List of mayors of Richmond, Virginia

The Mayor of Richmond is the chief executive of the government of Richmond, Virginia, as stipulated by the city's charter.

Mayor of Richmond
Incumbent
Levar Stoney
since January 1, 2017
StyleThe Honorable
Term lengthFour years (since 2005)
Inaugural holderWilliam Foushee, Sr.
FormationJuly 2, 1782
WebsiteOffice of the Mayor

This list includes mayors who were appointed by the Richmond City Council as well as those who were elected by popular vote.

The current Mayor of Richmond and 80th in the sequence of regular officeholders is Democrat Levar Stoney who succeeded Dwight C. Jones, a Baptist pastor and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 2016. Jones was first elected in 2008, he won a second term in November 2012.[1]

History
Richmond's original City Hall building, used from 1814 to 1874

The City of Richmond was founded in 1737 by William Byrd II.

In May 1782, Virginia General Assembly expressed desire to move inland, to a place less exposed to British incursions than Williamsburg. Richmond had been made the temporary capital after urging from Thomas Jefferson years earlier, and it was soon decided to make the move permanent.

Two months later, on July 2nd, a charter was written up, and the city was incorporated. Twelve men were to be elected from the City at-large and were to select one of their own to act as Mayor, another to serve as Recorder and four to serve as Aldermen. The remaining six were to serve as members of the Common Council. All positions had term limits of three years, with the exception of the mayor who could only serve one year consecutively. A vote was held at a meeting the following day and Dr. William Foushee, Sr. was chosen as the first mayor.

In March 1851, the decision was made to replace the original Richmond City Charter. It was decided that all city officials were to be popularly elected. After the 12-year tenure of William Lambert and his short-term replacement by recorder Samuel T. Pulliam,[2] elections were held, with Joseph C. Mayo coming out on top. Mayo was deposed in April 1865, weeks before the end of the American Civil War, when Union forces captured the city.

The system set forth by the Second City Charter worked as long as the city was small and most voters knew personally, the qualifications of the men for whom they were voting and the requirements for the jobs to which they were elected. Beginning in 1948, Richmond eliminated the popularly elected mayor's office, and instituted a council-manager form of government. This lasted until 2004, when the City Charter was changed once again, bringing back the popularly elected mayor. Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder was elected mayor that year. Of Virginia's 38 cities, only Richmond does not have a council-manager form of government.

List of mayors

Appointed mayors (1782–1853)
William Foushee, a physician, was the first Mayor of Richmond, Virginia
Mayor Political party Term start Term end
1 William Foushee, Sr. No party July 3, 1782 June 30, 1783
2 John J. Beckley No party July 1, 1783 July 6, 1784
3 Robert Mitchell No party July 7, 1784 1785
4 John Harvie No party 1785 1786
5 William Pennock No party December 10, 1786 1786
6 Richard Adams, Jr. No party 1786 February 21, 1788
7 John J. Beckley No party February 22, 1788 March 9, 1789
8 Alexander McRobert No party March 10, 1789 March 9, 1790
9 Robert Boyd March 10, 1790 1790
10 George Nicolson 1790 December 12, 1790
11 Robert Mitchell December 13, 1790 1791
12 John Barrett 1791 1792
13 Robert Mitchell 1792 1793
14 John Barrett 1793 1794
15 Robert Mitchell 1794 1795
16 Andrew Dunscomb 1795 1796
17 Robert Mitchell 1796 1797
18 James McClurg 1797 1798
19 John Barrett 1798 1799
20 George Nicholson 1799 1800
21 James McClurg 1800 1801
22 William Richardson 1801 1802
23 John Foster 1802 1803
24 James McClurg 1803 1804
25 Robert Mitchell 1804 1805
26 William DuVal 1805 1806
27 Edward Carrington 1806 1810
28 David Bullock 1810 1811
29 Benjamin Tate 1811 1812
30 Thomas Wilson 1812 1813
31 John Greenhow 1813 1814
32 Thomas Wilson 1814 1815
33 Robert Gamble 1815 1816
34 Thomas Wilson 1816 1817
35 William H. Fitzwhylson 1817 1818
36 Thomas Wilson 1818 May 4, 1818
37 Francis Wicker (acting) May 5, 1818 1819
38 John Adams 1819 1826
39 Joseph Tate 1826 1839
40 Francis Wicker 1839 1840
41 William Lambert Democratic 1840 March 24, 1852
42 Samuel T. Pulliam Democratic March 25, 1852 1853

