The Mayor is the highest elected official in Tampa, Florida. Since its incorporation in 1856, the town has had 59 mayors. Tampa had no mayor from 1862 until 1866 when the city government was temporarily suspended during and immediately after the American Civil War.
Election process In 1910, the white supremacist White Municipal Party was established in Tampa. It excluded African Americans from being members effectively excluding African American voters from having influence in the city's mayoral elections from 1910 until 1947.
Since 1953, Tampa's municipal elections (including those for mayor) have been non-partisan. All qualified candidates are entered into the general election without a primary election. Candidates are required to disclose a party affiliation. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters to decide the outcome.
Terms and term limits From the establishment of Tampa's city charter of 1856 until 1896, Tampa's mayors served one year terms. The term was extended to two years in 1896 and to four years in 1924.
From 1856 until 1920, Tampa mayors could not serve consecutive terms but were permitted to run again after being out of office for one full term. This resulted in several mayors serving multiple non-consecutive terms, especially in the late 1800s. In 1920, term limits were abolished entirely.
Since 1983, Tampa mayors have been limited to two consecutive terms, but they may run again after spending at least a full four-year term out of the office.
List # Mayor Term start Term end Terms Party Joseph B. Lancaster † February 14, 1856 November 25, 1856 American Darwin A. Branch (1st term) November 25, 1856 December 6, 1856 Acting American Alfonso DeLaunay December 6, 1856 February 9, 1857 Partial Democratic Darwin A. Branch (2nd term) February 9, 1857 February 10, 1858 1 American Madison Post February 10, 1858 February 12, 1859 1 American James McKay Sr. February 12, 1859 February 1, 1860 1 Democratic John P. Crichton February 1, 1860 February 2, 1861 1 Democratic Hamlin V. Snell February 2, 1861 February 3, 1862 1 Democratic (Southern) John Jackson February 3, 1862 February 22, 1862 Acting Democratic (Southern) Edward A. Clarke October 25, 1866 January 1, 1867 1 Democratic Josiah A. Ferris January 1, 1867 March 1, 1869 1 Democratic John T. Lesley March 1, 1869 October 4, 1869 Democratic John A. Henderson 1 July 6, 1870 mid 1872 2 Democratic James E. Lipscomb August 11, 1873 August 13, 1876 3 Democratic Harlan P. Lovering August 14, 1876 August 14, 1877 1 Democratic Thomas Jackson (1st term) August 14, 1877 August 14, 1878 1 Democratic John P. Wall August 14, 1878 August 14, 1880 2 Democratic Henry C. Ferris August 14, 1880 February 19, 1881 1 Democratic Matthew E. Haynsworth February 19, 1881 March 22, 1881 Acting Democratic George B. Sparkman (1st term) March 22, 1881 August 14, 1883 2 Democratic Duff Post (1st term) August 14, 1883 August 13, 1886 3 Democratic Herman Glogowski (1st term) August 13, 1886 July 15, 1887 1 Republican George B. Sparkman (2nd term) July 15, 1887 March 8, 1888 1 Democratic Herman Glogowski (2nd term) March 8, 1888 March 6, 1889 1 Republican Thomas Jackson (2nd term) March 6, 1889 March 5, 1890 1 Democratic Herman Glogowski (3rd term) March 5, 1890 March 4, 1891 1 Republican Duff Post (2nd term) March 4, 1891 March 4, 1892 1 Democratic Herman Glogowski (4th term) March 4, 1892 March 10, 1893 1 Republican Frederick A. Salomonson (1st term) March 10, 1893 March 9, 1894 1 Republican Robert W. Easley March 9, 1894 March 8, 1895 1 Democratic Frederick A. Salomonson (2nd term) March 8, 1895 June 5, 1896 1 Republican Myron E. Gillett June 5, 1896 June 5, 1898 1 Republican Frank C. Bowyer June 5, 1898 June 8, 1900 1 Democratic Francis L. Wing (1st term) June 8, 1900 June 4, 1902 1 Democratic James McKay Jr. June 5, 1902 June 5, 1904 1 Democratic Frederick A. Salomonson (3rd term) June 5, 1904 June 7, 1906 1 Republican William H. Frecker June 8, 1906 June 4, 1908 1 Republican Francis L. Wing (2nd term) June 4, 1908 June 6, 1910 1 Independent Donald B. Mckay (1st term) June 6, 1910 June 10, 1920 3 White Municipal Party Horace Cadwell Gordon June 10, 1920 January 4, 1921 White Municipal Party Charles H. Brown January 4, 1921 January 8, 1924 1 White Municipal Party Perry G. Wall January 8, 1924 January 3, 1928 1 White Municipal Party Donald B. Mckay (2nd term) January 3, 1928 October 27, 1931 1 White Municipal Party Thomas N. Henderson October 27, 1931 November 3, 1931 Partial White Municipal Party Robert E. Lee Chancey November 3, 1931 November 3, 1943 3 White Municipal Party Curtis Hixon † November 3, 1943 May 21, 1956 3 White Municipal Party/Democratic Junie L. Young Jr. May 21, 1956 October 2, 1956 Acting Democratic Nick Nuccio (1st administration) October 2, 1956 October 1, 1959 1 Democratic Julian Lane October 1, 1959 October 1, 1963 1 Democratic Nick Nuccio (2nd administration) October 1, 1963 October 3, 1967 1 Democratic Dick A. Greco (1st administration) October 3, 1967 April 1, 1974 2 Democratic Richard L. Cheney † April 1, 1974 June 19, 1974 Acting Democratic Lloyd Copeland June 19, 1974 October 3, 1974 Acting Republican William F. Poe October 3, 1974 October 1, 1979 1 Republican Bob Martinez October 3, 1979 July 16, 1986 1 Democratic Republican Sandra Freedman July 16, 1986 April 1, 1995 2 Democratic Dick A. Greco (2nd administration) April 1, 1995 April 1, 2003 2 Democratic Pam Iorio April 1, 2003 March 31, 2011 2 Democratic Bob Buckhorn April 1, 2011 May 1, 2019 2 Democratic Jane Castor May 1, 2019 Incumbent 1 Democratic
Notes
† Deceased in office. 1 Following the lapse of the city charter in October 1869, Hillsborough County took over responsibility for providing principal services. However, Tampa needed some form of municipal government to monitor the services being provided by the county and the state. As a result, a municipal election was held on July 6, 1870, in which Henderson was elected mayor.John Henderson's mayor profile
See also Timeline of Tampa, Florida
References
External links History of Tampa mayors