer Democratic January 4, 2016[38] January 2, 2018 1
Nikuyah Walker Independent January 2, 2018[39] January 5, 2022 2
J. Lloyd Snook, III Democratic January 5, 2022[40] Incumbent 1

Notes

  1. ^ "Charlottesville decided in 2004 to move its city-council and school-board elections from May to November..." Graham, Chris (31 August 2007), "May-November romance: Staunton examining options for moving local elections", Augusta Free Press, retrieved 27 March 2021
  2. ^ Virginia Department of Historical Resources, Historical Marker Q-22, Albemarle County, VA. Search "Q-22" at https://vcris.dhr.virginia.gov/HistoricMarkers/
  3. ^ a b c d e "T. W. Savage - Cvillepedia".
  4. ^ Cochran was still mayor of the Town of Charlottesville in October 1873. See The Jeffersonian Republican, Charlottesville, VA, 15 October 1873. Available via the Library of Virginia at https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=JRP18731015.1.2&srpos=1&e=------187-en-20-JRP-1--txt-txIN-mayor------- (Accessed 25 March 2021).
  5. ^ a b Maurer, David A. (8 Dec 2013), "Yesteryears: For Charlottesville's first mayor, Christmas season 1886 ended with a bang", The Daily Progress, archived from the original on 12 April 2019, retrieved 24 March 2021
  6. ^ The Jeffersonian Republican, Charlottesville, VA, 1 June 1881. Available via the Library of Virginia at https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=JRP18810601.1.4&srpos=16&e=-------en-20-JRP-1--txt-txIN-mayor------- (Accessed 25 March 2021).
  7. ^ The Jeffersonian Republican, Charlottesville, VA, 30 May 1883. Available via the Library of Virginia at https://virginiachronicle.com/cgi-bin/virginia?a=d&d=JRP18830530.1.3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------- (Accessed 25 March 2021).
  8. ^ "Arrowhead," National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, filed 1991, pp. 12-13 of pdf file. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/002-0195-Arrowhead-1991-Final-Nomination.pdf
  9. ^ "Rev. William H. Hanckel Dead", The Times, Richmond, VA, 24 November 1892, retrieved 26 March 2021
  10. ^ "Thornton Sent On", The Times, Richmond, VA, 5 May 1894, retrieved 26 March 2021
  11. ^ University of Virginia: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni. New York: Lewis Publishing Company. 1904. p. 22.
  12. ^ a b "Democratic Nominees in Charlottesville", Staunton Spectator, Staunton, VA, 18 March 1896, retrieved 26 March 2021
  13. ^ Patton, John Shelton (1904). The McCue murder: complete story of the crime and the famous trial of the ex-mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville, VA: Progress Publishing Company. p. 12. hdl:2027/uva.x000449357.
  14. ^ "Charles W. Allen - Cvillepedia".
  15. ^ Taibi, Richard (2017). Charles Olivier and the Rise of Meteor Science. Springer. p. 8.
  16. ^ obituary in Confederate Veteran volume 32, June 1924, p. 234. https://archive.org/details/confederateveter3219conf/page/234/mode/2up
  17. ^ a b "E. G. Haden, Twice Mayor, is Dead", The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, 28 February 1933, retrieved 26 March 2021
  18. ^ "A. V. Conway - Cvillepedia".
  19. ^ "New Regime in City Affairs", The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, 1 September 1920, retrieved 26 March 2021
  20. ^ "'First Ticket' Sweeps City", The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, 14 June 1922, retrieved 26 March 2021
  21. ^ Lay, K. Edward (2000). The architecture of Jefferson country: Charlottesville and Albemarle County. University of Virginia Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-8139-1885-3.
  22. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 September 1970, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/157780/Page2.aspx
  23. ^ City Council Minutes, 3 July 1972, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/191343/Page1.aspx
  24. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 1974, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/191439/Page1.aspx
  25. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 1976, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/157554/Page1.aspx
  26. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 1978, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/157657/Page1.aspx
  27. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 1988, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/69564/Page1.aspx
  28. ^ City Council Minutes, 2 July 1990, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/46323/Page1.aspx
  29. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 1992, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/45774/Page1.aspx
  30. ^ City Council Minutes, 5 July 1994, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/45545/Page1.aspx
  31. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 1996, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/45381/Page1.aspx
  32. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 1998, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/69832/Page1.aspx
  33. ^ City Council Minutes, 3 July 2000, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/69921/Page1.aspx
  34. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 2002, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/195881/Page1.aspx
  35. ^ City Council Minutes, 1 July 2004, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/199396/Page1.aspx
  36. ^ City Council Minutes, 7 January 2008, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/doc/347325/Page1.aspx
  37. ^ City Council Minutes, 3 January 2012, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/edoc/558267/20120103Jan3.pdf
  38. ^ City Council Minutes, 4 January 2016, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/edoc/732436/MINS_20160104Jan4.pdf
  39. ^ City Council Minutes, 2 January 2018, http://weblink.charlottesville.org/public/0/edoc/793628/20180102Jan02.pdf
  40. ^ City Council Meeting, 5 January 2022, https://charlottesvilleva.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=1296&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0

Further reading

Categories