List of mayors of West Palm Beach, Florida

The Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida is a nonpartisan office that is the head of the executive branch of West Palm Beach's government. The type of government is Mayor-Commission. Powers and duties of the mayor include approving the agenda of and presiding over the meetings of the city commission, the ability to veto the city commission votes, including line-item vetoes in regards to the city budget, but vetoes can be overrode with a 4-1 vote. The mayor and city manager both have supervisory powers over the city's departments. Additionally, the mayor may initiate investigations involving the city of West Palm Beach.^[1] Since 1991, mayors have been popularly elected to four-year terms.^[2] City Hall is located at 401 Clematis Street, with the mayor's office on the second floor.^[3]

Mayor of the City of West Palm Beach
Seal of West Palm Beach
Incumbent Keith James since April 4, 2019
Residence	West Palm Beach, Florida
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	John S. Earman
Formation	1894
Salary	$125,000
Website	https://www.wpb.org/our-city/mayor-s-office

On November 6, 1894, the day after West Palm Beach was incorporated, voters elected John S. Earman as the first mayor. Beginning in 1919, the city operated under a council–manager form of government, with the mayor elected to the city commission and selected by other members of that body to serve a one-year term. The mayor served as a chairperson of the commission and had far less power than the city manager.^[4] A referendum in March 1991 resulted in a transition to a directly elected strong mayor.^[5] The first modern election for mayor occurred in November 1991, resulting in Nancy M. Graham becoming the city's first strong mayor.^[6] The current mayor is Keith James, who was elected on March 12, 2019.^[7]

Early mayors (1894–1919)

Name[4]	Start of term[4]	End of term[4]	Notes
John S. Earman	1894	1896
J. F. Lamond	1896	1897
Marion Eugene "M. E." Gruber	1897	1898
Wilmon Whilldin	1898	1899
Richard J. Chillingworth	1899	1901	Grandfather of Curtis Chillingworth, who was murdered in 1955 while serving as state judge[8]
Louis W. Burkhardt	1901	1901
George G. Currie	1901	1904
William I. Metcalf	1904	1905
George B. Baker	1905	1907
J. T. DeBerry	1907	1909
George W. Potter	1909	1910
James B. McGinley	1910	1912
C. S. Anderson	1912	1914
Murray D. Carmichael	1914	1916	Later served in the Florida House of Representatives[9]
W. A. Dutch	1916	September 22, 1919[10]

Council-manager government mayors (1919–1991)

Name[4]	Start of term[4]	End of term[4]	Notes
David F. Dunkle	September 22, 1919[10]	September 8, 1921[11]
Murray D. Carmichael	September 8, 1921[11]	1922	Later served in Florida House of Representatives
L. Garland Biggers	1922	1923
Joseph Mandel	1923	1924	First Jewish mayor[12]
Henry Stephen Harvey	1924	1926
Spencer T. Lainhart	1926	1927
J. C. McCreary	1927	1928
Vincent Oaksmith	1928	1929
John R. Beacham	1930	1931	Later became President of the Florida Senate[13]
Elza B. Donnell	1931	1933
Charles B. Watkins	1933	1934
Paschal C. "Pat" Reese	1934	1935
F. Theodore "Ted" Brown	1935	1937
Sanford D. "Sam" Morris	1937	1939
Ernest Metcalf	1939	1940
Ronald V. Ware	1940	1941
Willis H. "Bill" Hitt	1941	1942
J. O. Bowen	1942	1943
Vincent Oaksmith	1943	1944
George H. McCampbell	1944	1945	Brother of S. Perry McCampbell[14]
Stanley Peeler	1945	1946
E. Tinsley Halter	1946	1947
Willis H. "Bill" Hitt	1947	1948
Lloyd C. Bell	1948	1949
William P. "Bill" Holland	1949	1950
L. Thomas Keating	1950	1951
Hustin V. McMillan	1951	1952
H. Elmo Robinson	1952	1953
S. Perry McCampbell	1953	1954	Brother of George H. McCampbell[14]
Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth	1954	1955
C. Harold Earnest	1955	1956
Maurice E. "Buster" Holley	1956	1957
Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth	1957	1958
Horace S. Miller	1958	1959
William P. "Bill" Holland	1959	1960
Percy I. Hopkins, Jr.	1960	1961
Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm	1961	1961	Served three days[4]
Percy I. Hopkins, Jr.	1961	1962
C. Ben Holleman	1962	1963
Robert "Bob" Hawkey	1963	1963	Served for about two weeks[4]
Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm	1963	1964
Fred O. Easley, Jr.	1964	1966
C. Harold Earnest	1966	1967
Reid Moore, Jr.	1967	1968	Served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1977–1978 and 1981–1982[9]
David H. Brady	1968	1969
Eugene W. Potter	1969	1970
Fred O. Easley, Jr.	1970	1971
Francis H. Foster, Jr.	1971	1972
M. P. "Ham" Anthony	1972	1973
G. Ray Sparks, Jr.	1973	1974
Fred O. Easley, Jr.	1974	1975
Richard E. Linn	1975	1976
James M. Adams	1976	1977
M. P. "Ham" Anthony	1977	1978
Helen Wilkes	1978	1980	First woman to serve as mayor[15]
James M. Adams	1980	1981
Michael D. Hyman	1981	1982
Eva W. Mack	1982	1984	First African American mayor[16]
Dwight Baber	1984	1985
Carol Roberts	1985	1986	Served on the canvassing board for the 2000 Florida election recount and the Democratic Party nominee for Florida's 22nd congressional district in 2002[17]
Samuel A. Thomas	1986	1987
Richard V. Reikenis	1987	1988
Pat Pepper Schwab	1988	1989
James O. Poole	1989	1991
John F. "Jeff" Koons	1991	1991	Served for eight months[4]

