List of longest-serving mayors in the United States

Some of the longest-serving mayors in the United States are listed according to their length of service in that currently or has served in that part of the state or legislative office. The office of mayor is the highest ranking local official and responsibilities may vary from ceremonial (see weak mayor) to full-time responsibility for city operations (see strong mayor).

Current serving mayors

A list of mayors still in office and ordered by their length of continuous service in that office. (If there is a break in their service, then this length is measured from their return to the office.)

The longest-serving current mayor of one the 50 largest cities in the United States is Tom Barrett, who has been mayor of Milwaukee since April 15, 2004.

Years Name Municipality Notes
49 years, 307 days Robert M. Blais Lake George, New York Entered office on April 5, 1971
45 years, 311 days Margaret Doud Mackinac Island, Michigan Entered office on April 1, 1975.
44 years William D. Tate Grapevine, Texas Entered office in 1973. Served 1973–1985 and 1988–present[1]
44–45 years Robert Heidenescher Dupont, Ohio Entered office in 1976.
44–45 years Harold Rainwater Wilmore, Kentucky Entered office in 1976.
43–44 years Robert Chatfield Prospect, Connecticut Entered office on November 7, 1977.
43–44 years Jim L. Sells Rogersville, Tennessee Entered office in 1977.
41–42 years Noel B. Cummings Hodgkins, Illinois Entered office in 1979.
41–42 years Marvin Johnson Independence, Minnesota Entered office in 1979.
39–40 years Mary Hawkins Butler Madison, Mississippi Entered office in 1981.
39–40 years Jeffery D. Schielke Batavia, Illinois Entered office in 1981.
39 years, 215 days Mark Anthony McClure Danville, West Virginia Entered office on July 6, 1981.
38 years, 36 days William "Bill" McIntosh Moultrie, Georgia Entered office in 1983.
37 years, 35 days William W. Dickinson, Jr. Wallingford, Connecticut Entered office in 1984.
35–36 years Louie Davis Waldo, Florida Entered office in 1985.
33 years, 187 days Carlos López Rivera Dorado, Puerto Rico Entered office on August 3, 1987.
28 years, 36 days J. Christian Bollwage Elizabeth, New Jersey Entered office on January 1, 1993.[2]

Former mayors

A list of mayors in order of their total length of service in that office. (If there is a break in their service, then this length is measured as the sum of their terms.)

