Mayor of Gainesville

The Mayor of Gainesville is, for ceremonially purposes, receipt of service of legal processes and the purposes of military law, official head of the city of Gainesville, Florida and otherwise a member of, and chair of, the city commission, required to preside at all meetings thereof. The mayor is also allowed to vote on all matters that come before the city commission, but has no veto powers.^[2]

Mayor of Gainesville
Incumbent Harvey Ward since January 5, 2023
Term length	Four Years renewable once
Salary	$44,696.22 (as of July 1, 2022)[1]
Website	Office of the Mayor

History of the Mayor's Office

On May 26, 1866, E. W. Perry was elected intendant (mayor) when the aldermen of Gainesville met to incorporate for the first time. On April 12, 1869, Gainesville re-incorporated, and mayors were elected for one-year terms except when they filled an unexpired term. In 1891, because the city charter was amended, two general elections were held that year. From 1927 to 1997 mayors were not elected, the position being simply that of mayor-commissioner, but as of 1998 mayors are again elected,^[3] initially to three year terms, but as of 2022, to four year terms.^[4]

Election

The mayor is elected in a citywide nonpartisan election using a two-round system, i.e., if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff election ensues between the two candidates who received the most votes.^[5]

The mayor (like other commissioners) is elected to a four-year term (as of 2022, but currently in transition from a three-year term);^[4] in any case, the mayor may not serve more than two consecutive terms, excepting following a partial term created by a vacancy; however, mayoral terms are reckoned separately from terms as another commissioner, allowing a commissioner to serve more consecutive terms by alternating between the positions.^[6]

Succession

Per city code of ordinances, the mayor-commissioner pro tempore performs the functions and duties of the office of mayor in the absence of the mayor. If the mayor's seat is vacated, and less than 6 months remain in the unexpired term or until the next regular election, then the commission appoints a successor to serve until a new mayor is elected. If there is more than 6 months remaining in the term or until the next general election, the seat is filled by a special election not more than 60 days after the occurrence the vacancy.^[2]

The mayor is subject to recall as provided by Florida law.^[7]

Mayors of Gainesville

Image	Years of service	Mayor	Notes / Citation
	1869	Samuel Y. Finley	First mayor of Gainesville, son of Jesse J. Finley[8] Mayors elected to one-year terms[3]
	?
	1873	Josiah T. Walls	First African-American mayor of Gainesville[9]
	1874	Watson Porter	[9]
	?
	1877	S.J. Burnett	[3]
	?
	1882	John Varnum	[3]
	?
	1885	J.B. Brown	[3]
	1886	S.J. Burnett (2nd term)	[3]
	1887	W.W. Scott	[3]
	1888–1889	J.B. Brown (2nd term)	[3]
	1890	S.J. Burnett (3rd term)	[3]
	1891	J.B. Brown (3rd term)	[3]
	1891	H.E. Day	The city charter was amended in 1891 and two general elections were held that year[3]
	1892	L.C. Lynch	[3]
	?
	1897	Clarence Stringfellow	[10] Died in November 1897[11]
	?
	1899–1900	J. F. Bartleson	[3]
	1901–1907	William Reuben Thomas
	1908–1909	Horatio Davis	[12]
	1910–1917	Chris Matheson	[13]
	1918	Gordon "J.B." Tyson	[14]
	1919	Robert W. Davis	[3]
	1920–1921	J.C. Adkins	[3]
	1922	George S. Waldo	[3]
	1923–1924	H.L. Phifer	[3]
	1925–1927	J.R. Fowler	After Fowler's term, mayors were appointed by the City Commission to one-year terms[3]
	1927–1929	Lee Graham	[3]
	1929–1930	C.R. Layton	[3]
	1930–1931	Hal C. Batey	[3]
	1931–1932	Lee Graham (2nd term)	[3]
	1932–1933	C.R. Layton (2nd term)	[3]
	1933–1934	Hal C. Batey (2nd term)	[3]
	1934–1935	M.H. Baxley	[3]
	1935–1936	B.M. Tench	[3]
	1936–1937	Hal C. Batey (3rd term)	[3]
	1937–1938	R.B. Livingston	[3]
	1938–1939	J.M. Dell	[3]
	1939–1940	J.M. Butler	[3]
	1940–1941	J.B. Carmichael	[3]
	1941–1942	C.S. Brooking	[3]
	1942–1943	J.B. Carmichael (2nd term)	[3]
	1943–1944	J.M. Dell (2nd term)	[3]
	1944–1945	Fred M. Cone	[3]
	1945–1946	J.M. Butler (2nd term)	[3]
	1946–1947	C.S. Brooking (2nd term)	[3]
	1947–1948	Henry Gray	[3]
	1948–1949	J.M. Butler (3rd term)	[3]
	1949–1950	Roy L. Purvis	[3]
	1950–1951	J. Milton Brownlee	[3]
	1951–1952	Fred M. Cone (2 term)	[3]
	1952–1953	Roy L. Purvis (2nd term)	[3]
	1953–1954	C. B. Bohannon Jr.	[3]
	1954–1955	Joseph C. Wise	[12][3]
	1955–1956	S. Clark Butler	[3]
	1956–1957	R.M. Chamberlin	[3]
	1957	J.M. Steadham	[3]
	1957–1958	Walter E. Murphree	[3]
	1958–1959	Myrl J. Hanes	[12][3]
	1959–1960	S. J. Adkins	[3]
	1960–1961	Harry C. Edwards	[3]
	1961–1962	Norwood W. Hope	[3]
	1962–1963	Edwin J. Andrews	[3]
	1963–1964	Byron M. Winn Jr.	[3]
	1964–1965	Howard Towles McKinney	[3]
	1965–1966	Edwin B. Turlington	[3]
	1966–1967	James G. Richardson	[3]
	1967–1968	Walter E. Murphree	[3]
	1968–1969	T.E. "Ted" Williams	[3]
	1969–1970	Walter E. Murphree	[3]
	1970–1971	Perry McGriff	[15]
	1971–February 1972	Neil A. Butler	[3] First post-Reconstruction African-American mayor of Gainesville[16]
	February 1972–March 1972	T.E. "Ted" Williams	[3]
	1972–1973	Richard T. Jones	[3]
	1973–1974	James G. Richardson	[3]
	1974–1975	Neil A. Butler (2nd term)	[3]
	1975–1976	Joseph W. Little	[17]
	1976–1977	James G. Richardson	[3]
	1977–1978	Aaron A. Green	[3]
	1978–1979	Roberta Lane Lisle	[3] First female mayor of Gainesville[citation needed]
	1979–1980	William M. Howard	[3]
	1980–1981	Mark Kane Goldstein	[3]
	1981–1982	Courtland A. Collier	also served as mayor from 1990–1991[3]
	1982–1983	Gary R. Junior	[3]
	1983–1984	W.E. "Mac" McEachern	[3]
	1984–1985	Jean Chalmers	[17]
	1985–1986	Gary Gordon	[3]
	1986–1987	Beverly Hill	[3]
	1987–1988	N. David Flagg	[17]
	1988–1989	David Coffey	[17]
	1989–1990	Cynthia Moore Chestnut	[17] First female African-American mayor of Gainesville[18]
	1990–1991	Courtland A. Collier	[3]
	1991–1992	Rodney J. Long	[17]
	1992–1993	Thomas McKnew	[3]
	1993–1994	James Painter	[3]
	1994–1995	Paula M. DeLaney	[17]
	1996–1997	Ed Jennings Sr.	[3]
	1997–1998	Bruce L. Delaney	[17]
	1998–2001	Paula M. DeLaney	[17] First elected mayor of Gainesville since 1927[19]
	2001–2004	Thomas D. Bussing	[17]
	2004–2010	Pegeen Hanrahan	[17]
	2010–2013	Craig Lowe	[17][20]
	2013–2016	Ed Braddy	[21]
	2016–2023	Lauren Poe	[22][23]
	2023-present	Harvey Ward	[24]

