Mayor of Portland, Maine

The mayor of Portland is the official head of the city of Portland, Maine, United States, as stipulated in the Charter of the City of Portland.^[2] This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Portland.

Mayor of Portland
Incumbent Mark Dion since December 4, 2023
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Andrew L. Emerson
Formation	1832
Salary	$65,400 (2011)[1]
Website

History of the office

Before 1923, the city's leader was known as the mayor. From 1923 to 1969, the position was named "Chairman of the City Council."^[3] In 1969, the "Mayor" title was reinstated, but the office continued to be held by the leader of the city council, chosen by a vote of its members.

In 2011, the city returned to the practice of popularly electing a mayor for the first time since 1923. Subsequent elections were held in 2015, 2019 and 2023.

List of mayors

This is a list of mayors of Portland, Maine. This information is obtained from the website of the city council.

#	Mayor	Party	Term	Notes
1	Andrew L. Emerson		1832
2	Jonathan Dow		1832
3	John Anderson	Democrat	1833
4	Levi Cutter		1834–1840
5	James C. Churchill		1841
6	John Anderson	Democrat	1842
7	Eliphalet Greeley	Whig	1843–1848
8	James B. Cahoon	Whig	1849–1850
9	Neal Dow	Whig	1851–1852	came up with the Maine law
10	Albion K. Parris	Democrat	1852–1853	Preiviously Senator and Governor of Maine
11	James B. Calhoon	Democrat	1853–1854
12	Neal Dow	Republican	1855–1856	later served in the Maine House
13	James T. McCobb		1856
14	William Willis	Republican	1857	Previously served in the Maine Senate.
15	Jedediah Jewett		1858–1859
16	Joseph Howard		1860	Previously a Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from 1848 to 1855 and future Democratic nominee for Governor in 1865.
17	William W. Thomas		1861–1862
18	Jacob McLellan		1863–65
19	Augustus E. Stevens		1866–1867
20	Jacob McLellan		1868
21	William Lebaron Putnam	Democrat	1869–1870	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1892-1917.
22	Benjamin Kingsbury Jr.		1870–1872
23	George P. Wescott		1873–1874
24	Roswell M. Richardson		1875
25	Francis Fessenden	Republican	1876	Major general in the 25th and 30th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiments during the Civil War.
26	Moses M. Butler		1877–1878
27	George Walker		1879
28	William Senter		1880–1881
29	Charles F. Libby		1882
31	John W. Deering	Democrat	1883	Formerly a Republican. Commissioner of the Port of Portland under President Grover Cleveland.
32	Marquis F. King		1884
33	John W. Deering	Democrat	1885	Formerly a Republican. Commissioner of the Port of Portland under President Grover Cleveland.
34	Charles J. Chapman		1886–1888
35	Holman S. Melcher	Republican	1889–1890	Captain in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.
36	George W. True		1891
37	Darius H. Ingraham		1892
38	James Phinney Baxter	Republican	1893–1896
39	Charles H. Randall		1897–1898
40	Frank W. Robinson		1899–1900	Previously Cumberland County District Attorney and judge of the Portland Municipal Court from 1893-1899.
41	Frederic E. Boothby	Republican	1901–1903
42	James Phinney Baxter	Republican	1904–1905
43	Nathan Clifford	Democrat	1906–1907
44	Adam P. Leighton	Republican	1908–1909
45	Charles A. Strout	Republican	1910
46	Oakley C. Curtis	Democrat	1911–1914	Governor of Maine from 1915-1917.
47	William Moulton Ingraham	Democrat	1915[4]
48	Wilford G. Chapman	Republican	1916–1917
49	Charles B. Clarke	Republican	1918–1921
50	Carroll S. Chaplin	Republican	1922–1923
51	Philip J. Deering	Democrat	1924
52	Neal W. Allen		1925–1926
53	Philip J. Deering	Democrat	1927
54	Lester F. Wallace		1928–1929
55	Ralph D. Brooks		1930
56	Arthur W. Jordan		1931
57	Ralph D. Brooks		1932
58	Arthur E. Craig		1933
59	Philip J. Deering	Democrat	1934–1935
60	Edward C. Berry		1936
61	Adam P. Leighton, Jr.		1937