Popularly elected mayors (1853–1948)
Mayor Political party Term start Term end
43 Joseph C. Mayo Democratic 1853 April 3, 1865
Fall of Richmond (April 3, 1865) - City under federal authority until appointment of David Saunders as mayor
44 David J. Saunders Democratic July 3, 1865 April 6, 1866
45 Joseph C. Mayo Democratic April 7, 1866 May 4, 1868
46 George Chahoon Republican May 6, 1868 March 15, 1870
47 Henry K. Ellyson[note 1] Democratic March 16, 1870 June 30, 1871
48 Anthony M. Keiley Democratic July 1, 1871 June 30, 1876
49 William C. Carrington Democratic July 1, 1876 June 30, 1888
50 James Taylor Ellyson Democratic July 1, 1888 June 30, 1894
51 Richard M. Taylor Democratic July 1, 1894 1904
52 Carlton McCarthy Democratic September 1, 1904 August 31, 1908
53 David C. Richardson Democratic September 1, 1908 September 3, 1912
54 George Ainslie Democratic September 4, 1912 1924
55 John Fulmer Bright Democratic 1924 1940
56 Gordon Barbour Ambler Democratic 1940 1944
57 William C. Herbert Democratic 1944 September 10, 1946
58 Horace H. Edwards Democratic September 11, 1946 1948

City Council appointed mayors (1948–2005)
Mayor Political party Term start Term end
59 W. Stirling King Democratic 1948 1950
60 T. Nelson Parker Democratic 1950 1952
61 Edward E. Haddock Democratic 1952 1954
62 Thomas P. Bryan Democratic 1954 1956
63 F. Henry Garber Democratic 1956 1958
64 A. Scott Anderson Democratic 1958 1960
65 Claude W. Woodward Democratic 1960 1962
66 Eleanor P. Sheppard[note 2] Democratic July 1, 1962 June 30, 1964
67 Morrill Martin Crowe Democratic July 1, 1964 June 30, 1968
68 Philip J. Bagley, Jr. Democratic July 1, 1968 June 30, 1970
69 Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. Democratic July 1, 1970 March 7, 1977[note 3]
70 Henry L. Marsh, III[note 4] Democratic March 8, 1977 June 30, 1982
71 Roy A. West Democratic July 1, 1982 June 30, 1988
72 Geline B. Williams Republican July 1, 1988 June 30, 1990
73 Walter T. Kenney, Sr. Democratic July 1, 1990 June 30, 1994
74 Leonidas B. Young, II Democratic July 1, 1994 June 30, 1996
75 Larry E. Chavis Democratic July 1, 1996 June 30, 1998
76 Timothy M. Kaine Democratic July 1, 1998 September 10, 2001
77 Rudolph C. McCollum, Jr. Democratic September 11, 2001 January 1, 2005

Popularly-elected mayors (since 2005)
Portrait Mayor Political party Term start Term end
78 Douglas Wilder Democratic January 2, 2005 January 1, 2009
79 Dwight C. Jones Democratic January 1, 2009 December 31, 2016
80 Levar Stoney Democratic January 1, 2017 Incumbent

Notes
History of Virginia
 Virginia portal
  1. After Ellyson's election, Mayor Chahoon challenged the new administration's legitimacy and refused to step down. The courts ruled in Ellyson's favor, and he was declared victor of the May election but refused the office because tainted by skullduggery. See Richmond's Municipal War.
  2. Sheppard was the first female City Council member in Richmond as well as the first female mayor.
  3. Between 1972 and 1976, city council elections were not held by order of the United States Department of Justice. See City of Richmond v. United States.
  4. Marsh was the first African-American mayor of Richmond.

References
  1. "Voters re-elect mayor, shake up Richmond's City Council". NBC12. November 16, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  2. "11 May 1852, 4 - Richmond Enquirer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
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