Years Name Municipality Notes
63 years, 73 days Hilmar Moore Richmond, Texas Served from September 22, 1949 to December 4, 2012.[3]
61 years, 111 days John H. Land Apopka, Florida Served from January 1, 1950 to January 1, 1968 and from January 1, 1971 to April 22, 2014.
60 years Charles E. Long Booneville, Kentucky Served from 1958 until his death on August 3, 2019. [4]
58 years, 233 days Robert Linn Beaver, Pennsylvania Served from January 2, 1946 to August 22, 2004.
57 years, 16 days Bruce Arnold Valparaiso, Florida Served from January 21, 1964 until his death on February 23, 2017.
56 years Paul Jurko Yankee Lake, Ohio Served from November, 1931 until his death on March 1, 1988.
54 years Robert L. Butler Marion, Illinois Served from May, 1963 until his resignation on January 31, 2018.
52 years Gerald Calabrese Cliffside Park, New Jersey Served from 1961 to 1963 and 1965 to 2015.[5][6]
52 years, 0 days John M. Coyne Brooklyn, Ohio Served from 1948 to January, 2000.[7][Notes 1]
51 years Donald Stephens Rosemont, Illinois First Mayor of Rosemont. Served from village's incorporation in 1956 to 2007.
50 years, 298 days Leonard Scarcella Stafford, Texas Served from September 4, 1969 until his death on June 28th, 2020.[8]
50 years Leonard T. Connors Surf City, New Jersey Served from 1966 to January 5, 2016.
50 years, 36 days H. Ford Gravitt Cumming, Georgia Entered office on January 1, 1971.
48 years, 352 days Frank E. Rodgers Harrison, New Jersey Served from September 4, 1946 to August 22, 1995.
48 years, 19 days Randall Wise Niceville, Florida Served from August, 1972 until his death on January 20, 2020.
48 years John Lewis Gay Berea, Kentucky Served from 1910 to 1958.
47 years, 11 months Frank Kelly Collingdale, Pennsylvania Served from 1970 until his death on November 22, 2018.
47 years, 115 days Nicholas B. Blase Niles, Illinois Served from May 2, 1961 until his resignation on August 25, 2008.[9]
44 years Gerald H. Thompson Fitzgerald, Georgia Served from January 1, 1968 to January 1, 2012.
43–44 years Richard A. Mola Elmwood Park, New Jersey Served from 1972 until his death in 2016.[10]
43 years, 0 days Paul W. Cassidy Parma Heights, Ohio Served from January, 1958 to January, 2001.[11]
42 years, 0 days Tom Reid Pearland, Texas Served from 1978 to 1990 and 1993 to present. Will Retire in May, 2020.
41 years, 146 days Erastus Corning II Albany, New York Served from January 2, 1942 to May 28, 1983.
40 years, 27 days Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Charleston, South Carolina Served from December 15, 1975 to January 11, 2016.[12]
39–40 years Louis Bay 2nd Hawthorne, New Jersey Served from 1947 to 1987.
39–40 years Gary W. Starr Middleburg Heights, Ohio Entered office in 1981.
37 years, 35 days William W. Dickinson, Jr. Wallingford, Connecticut Entered office in 1984.
35 years, 362 days Orville L. Hubbard Dearborn, Michigan Served from 1942 to 1978.
35 years, 54 days Edward J. Zabrocki Tinley Park, Illinois Served from May 1, 1981 until his resignation in June, 2016.
34-35 years Glendel Stephenson Mebane, North Carolina Served from 1975 to 1983 and 1993 to 2019.[13][14]
33 years Joseph Smith East Newark, New Jersey 1987-2020[15]
32 Years Shawn Hogan Hornell, New York Served from 1985 to 2017.
30 years, 33 days Frank Hague Jersey City, New Jersey Served from 1917 to 1947.
30 years Emmett Dofner, Jr. McClelland, Iowa Served from 1987 until his death on May 2, 2017.[16]
29-30 years James A. Anzaldi Clifton, New Jersey Entered office in 1990.
29 years, 354 days Daniel R. Brooks North College Hill, Ohio Served from January 1, 1984 until his resignation on December 21, 2013[17]
29 years, 201 days Dr. LeRoy G. Suire Erath, Louisiana Served from 1961 to 1990.
29 years, 39 days Willie Oswalt Lake City, Georgia Served from 1989 to 2018.
28 years, 150 days Don Plusquellic Akron, Ohio Served from January 1, 1987 until his resignation on May 31, 2015.
27 years, 364 days Stephen R. Reed Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Served from 1982 to 2010.
27 years, 0 days Don Robarts Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Served from 1986 to 2013.
26 years Manuel Lamela Abreu Quebradillas, Puerto Rico Served from 1918 to 1944.

References
  1. "Mayor - William D. Tate | Grapevine, TX - Official Website". www.grapevinetexas.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  2. https://www.elizabethnj.org/271/Our-Mayor
  3. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2017/11/15_mayors_in_major_cities_that.html
  4. Charles E. Long obituary
  5. "Man Believed to Be New Jersey's Longest-Serving Mayor Dies", Associated Press, April 13, 2015.
  6. http://www.northjersey.com/news/hundreds-gather-at-funeral-for-gerry-calabrese-n-j-s-longest-serving-mayor-1.1311767
  7. Iallonardo, Tony (November 15, 1999). "U.S. Has New "Longest-Serving Mayor". United States Conference of Mayors. Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  8. https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/06/28/mayor-of-stafford-the-longest-serving-mayor-in-the-nation-dies-at-79/
  9. Schneider, Andrew (2012). Nick Blase: The Prince of Niles, Illinois. Charleston, SC: The History Press. ISBN 9781609495497.
  10. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/northjersey/obituary.aspx?pid=182066731
  11. http://www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2013/07/mayor_paul_w_cassidy_led_parma.html
  12. Seabrook, Andrea (January 19, 2008), Charleston Mayor Reflects on 30 Years in Office, NPR, retrieved April 29, 2015
  13. "Glendel Stephenson, Mayor - City of Mebane". cityofmebane.com. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  14. Williams, Jessica. "Stephenson to retire after 35 years as Mebane's mayor". The Times-News. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  15. https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/grilo-takes-over-for-hudsons-longest-serving-mayor/
  16. "Emmett E. Dofner, Jr. Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information". www.cutleroneill.com. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  17. Evans, Brad (December 17, 2013), North College Hill mayor resigns unexpectedly, retrieved December 18, 2020

Notes
  1. The date of inauguration for Mayor John Coyne is not clear. It is clear that his successor, Kenneth Patton, took office in January 2000. References appear to confuse the 1999 election defeat with the day he left office. Most references state that he served 52 years, some from 1947-1999, a few from 1948 to 1999, and others from 1948 to 2000.
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