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The Mayor of Chester is the chief executive of the government of the city of Chester, Pennsylvania as stipulated by the city charter.[1] This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Chester.
On March 5, 1795, the borough of Chester, which had been governed under the charter granted by William Penn in 1701, was incorporated by the Pennsylvania Assembly.[2] Chester was incorporated as a city on February 4, 1866[3] with a mayor-council government system, consisting of a popularly elected city mayor and city council. The terms of the mayor and city council members are four years.[1]
| Mayor[4][5] | Term | Political party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Larkin, Jr. | 1866–1872 | Republican | Larkin was the first mayor of Chester and refused to accept any salary for his service as mayor[6] |
| Dr. J.L. Forwood | 1872–1881 | Democrat | |
| James Barton, Jr. | 1881–1884 | Republican | |
| Dr. J.L. Forwood | 1884–1887 | Democrat | |
| Major Joseph R. T. Coates | 1887–1893 | Republican | Coates was an officer in the 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment of the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War and served in several of the key battles of the war.[7] |
| John B. Hinkson | 1893–1896 | Democrat | [8] |
| Crosby M. Black[9] | 1896–1899 | Republican | Black served as a Pennsylvania State Representative from 1905 to 1906[9] |
| Dr. Daniel W. Jefferis | 1899–1902 | Republican | |
| Howard H. Houston | 1902–1905 | Republican | |
| William H. Berry | 1905–1905 | Democrat | Berry was elected Pennsylvania State Treasurer in the fall of 1905 and resigned as mayor in Dec. 1905[4] |
| Samuel E. Turner | 1906–1906 | Republican | Elected by Chester City Council to fill Berry's term [4] |
| Dr. Samuel R. Crothers | 1906–1908 | Republican | |
| David M. Johnson | 1908–1911 | Republican | |
| William Ward Jr. | 1911–1915 | Republican | This was Ward's 1st of two terms as mayor[10] |
| Wesley S. McDowell[11] | 1916–1920 | Republican | McDowell ordered all hotels, pool halls and liquor stores closed, implemented a curfew after dark and forbade the carrying of weapons in order to quell the 1917 Chester race riot[12] |
| William T. Ramsey | 1920–1924 | Republican | Ramsey served as a Pennsylvania State Representative from 1913 to 1920[13] |
| Samuel E. Turner | 1924–1931 | Republican | |
| T. Woodward Trainer | 1931–1932 | Republican | Resigned. Appointed Clerk of House of Representatives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania January 3, 1939[4] |
| William Ward Jr. | 1932–1939 | Republican | This was Ward's 2nd of two terms as mayor[10] |
| Clifford H. Peoples | 1939–1945 | Republican | |
| Ralph S. Swarts | 1944–1956 | Republican | Originally appointed on January 5, 1943, to replace Mayor Peoples. Ran unopposed in November 1943[4] |
| Joseph L. Eyre | 1956–1963 | Republican | Eyre was a direct descendant of John Larkin, Jr., the first mayor of Chester.[14] |
| James Henry Gorbey | 1964–1967 | Republican | Gorbey became a judge for the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas and a federal judge for the United States District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania[15] |
| John H. Nacrelli | 1968–1979 | Republican | Nacrelli was convicted of federal bribery and racketeering charges related to his activities as mayor and served two years in prison[16] |
| Joseph F. Battle Jr. | 1979–1986 | Republican | Battle was nominated to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas in 1987 by Robert P. Casey[17] |
| Willie Mae James Leake | 1986–1991 | Republican | Leake was Chester's first female mayor and first African-American mayor[4][18] |
| Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard | 1992–1995 | Democrat | First African-American Democratic mayor. Bohannan-Sheppard created a major controversy by hiring a convicted murderer and rapist as her administrative assistant[19] |
| Dr. Aaron Wilson Jr. | 1996–1998 | Republican | Wilson resigned to take a seat on the Pennsylvania state Public Utility Commission[20] |
| Dominic F. Pileggi | 1999–2002 | Republican | Pileggi became a Pennsylvania State Senator for the 9th Senatorial District and a Judge for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas[21] |
| Wendell Butler Jr. | 2002–2012 | Republican | Butler served as police chief of Chester for 10 years as well as two terms as Mayor[22] |
| John Linder | 2012–2016 | Democrat | 2nd African-American Democratic mayor[23] |
| Thaddeus Kirkland | 2016–2024 | Democrat | Kirkland was a member of the 159th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 23 years[22] |
| Stefan Roots | 2024–present | Democrat | Roots was a member of the Chester City Council from 2022 to 2024[24][25] |
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