List of mayors of West Palm Beach, Florida

The Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida is a nonpartisan office that is the head of the executive branch of West Palm Beach's government. The type of government is Mayor-Commission. Powers and duties of the mayor include approving the agenda of and presiding over the meetings of the city commission, the ability to veto the city commission votes, including line-item vetoes in regards to the city budget, but vetoes can be overrode with a 4-1 vote. The mayor and city manager both have supervisory powers over the city's departments. Additionally, the mayor may initiate investigations involving the city of West Palm Beach.[1] Mayors have been elected every four years since 1991 to four year terms.[2] City Hall is located at 401 Clematis Street; the mayor's office is located on the second floor.[3]

Mayor of the City of West Palm Beach
Seal of West Palm Beach
Incumbent
Keith James
since April 4, 2019
ResidenceWest Palm Beach, Florida
Term lengthFour years
Inaugural holderJohn S. Earman
Formation1894
Salary$125,000
Websitehttp://wpb.org/About/Mayor-s-Page
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Government

On November 6, 1894, the day after West Palm Beach was incorporated, John S. Earman was elected the first mayor. Beginning in 1919, the city operated under a council–manager form of government, with the mayor elected to the city commission and selected by other members of that body to serve a one-year term. The mayor served as a chairperson of the commission and had far less power than the city manager.[4] A referendum in March 1991 resulted in a transition to a directly elected strong mayor.[5] The first modern election for mayor occurred in November 1991, resulting in Nancy M. Graham becoming the city's first strong mayor.[6] The current mayor is Keith James, who was elected on March 12, 2019.[7]

Early mayors (1894-1919)
Name[4] Start of term[4] End of term[4] Notes
John S. Earman 1894 1896
J. F. Lamond 1896 1897
Marion Eugene "M. E." Gruber 1897 1898
Wilmon Whilldin 1898 1899

Richard J. Chillingworth

 1899 1901 Grandfather of Curtis Chillingworth, who was murdered in 1955 while serving as state judge[8]
Louis W. Burkhardt 1901 1901

George G. Currie

 1901 1904
William I. Metcalf 1904 1905

George B. Baker

 1905 1907
J. T. DeBerry 1907 1909
George W. Potter 1909 1910
James B. McGinley 1910 1912
C. S. Anderson 1912 1914
Murray D. Carmichael 1914 1916 Later served in the Florida House of Representatives[9]
W. A. Dutch 1916 September 22, 1919[10]

Council-manager government mayors (1919-1991)
Name[4] Start of term[4] End of term[4] Notes
David F. Dunkle September 22, 1919[10] 1921
Murray D. Carmichael 1921 1922 Later served in Florida House of Representatives
L. Garland Biggers 1922 1923
Joseph Mandel 1923 1924 First Jewish mayor[11]
Henry Stephen Harvey 1924 1926
Spencer T. Lainhart 1926 1927
J. C. McCreary 1927 1928
Vincent Oaksmith 1928 1929

John R. Beacham

 1930 1931 Later became President of the Florida Senate[12]
Elza B. Donnell 1931 1933
Charles B. Watkins 1933 1934
Paschal C. "Pat" Reese 1934 1935
F. Theodore "Ted" Brown 1935 1937
Sanford D. "Sam" Morris 1937 1939
Ernest Metcalf 1939 1940
Ronald V. Ware 1940 1941
Willis H. "Bill" Hitt 1941 1942
J. O. Bowen 1942 1943
Vincent Oaksmith 1943 1944
George H. McCampbell 1944 1945 Brother of S. Perry McCampbell[13]
Stanley Peeler 1945 1946
E. Tinsley Halter 1946 1947
Willis H. "Bill" Hitt 1947 1948
Lloyd C. Bell 1948 1949
William P. "Bill" Holland 1949 1950
L. Thomas Keating 1950 1951
Hustin V. McMillan 1951 1952
H. Elmo Robinson 1952 1953
S. Perry McCampbell 1953 1954 Brother of George H. McCampbell[13]
Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth 1954 1955
C. Harold Earnest 1955 1956
Maurice E. "Buster" Holley 1956 1957
Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth 1957 1958
Horace S. Miller 1958 1959
William P. "Bill" Holland 1959 1960
Percy I. Hopkins, Jr. 1960 1961
Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm 1961 1961 Served three days[4]
Percy I. Hopkins, Jr. 1961 1962
C. Ben Holleman 1962 1963
Robert "Bob" Hawkey 1963 1963 Served for about two weeks[4]
Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm 1963 1964
Fred O. Easley, Jr. 1964 1966
C. Harold Earnest 1966 1967

Reid Moore, Jr.

