List of mayors of Santa Barbara, California

This is a list of mayors of Santa Barbara, California since the city's incorporation in April 1850.

Name		Term	Description	Notes	Ref
1		Lewis T. Burton	8/26/1850-11/21/1850	Burton was born in 1809 in Tennessee and moved to California in 1831. He was a storekeeper and owned the Rancho Jesús María and a portion of the Rancho Bolsa de Chamisal. He was elected to the Common Council and was selected as its first president and acting mayor. The minutes of the Common Council first meeting recorded Burton's election: "In the City of Santa Barbara, on the 26 of August, 1850, the persons elected to the Common Council assembled and proceeded to elect a president. Lewis T. Burton having received a majority of the votes was declared elected. Luis Carrillo was then elected Clerk. The Council then adjourned." Burton died in 1879 and was buried in the Santa Barbara Cemetery.	[1]
2		Francisco de la Guerra	1850-51, 1852–54, 1866–70	Born in Santa Barbara in 1817, the son of José de la Guerra y Noriega. Elected as mayor three times, on 11/15/1850, on 2/28/1852 for a two-year term, and on 3/7/1866 for a four-year term; first person to officially hold the title of "mayor". Died in 1878 and was buried in the Mission Santa Barbara Cemetery.	[2]
3		Joaquín Carrillo	1851-1852	Grandson of José Raimundo Carrillo, he was born in 1813. Elected as mayor on 5/6/51. He was also Santa Barbara's first county judge, then judge of the Second Judicial District, and a member of the committee that named Santa Barbara's streets.	[2][3]
4		Isaac J. Sparks	1853	Born 1804 in Maine. Moved to Santa Barbara where he became an otter trapper and acquired Rancho Huasna and Rancho Pismo. Elected as mayor on 5/5/1853. Died 1867.	[2]
5		Jose M. Covarrubias	1853-1854	Born c. 1809. Elected as mayor on 11/6/1853. He was also a delegate to California Constitutional Convention in 1849 and represented Santa Barbara in the California State Assembly from 1849 to 1862. Died 1870. His home the Covarrubia Adobe (715 N Santa Barbara St.) is a California Historic Landmark.	[2]
6		Joaquin de la Guerra	1854-1855	Elected as mayor on 5/8/1854	[2]
7		Pablo de la Guerra	1855	Elected as mayor on 5/8/1855; resigned from office on 6/18/1855 for health reasons	[2]
8		Jose Carrillo	1855	Elected on 7/24/1855 to replace mayor Pablo de la Guerra	[2]
9		H. B. Blake	1856	Elected as mayor on 3/24/1856	[2]
10		Antonio Maria de la Guerra	1856-1858, 1859-1864	Elected as mayor on 5/6/1856 for two-year term; elected again in 1859 and 1860 for one-year terms and again in 1862 for a two-year term	[2]
11		Guillermo Carrillo	1858-1859	Elected as mayor on 5/15/1858	[2]
12		Mortimer Cook	1874-1875, 1876-1878	Born 1826 in Mansfield, Ohio. Elected as mayor on 3/2/1874 for a one-year term and in 1876 for a two-year term. Later settled along the Skagit River in Washington. Died in 1899.	[2]
13		Jarrett T. Richards	1875-1876	Elected as mayor on 4/8/1875	[2]
14		R. L. Chamberlain	1878-1880	Elected as mayor on 4/4/78	[2]
15		Peter J. Barber	1880-1882, 1890-1892	Elected as mayor on 4/15/1880	[2]
16		Charles Fernald	1882-1884	Elected as mayor on 4/6/1882	[2]
17		G. W. Coffin	1884-1888	Elected as mayor on 4/7/1884	[2]
18		John P. Stearns	1888-1890	Born 1828. Builder of Stearns Wharf; elected as mayor on 4/2/1888. Died 1902.	[2]
19		Edward W. Gaty	1892-1894	Elected as mayor on 4/4/1892	[2]
20		John M. Holloway	1894-1896	Elected as mayor on 4/2/1894	[2]
21		Frank M. Whitney	1896-1898	Elected as mayor on 4/6/1896	[2]
22		Charles A. Storke	1900-1902	Previously the Santa Barbara District Attorney	[4]
23		George S. Edwards	1901-1905	Elected as mayor on 12/3/1901; reelected in 1903.	[2]
24		Thomas D. Wood	Jan. 1906	Served as mayor for 16 days; resigned because he did not want to attend city council meetings at night	[5]
25		Elmer J. Boeske	1907-1909, 1911-1914	Elected as mayor on 12/31/1907. Dentist and organizer of the Santa Barbara Motion Picture Company.	[2]
26		Clio Lloyd	1909-1911	Elected as mayor on 12/7/1909	[2]
27		Frank Smith	1915-1917	Elected as mayor on 12/7/1915	[2]
28		Willis M. Slosson	1917-1918	Elected as mayor on 5/3/1917	[2]
29		Harvey T. Nielsen	1918-1921		[2]
30		J. E. Sloan	1921-		[2]
31		Charles M. Andera	1925-1926		[2]
32		H. A. Adrian	1926-1927
33		T. R. Finley	1927-1931		[2]
34		Harvey Nileson	1931-1935
35		Edmond O. Hanson	1935-1936	Resigned in December 1936 despite prevailing in an election for his recall
36		Patrick Joseph Maher	1936-1945	Born in Ireland. Died in 1985 at age 101.
37		Herbert E. Weyler	1945-1947
38		Norris Montgomery	1947-1953	Died in 1966.
39		John T. Rickard	1953-1957
40		Floyd O. Bohnett	1957-1959	Died in 2017 at age 93.
41		Edward L. Abbott	1959-1963
42		W. Don MacGillivray	1963-1968	Resigned in 1968 after being elected to the California Assembly
43		Gerald Firestone	1969-1973
44		David Shiffman	1973-1981
45		Sheila Lodge	1981-1993	She was the first woman to serve as mayor of Santa Barbara and also held the position for longer (12 years) than any other person in the city's history.
46		Hal Conklin	1993-1994	Served on City Council 1977–1993. He was sworn in as mayor in 1993 but was forced to step down after a year when a court ruled that he was prohibited from serving by a law limiting city council members to four consecutive terms. Died in 2021 in Santa Barbara.	[6][7]
47		Harriet Miller	1995-2001	Born in 1919 in Idaho. Died 2010.	[8][9]
48		Marty Blum	2001-2009	A former teacher	[10]
49		Helene Schneider	2010-2018	Born in 1970 in New York City. Served 14 years on City Council and 8 years as mayor.	[11]
50		Cathy Murillo	2018-2022	The first Latina to serve as mayor. First mayor of Santa Barbara to serve less than four years since Hal Conklin in 1994.	[12]
51		Randy Rouse	2022–present	See official Santa Barbara Mayoral website.	[13]

