The mayor of Pittsburgh is the chief executive of the government of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Pittsburgh.[2]
Prior to the 1816 city charter, the Borough of Pittsburgh had its council elect a chief burgess among themselves. After the borough was rechartered as a city, its first seven mayors were selected in a similar fashion as the chief burgesses had been under borough council. It was not until Mayor Samuel Pettigrew in the 1830s that general elections of popular vote were conducted among all the city's voters to determine who would hold the mayor's office. Pettigrew was both the last mayor selected by council and the first generally elected mayor of Pittsburgh. From 1901 to 1903 the state legislature took control of the city on the grounds of corruption by former Mayor William J. Diehl with the passage of the so-called "ripper bill" and appointed the unelected "recorders" Joseph Brown and Adam Brown, who were answerable only to the state government. Since 1903, all mayors have been popularly elected. The mayor as of January 2022[update] is Democrat Ed Gainey.
Chief burgesses (1794–1813)
Mayors (since 1816)
† Died in office; # Resigned from office ; ♥ Still living
Longest tenures
- 13 years (1946–1959) – David L. Lawrence
- 12 years (1994–2006) – Thomas J. Murphy, Jr.
- 11 years and 1 month (1977–1988) – Richard Caliguiri
- 10 years and 1 month (1959–1970) – Joseph M. Barr
- 9 years and 3 months (1936–1946) – Cornelius D. Scully
- 8 years and 9 months (1909–1914, 1922–1926) – William A. Magee
- 8 years (2014–2022) – Bill Peduto
- 7 years and 11 months (1817–1825) – John Darragh
- 7 years and 4 months (2006–2014) – Luke Ravenstahl
- 7 years and >3 months (1970–1977) – Peter F. Flaherty
- 7 years and <3 months (1926–1933) – Charles H. Kline
The listed terms are rounded to the nearest month.
See also
Notes
- ^ Nominated by the firemen of Pittsburgh.
- ^ Mayors labeled as "Whig" on this list were also called "Whig and Anti-Masonic," to a lessening degree over the years.
- ^ a b c d Did not officially run as a Republican, as a non-partisan ballot law was in force.
- ^ Nominated by both major parties.
References
- ^ "City of Pittsburgh 2013 Operating Budget" (PDF). City of Pittsburgh. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ "Code of Ordinances of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania". City of Pittsburgh. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ Pencak, William (2010). Pennsylvania's Revolution. State College, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-271-03579-6.
... in 1802, as a member of the Federalist Party, was elected ... chief burgess of the borough of Pittsburgh. This was an important position, roughly equivalent to a present-day mayoralty.
- ^ Curry, Leonard P. (1997). The Corporate City: The American City as a Political Entity, 1800–1850. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 98.
Sources
- Holli, Melvin G.; Jones, Peter d'A., eds. (1981). Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, 1820-1980. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-21134-5.
- Office of Prothonotary; Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
- Historic Pittsburgh Collection
- Political Graveyard: Pittsburgh
External links
- Mayors in crisis through history
- Pittsburgh mayoral election results
- Pittsburgh mayors