Strong mayor (1991–present)

Name	Start of term	End of term	Notes
Nancy M. Graham	November 1991[4]	March 25, 1999[18]	First strong mayor[4]
Joel T. Daves III	March 25, 1999[18]	March 27, 2003[19]	Lost re-election[19]
Lois Frankel	March 27, 2003[19]	March 31, 2011[20]	Served in the Florida House of Representatives (1987–2003) and the U.S. House of Representatives (2013–present)[9][21]
Jeri Muoio	March 31, 2011[20]	April 4, 2019[22]
Keith A. James	April 4, 2019[7]	Incumbent

See also

• History of West Palm Beach, Florida
• Timeline of West Palm Beach, Florida
• Palm Beach County, Florida

References

1. "Give West Palm a Strong Mayor". The Palm Beach Post. March 10, 1991. p. 1E. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Eliot Kleinberg (March 7, 2015). "Stakes high in West Palm Beach Mayor race". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
3. "Directory of City Departments". West Palm Beach, Florida: City of West Palm Beach. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
4. H. J. Roberts (December 1994). West Palm Beach Centennial Reflections. West Palm Beach, Florida: Sunshine Sentinel Press. ISBN 1884243029.
5. Earl Daniels and Fred Lowery (March 13, 1991). "Strong Mayor Gets Nod". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
6. "Graham Elected Mayor". Sun-Sentinel. West Palm Beach, Florida. November 20, 1991. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
7. Terri Parker (March 13, 2019). "Keith James elected as new mayor of West Palm Beach". WPBF. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
8. "Portrait of Richard Jolley Chillingworth". Tallahassee, Florida: State Library and Archives of Florida. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
9. Robert L. Ward (August 2011). Membership of the Florida House of Representatives by County 1845-2012 (PDF) (Report). Tallahassee, Florida: Florida House of Representatives. pp. 221, 224. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
10. "Capt. D. F. Dunkle Chosen Mayor of West Palm Beach by Commission". The Palm Beach Post. September 23, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "New Administration Takes Reins of City". The Palm Beach Post. September 9, 1921. p. 4. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "The Jewish Community and Congregation". West Palm Beach, Florida: Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
13. Sessions of the Florida Senate From Statehood, 1845-present (PDF) (Report). Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Senate. March 2016. p. 8. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
14. Joseph C. Nunes (January 24, 1989). "Former Mayor George H. Mccampbell". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 1, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
15. Marisa Gottesman (October 9, 2015). "Helen Wilkes, 88, first female mayor of West Palm Beach". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
16. Steve Nichol (June 5, 1998). "Eva Mack, 81, Public Health Activist". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
17. "Republicans projected to retain House". CNN. Washington, D.C. November 6, 2002. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
18. Cindy Glover (March 24, 1999). "West Palm Beach Voters Pick Joel Daves To Lead Them". Sun-Sentinel. West Palm Beach, Florida. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
19. J. Christopher Hain (March 18, 2003). "Tearful Supporters Bid Farewell to Daves". The Palm Beach Post. p. 1B. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
20. Andrew Abramson (March 31, 2011). "New Mayor Muoio sworn in; "My doors will be open," she tells public". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
21. "Biography - U.S. Representative Lois J. Frankel (FL-22)". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
22. "West Palm Mayor Muoio delivers her final state of the city". WPTV. January 24, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2022.

External links

• Mayor's Page