62	Edward C. Berry		1938
63	Arthur E. Craig		1939
64	Harry E. Martin		1940
65	Edward C. Berry		1941
66	Adam P. Leighton Jr.		1942
67	Herman B. Libby		1943
68	George A. Harrison		1944
69	Harry C. Libby		1945
70	Helen C. Frost		1946
71	Herman B. Libby		1947
72	Robert L. Getchell		1948–1949
73	Edward T. Colley		1950
74	Helen C. Frost		1952
75	H. Merrill Luthe		1953
76	Edward T. Colley		1954
77	Ben B. Wilson		1955
78	H. Merrill Luthe		1956
79	Carleton G. Lane		1957
80	Perley J. Lessard		1958
81	Sumner S. Clark		1959
82	Mitchell Cope		1960[5]
83	Harold E. Frank		1961
84	Daniel B. Felix		1962
85	Ralph Amerigan		1963
86	J. Weston Walch		1964–1965
87	Charles W. Allen		1966
88	Harold G. Loring		1967
89	Donald Slipp		1969-1970
90	William L. MacVane	Democrat	1970–1971
91	Gerard Conley Sr.	Democrat	1971–1972
92	Edward I. Bernstein	Republican	1973[6]
93	William B. Troubh	Democrat	1974–1975
94	Harold G. Loring		1975–1976
95	Matthew I. Barron		1976–1978
96	Bruce Taliento		1978[7][8]
97	Edward I. Bernstein	Republican	1978–1979[9]
98	Llewellyn Smith		1979–1980
99	John O'Leary	Democrat	1980–1981
100	Pamela P. Plumb		1981–1982
101	Linda Abromson	Democrat	1982–1983
102	William B. Troubh	Democrat	1983–1984
103	David H. Brenerman	Democrat	1984–1985
104	Joseph D. Casale	Democrat	1985–1986
105	Philip J. Dawson		1986–1987
106	Ronald J. Dorler		1987–1988
107	Cheryl A. Leeman	Republican	1988–1989
108	Esther Clenott	Democrat	1989–1990
109	Peter O'Donnell	Democrat	1990–1991
110	Thomas H. Allen	Democrat	1991–1992
111	Charles Harlow	Democrat	1992–1993
112	Anne B. Pringle	Democrat	1993–1994
113	Richard W. "Dick" Paulson Jr.	Democrat	1994–1995
114	Philip "Jack" Dawson	Democrat	1995–1996
115	John F. McDonough	Democrat	1996–1997
116	George N. Campbell		1997–1998
117	Thomas V. Kane	Democrat	1998–1999
118	Nicholas "Nick" Mavodones Jr.	Democrat	1999–2000
119	Cheryl A. Leeman	Republican	2000–2001
120	Karen Geraghty	Democrat	2001–2002
121	James F. "Jim" Cloutier	Democrat	2002–2003
122	Nathan Smith	Democrat	2003–2004
123	Jill Duson	Democrat	2004–2005	First African-American mayor
124	James I. Cohen	Democrat	2005–2006
125	Nicholas "Nick" Mavodones Jr.	Democrat	2006–2007
126	Edward Suslovic	Democrat	2007–2008
127	Jill Duson	Democrat	2008–2010
128	Nicholas "Nick" Mavodones Jr.	Democrat	2010–2011
129	Michael F. Brennan	Democrat	2011–2015	First popularly elected Mayor of Portland since 1923. Previously served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1992 to 2000 and in the Maine Senate from 2002 to 2006.
130	Ethan Strimling	Democrat	2015–2019
131	Kate Snyder	Democrat	2019–2023
132	Mark Dion	Democrat	2023–Incumbent

See also

• Old City Hall (Portland, Maine)
• Timeline of Portland, Maine

References

1. "Portland's mayor will earn $65,400". Portland Press Herald. July 19, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
2. "City Charter of Portland, Maine". City of Portland. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
3. "Donald R. Slipp Obituary: View Donald Slipp's Obituary by Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram". Retrieved July 26, 2014.
4. "PORTLAND DEMOCRATIC. William M. Ingraham Elected Mayor by a Small Plurality" (PDF). The New York Times. Portland, Maine. December 8, 1914. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
5. "MITCHELL COPE". Retrieved December 23, 2014.
6. Kennebec Journal, 7 December 1972, p. 7
7. "Ex-Portland mayor draws jail sentence". The Nashua Telegraph. September 11, 1980. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
8. "Former mayor of Portland dies> Bruce Taliento, 48, found dead at Old Orchard Beach home". Archive. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
9. Portland Press Herald, August 30, 2000, page 3B

External links

• "Portland", Maine Town Documents – via University of Maine Fogler Library