Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut

The following table lists the individuals who served as mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, their political party affiliations, and their dates in office, as well as other information.Kevin Flood, Mayors of Hartford, HartfordHistory.net (retrieved April 26, 2015).

History The city of Hartford switched from a mayor–council government to a council–manager government in 1947.H. George Frederickson, Gary Alan Johnson & Curtis H. Wood, The Adapted City: Institutional Dynamics and Structural Change (M.E. Sharpe: 2004), pp. 145–47. The mayor was chosen from among the city council until 1969, when the mayor began to be directly elected in partisan elections.Wendy L. Hassett, "Hartford: Politics Trumps Professionalism" in More Than Mayor or Manager: Campaigns to Change Form of Government in America's Large Cities (James H. Svara & Douglas J. Watson eds., Georgetown University Press: 2010), pp. 70–75.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, there were three unsuccessful efforts to amend to city charter to switch from a "weak mayor" system to a "strong mayor" system. Advocates for reform argued a switch to a strong-mayor system would "ameliorate the sense of citizen frustration with the Hartford government and the many problems facing the city," such as a significant drop in the city's population (11.1% from 1990 to 1994, the largest drop for a large U.S. city), crime, a broken school system (which had been taken over by the state), an overstaffed and costly fire department, and a scandal-ridden police department, as well as lackluster economic development. Under the system then in place, the mayor had no vote in the city council, and had only the power to veto council legislation. The city council was also solely responsible for hiring or firing the city manager, with the mayor having no formal role. The mayor also lacked effective executive power; it was the city manager who appointed and supervised department heads. The mayor could only hire and fire his own secretary. Moreover, the mayor's salary was very low, $30,000, which discouraged qualified candidates from running. Because of this system, the mayor's influence was based solely on his "ability to cobble together a council coalition," and the mayor's functions were mostly those of "a policy advocate rather than a player in policy implementation."

in 2000, proposed charter revisions written by a Charter Revision Commission would have eliminated the city manager, made the mayor the chief executive of the city, increase the mayor's salary from $30,000 to $105,000, increased the size of the city council (from nine to fifteen), and switched to elections of council members by ward rather than at-large. The proposed charter revisions were put to a vote in a city special election; the majority of voters supported the revisions, but the revision fell short of the required 15% of all registered voters, and so the proposal failed.

In January 2002, shortly after taking office, mayor Eddie A. Perez—an advocate for a strong-mayor government—formed a new fifteen-member Charter Review Commission to review the charter and recommend changes. The commission recommended several changes, many of which had been recommended by the previous commission. The revision proposed shifted to a strong-mayor system in which the mayor would serve as chief executive officer and chief operating officer of the city, appoint a majority of the board of education, appoint all department heads, remove department heads (with the approval of six council members), and prepare and present the annual city budget to the council. On November 5, 2002, the revisions went to a city vote, and all were approved, with about 77% of voters approving the changes, effective with the 2003 election.

