Mayor of Harrisburg
Incumbent
Wanda Williams
since January 3, 2022
Term lengthFour years
Inaugural holderWilliam H. Kepner
Formation1860
WebsiteOffice of the Mayor

This list of mayors of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is sorted chronologically, by default. The current mayor, since January 2022, is Democrat Wanda Williams.

Mayor William K. Verbeke
Mayor Vance C. McCormick
Mayor Eric Papenfuse
Mayor Term Political party Notes
William H. Kepner Apr 20, 1860 – Mar 27, 1863 Democratic
Augustus L. Roumfort Mar 27, 1863 – Mar 23, 1866 Democratic
Oliver Edwards Mar 23, 1866 – Jan 11, 1869 Democratic
William W. Hays Jan 11, 1869 – Mar, 1870 Republican Died in office.[1]
George B. Cole Apr 4, 1870 – Jan 9, 1871 Republican
William K. Verbeke Jan 9, 1871 – Jan 13, 1873 Democratic
Jacob D. Boas Jan 13, 1873 – Jan 11, 1875 Republican
John D. Patterson Jan 11, 1875 – Jan 8, 1881 Republican Resigned.[2]
John Crull Herman[a] Jan 8, 1881 – Apr 2, 1883 Republican
Simon Cameron Wilson Apr 2, 1883 – 1886 Republican Died in office.[1]
Samuel W. Fleming Sr. 1886–1887 Republican
John A. Fritchey 1887–1893 Democratic
Maurice C. Eby 1893–1896 Republican
John D. Patterson 1896–1899 Republican
John A. Fritchey 1899–1902 Democratic
Vance C. McCormick 1902–1905 Democratic
Edward Z. Gross 1905–1908 Republican
Ezra S. Meals, M.D. 1908–1912 Republican
John K. Royal 1912–1916 Democratic
Ezra S. Meals, M.D. 1916 – April 18, 1917 Republican Died in office.[3]
William L. Gorgas Apr 18, 1917 – May 15, 1917 Democratic Named acting mayor following Dr. Meals' death.[3]
Charles A. Miller May 15, 1917 – July 12, 1917 Republican Died in office.[3]
William L. Gorgas Jul 12, 1917 – Sep 24, 1917 Democratic Named acting mayor following Miller's death.[3]
J. William Bowman Sep 24, 1917 – Nov 27, 1917 Republican Appointed for six weeks' time and retired from office.[4][3]
Daniel L. Keister Nov 27, 1917 – Jan 5, 1920 Republican
George A. Hoverter Jan 5, 1920 – Jan 6, 1936 Republican
John A. F. Hall Jan 6, 1936 – Jan 1, 1940 Republican
Howard E. Milliken, M.D. Jan 1, 1940 – Jan 5, 1948 Republican
Claude R. Robins Jan 5, 1948 – Jan 2, 1956 Republican
Nolan F. Ziegler Jan 2, 1956 – Mar 7, 1963 Republican Died in office.[5]
Daniel J. Barry Mar 26, 1963 – Jan 6, 1964 Republican
William K. McBride Jan 6, 1964 – Jan 1, 1968 Republican
Albert H. Straub Jan 1, 1968 – Jan 5, 1970 Republican
Harold A. Swenson Jan 5, 1970 – Jan 1, 1978 Democratic First "strong" mayor after switch to strong mayor variation of Mayor–council government.[6]
Paul E. "Tim" Doutrich, Jr. Jan 3, 1978 – Jan 5, 1982 Republican
Stephen R. Reed Jan 5, 1982 – Jan 4, 2010 Democratic Defeated for renomination in 2009.
Linda D. Thompson Jan 4, 2010 – Jan 6, 2014 Democratic Defeated for renomination in 2013; first female and first black mayor.
Eric R. Papenfuse Jan 6, 2014 – Jan 3, 2022 Democratic Reelected November 2017; defeated for renomination and lost write-in campaign in November 2021.
Wanda R. D. Williams Jan 3, 2022 – present[b] Democratic

See also

Notes

  1. ^ John C. Herman was given the middle name of "Crull" because that was his grandmother's surname. It was also a means to preserve a surname with an ancient heritage. Already his cousins—the Crull Blymer twins—had it as their middle names for preservation purposes. Because the "Crull Blymer" twins had gone to Phillips Exeter Academy (Class of 1872) and then destined for Harvard College (Class of 1876), John Crull Herman was sent to Yale College. His son, John Crull Herman also attended Yale (Class of 1915) and was a member of Wolf's Head; and his grandson John Crull Herman III graduated from Yale in 1939 where he, too, was a member of Wolf's Head. He also later taught at the Yale School of Architecture
  2. ^ Williams temporarily transferred power to Police Commissioner Thomas Carter on July 31, 2022 due to a medical procedure; Carter served as acting mayor until August 16, 2022.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Morgan, George Hallenbrooke (2016). Annals, Comprising Memoirs, Incidents and Statistics of Harrisburg : from the period of its first settlement... Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1-333-62002-8. OCLC 979704448.
  2. ^ Egle, William Henry (1883). History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ; Biographical and Genealogical. Everts & Peck.
  3. ^ a b c d e "How many mayors did Harrisburg have in 1917?". PennLive Patriot-News. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  4. ^ "J. WM. Bowman Mayor for Six Weeks' Period". Harrisburg Telegraph. September 22, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "Nolan F. Ziegler". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  6. ^ "Harold Swenson officially becomes Harrisburg's mayor". The Sentinel. 1969-11-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  7. ^ Metrick, Becky (August 1, 2022). "Harrisburg mayor temporarily transfers power to police chief after medical procedure". PennLive Patriot-News. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
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