References

1. ""Information for Candidates"". Qualifying Information. City of Gainesville, City Clerk. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
2. "Municode Library". Municode.com. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
3. Martin, Doug (July 28, 2004). "Politics: "A different sort of beast"". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.
4. Kim A. Barton. "Kim A. Barton: Expanded early voting part of city election changes". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
5. "Municode Library". library.municode.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
6. Gainesville, Florida's City Commission (November 12, 2019). "Eligibility". Gainesville, Florida - Code of Ordinances. Municode. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
7. "Municode Library". Municode.com. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
8. Taylor Jr., George Lansing (November 12, 2012). "Jesse Johnson Finley Marker, Gainesville, FL". University of North Florida Digital Commons.
9. Klingman, Peter D. (2017). Josiah Wales, Florida's Black Congressman of Reconstruction. University of Florida Press. ISBN 978-1947372122. Sometime during this period, Walls became the mayor of Gainesville. Neither the exact dates of his term in office nor a record of his administration are available, but a few details are clear. He served in the summer of 1873, resigning on or about September 1. His successor, a pro-Walls white Republican, was Watson Porter, Gainesville postmaster and physician.
10. "Must Obey The Law". The Ocala Evening Star. April 30, 1897 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Hon. Clarence Stringfellow". The Ocala Evening Star. December 3, 1897 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.). "Mayors of Gainesville, Florida". Political Graveyard. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
13. "FLOR500: Garden 303 - Xavier Cortada, Inc". www.xaviercortada.com. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
14. History of Florida, Past and Present: Historical and Biographical. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. 1923.
15. "Perry Colson McGriff, Jr.", Gainesville Sun, February 5, 2017
16. Rausch, Paula (July 27, 2004). "Neil Butler, politician". Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
17. "Gainesville mayors, past and present, oppose the road tax", Gainesville Sun, October 25, 2012
18. Hyson, Katie (October 11, 2021). "Candidate Q&A with Cynthia Chestnut, who hopes to return to the Gainesville City Commission, three decades later". WUFT (TV). In those 34 years, she became the first Black woman mayor of Gainesville
19. "City Commission". Gainesville, Florida Official Homepage. Archived from the original on December 5, 2000 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
20. "Alachua County Supervisor of Elections - Preliminary Results - Gainesville Run-off Election 2013, April 16, 2013" (PDF). April 16, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
21. "Poe Defeats Braddy In Gainesville Mayoral Race", WUFT.org, University of Florida, March 15, 2016
22. http://www.votealachua.com/Portals/Alachua/Documents/Election_Results/20110315_Gainesville_Summary.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
23. http://www.votealachua.com/Portals/Alachua/Documents/Election_Results/20110412_Gainesville_Runoff_Summary.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
24. "Harvey Ward defeats Ed Bielarski for Gainesville mayor". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved November 23, 2022.