Mayor Santa Barbara
Flag of Santa Barbara
Incumbent Randy Rouse since January 11, 2022
Term length	4 years
Formation	1850
First holder	Lewis T. Burton

See also

• List of mayors of Oxnard, California
• List of mayors of Ventura, California

References

1. Hal Conklin (2006). City Leadership in Santa Barbara: A History of the Santa Barbara City Council from 1826 to the present (6th edition). pp. 1, 3, 9 – via Available through Santa Barbara City Clerk's Office.
2. Hal Conklin (2006). City Leadership in Santa Barbara: A History of the Santa Barbara City Council from 1826 to the present (6th edition). pp. 9–16 – via Available through Santa Barbara City Clerk's Office.
3. "The Carrillo Family". Santa Barbara Independent. October 26, 2010.
4. Dockter, Brooke Dykman. "Guide to the Charles Albert Storke Papers, 1856-1936". California Digital Library: Online Archive of California. The Bancroft Library (University of California, Berkeley). Retrieved 27 November 2020.
5. "Santa Barbara Mayor Resigns". Los Angeles Times. January 19, 1906 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Hal Conklin Enters Mayor's Race: Announcement Comes After 22-Year Hiatus from Politics". Santa Barbara Independent. March 30, 2017.
7. "Former SB Mayor Hal Conklin dies at 75". Santa Barbara Newspress. May 22, 2021.
8. "Winter for the Matriarch: Former Mayor Harriet Miller Dies". Santa Barbara Independent. January 7, 2010.
9. "Former Santa Barbara Mayor Harriet Miller Dies". Noozhawk. January 6, 2010.
10. "Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum Ready for Change of Scenery". Noozhawk. December 9, 2009.
11. "Helene Schneider Leaves a Solid Legacy After 14 Years on Santa Barbara City Council". Noozhawk. January 22, 2018.
12. "Murillo Sworn In as Santa Barbara Mayor". Santa Barbara Independent. January 10, 2018.
13. Santa Barbara Mayoral Website Official Website of Mayor Rouse