 1967 1968 Served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1977-1978 and 1981-1982[9]
David H. Brady 1968 1969
Eugene W. Potter 1969 1970
Fred O. Easley, Jr. 1970 1971
Francis H. Foster, Jr. 1971 1972
M. P. "Ham" Anthony 1972 1973
G. Ray Sparks, Jr. 1973 1974
Fred O. Easley, Jr. 1974 1975
Richard E. Linn 1975 1976
James M. Adams 1976 1977
M. P. "Ham" Anthony 1977 1978
Helen Wilkes 1978 1980 First woman to serve as mayor[14]
James M. Adams 1980 1981
Michael D. Hyman 1981 1982
Eva W. Mack 1982 1984 First African American mayor[15]
Dwight Baber 1984 1985
Carol Roberts 1985 1986 Served on the canvassing board for the 2000 Florida election recount and the Democratic Party nominee for Florida's 22nd congressional district in 2002[16]
Samuel A. Thomas 1986 1987
Richard V. Reikenis 1987 1988
Pat Pepper Schwab 1988 1989
James O. Poole 1989 1991
John F. "Jeff" Koons 1991 1991 Served for eight months[4]

Strong mayor (1991-present)
Name Start of term End of term Notes
Nancy M. Graham November 1991[4] March 25, 1999[17] First strong mayor[4]
Joel Daves March 25, 1999[17] March 27, 2003[18] Lost re-election[18]

Lois Frankel

 March 27, 2003[18] March 31, 2011[19] Served in the Florida House of Representatives (1987-2003) and the U.S. House of Representatives (2013–present)[9][20]
Jeri Muoio March 31, 2011[19] April 4, 2019[21]
Keith James April 4, 2019[7] Incumbent

See also

References
  1. "Give West Palm a Strong Mayor". The Palm Beach Post. March 10, 1991. p. 1E – via NewsBank.
  2. Eliot Kleinberg (March 7, 2015). "Stakes high in West Palm Beach Mayor race". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  3. "City of West Palm Beach Departments". West Palm Beach, Florida: City of West Palm Beach. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  4. H. J. Roberts (December 1994). West Palm Beach Centennial Reflections. West Palm Beach, Florida: Sunshine Sentinel Press. ISBN 1884243029.
  5. Earl Daniels and Fred Lowery (March 13, 1991). "Strong Mayor Gets Nod". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  6. "Graham Elected Mayor". Sun-Sentinel. West Palm Beach, Florida. November 20, 1991. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  7. Parker, Terri (2019-03-13). "Keith James elected as new mayor of West Palm Beach". WPBF. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  8. "Portrait of Richard Jolley Chillingworth". Tallahassee, Florida: State Library and Archives of Florida. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  9. Robert L. Ward (August 2011). Membership of the Florida House of Representatives by County 1845-2012 (PDF) (Report). Tallahassee, Florida: Florida House of Representatives. pp. 221, 224. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  10. "Capt. D. F. Dunkle Chosen Mayor of West Palm Beach by Commission". The Palm Beach Post. September 23, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "The Jewish Community and Congregation". West Palm Beach, Florida: Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  12. Sessions of the Florida Senate From Statehood, 1845-present (PDF) (Report). Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Senate. March 2016. p. 8. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  13. Joseph C. Nunes (January 24, 1989). "Former Mayor George H. Mccampbell". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  14. Marisa Gottesman (October 9, 2015). "Helen Wilkes, 88, first female mayor of West Palm Beach". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  15. Steve Nichol (June 5, 1998). "Eva Mack, 81, Public Health Activist". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  16. "Republicans projected to retain House". CNN. Washington, D.C. November 6, 2002. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  17. Cindy Glover (March 24, 1999). "West Palm Beach Voters Pick Joel Daves To Lead Them". Sun-Sentinel. West Palm Beach, Florida. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  18. J. Christopher Hain (March 18, 2003). "Tearful Supporters Bid Farewell to Daves". The Palm Beach Post. p. 1B – via NewsBank.
  19. Andrew Abramson (March 31, 2011). "New Mayor Muoio sworn in; "My doors will be open," she tells public". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  20. "Biography - U.S. Representative Lois J. Frankel (FL-22)". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  21. "West Palm Mayor Muoio delivers her final state of the city". WPTV. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
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