List of mayors The following table lists the individuals who served as mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. # Name Party Served Notes 1 Thomas SeymourFederalist June 18, 1774 – May 28, 1812 Resigned 2 Chauncey GoodrichFederalist June 8, 1812 – September 9, 1815 Died in office; Served simultaneously as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut 3 Jonathan Brace Federalist September 9, 1815 – November 22, 1824 4 Nathaniel TerryWhig November 22, 1824 – March 28, 1831 5 Thomas Scott WilliamsWhig March 28, 1831 – April 27, 1835 6 Henry Leavitt EllsworthDemocratic April 27, 1835 – June 15, 1835 Resigned 7 Jared GriswoldWhig June 15, 1835 – November 22, 1835 Died in office 8 Jeremy HoadleyWhig November 23, 1835 – April 18, 1836 9 Henry HudsonWhig April 18, 1836 – April 20, 1840 10 Thomas Kimberly BraceWhig April 20, 1840 – April 17, 1843 Resigned 11 Amos M. CollinsDemocratic April 17, 1843 – April 19, 1847 12 Philip RipleyDemocratic April 19, 1847 – April 21, 1851 13 Ebenezer FlowerDemocratic April 21, 1851 – April 18, 1853 14 William Jas. HamersleyDemocratic April 18, 1853 – April 17, 1854 15 Henry C. DemingDemocratic April 17, 1854 – April 12, 1858 16 Timothy M. AllynRepublican April 12, 1858 – April 8, 1860 17 Henry C. DemingDemocratic April 9, 1860 – February 27, 1862 Resigned 18 Charles S. BentonDemocratic February 10, 1852 – April 14, 1862 Elected by Common Council 19 William Jas. Hamersley Democratic April 14, 1862 – April 11, 1864 20 Allyn S. StillmanRepublican April 11, 1864 – April 9, 1866 21 Charles R. ChapmanDemocratic April 9, 1866 – April 1, 1872 22 Henry C. RobinsonRepublican April 1, 1872 – April 6, 1874 23 Joseph H. SpragueDemocratic April 6, 1874 – April 1, 1878 24 George G. SumnerDemocratic April 1, 1878 – April 5, 1880 25 Morgan BulkeleyRepublican April 5, 1880– April 2, 1888 26 John G. RootRepublican April 2, 1888 – April 7, 1890 27 Henry C. DwightRepublican April 7, 1890 – April 4, 1892 28 William Waldo HydeDemocratic April 4, 1892 – April 2, 1894 29 Leveret BrainardRepublican April 2, 1894 – April 6, 1896 30 Miles B. PrestonDemocratic April 6, 1896 – April 2, 1900 31 Alexander HarbisonRepublican April 2, 1900 – April 7, 1902 32 Ignatius A. SullivanDemocratic April 7, 1902 – April 4, 1904 33 William F. HenneyRepublican April 4, 1904 – April 7, 1908 34 Edward W. HookerRepublican April 7, 1908 – April 5, 1910 35 Edward L. SmithDemocratic April 5, 1910 – April 2, 1912 36 Louis R. CheneyRepublican April 2, 1912 – April 7, 1914 37 Joseph H. LawlerDemocratic April 7, 1914 – April 4, 1916 38 Frank A. HagartyRepublican April 7, 1916 – April 7, 1918 39 Richard J. KinsellaDemocratic April 2, 1918 – April 4, 1920 40 Newton C. BrainardRepublican April 6, 1920 – May 2, 1922 41 Richard J. KinsellaDemocratic April 4, 1922 – April 6, 1924 42 Norman C. StevensRepublican April 1, 1924 – May 1, 1928 43 Walter E. BattersonRepublican April 3, 1928 – December 1, 1931 44 William J. RankinDemocratic November 3, 1931 – December 4, 1933 45 Joseph W. BeachRepublican November 7, 1933 – December 3, 1935 46 John A. PilgardDemocratic November 5, 1935 – November 14, 1935 Died before taking oath of office 47 Thomas J. SpellacyDemocratic December 3, 1935 – June 18, 1943 Elected to first term by Common Council; resigned in fourth term. 48 Dennis P. O'ConnorDemocratic June 24, 1943 – December 7, 1943 Elected by Common Council 49 William H. MortensenRepublican December 7, 1943 – December 4, 1945 50 Cornelius A. MoylanRepublican December 4, 1945 – December 24, 1946 Died in office 51 Edward N. AllenRepublican January 3, 1947 – January 6, 1948 Elected by Common Council 52 Cyril ColemanDemocratic January 6, 1948 – December 4, 1951 53 Joseph V. CroninDemocratic December 4, 1951 – December 1, 1953 54 Dominick J. DeLuccoDemocratic 1953–1955 55 Joseph V. CroninDemocratic 1955–1957 56 James H. KinsellaDemocratic 1957–1960 57 Dominick J. DeLucco Democratic November 14, 1960 – December 5, 1961 Deputy mayor, succeeded to office 58 William E. GlynnDemocratic December 5, 1961 – December 7, 1965 59 George B. KinsellaDemocratic December 7, 1965 – December 5, 1967 60 Antonina UccelloRepublican December 5, 1967 – April 12, 1971 Resigned to take U.S. Department of Transportation post;City's first female mayor; first female mayor of a state capitalEditorial, Trail-Blazing Former Hartford Mayor Ann Uccello Turns 90, Hartford Courant (May 18, 2012). 61 George A. AthansonDemocratic April 12, 1971 – December 1, 1981 Deputy mayor, succeeded to office 62 Thirman L. MilnerDemocratic December 1, 1981 – December 1, 1987 City's first black mayor, and first black elected mayor in New EnglandThirman Milner (born October 29, 1933), Hartford Courant. 63 Carrie Saxon PerryDemocratic December 1, 1987 – December 7, 1993 City's first black female mayor, and first black female elected mayor of a major Northeastern cityThe 1993 Elections: Connecticut; Mayor Perry Is Denied a Fourth Term by Voters in Hartford, New York Times (November 4, 2001). 64 Michael P. PetersDemocratic December 7, 1993 – December 4, 2001 65 Eddie A. Perez Democratic December 4, 2001 – June 26, 2010 Resigned after being convicted on corruption chargesMichael Winter, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez resigns after corruption conviction, USA Today (June 18, 2010).City's first Hispanic mayorJenna Carlesso, Former Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez Sentenced To Three Years in Prison, Hartford Courant (September 15, 2010). 66 Pedro Segarra Democratic June 26, 2010 – December 31, 2015 City Council president, succeeded Perez; city's first openly gay mayorJenna Carlesso, Hartford Mayor Segarra Honored By Out Magazine, Hartford Courant (November 17, 2010). 67 Luke Bronin Democratic January 1, 2016 – December 31, 202368Arunan ArulampalamDemocraticJanuary 1, 2024–present City's first Asian American mayor

See also Mayoral elections in Hartford, Connecticut

References