This is a list of mayors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. Oshkosh was originally incorporated as a city in 1853 with a mayor-council form of government. Executive functions were transferred to a city manager in 1956 and the office of mayor was abolished. The office of mayor was re-established in 1979 as a replacement for the city council president, elected by the city council, with additional ceremonial duties. The office of mayor was then modified again in 2004, to allow voters to directly elect the mayor and grant the mayor veto power over the city council. The city manager, however, remains the chief executive of the city.

Original mayor system (1853–1957)

Order Mayor Term start Term end Notes 1 Edward Eastman 18531854 2 Joseph Jackson 1854 1856 3 Thomas A. Follett 1856 1857 4 Joseph Jackson 1857 1858 5 Samuel M. Hay 1858 1860 6 Benjamin S. Henning 1860 1861 7 John Fitzgerald 1861 1862 8 Henry C. Jewell 1862 1863 9 Philetus Sawyer 1863 1865 Elected 1863. Re-elected 1864.Elected U.S. representative 1864.Elected U.S. senator 1881. 10 Carlton Foster 1865 1867 11 Joseph H. Porter 1867 1868 12 Charles W. Davis 1868 1869 13 Joseph H. Porter 1869 1870 14 Joseph Stringham 1870 1871 15 James V. Jones 1871 1872 16 James Jenkins 1872 1873 17 James V. Jones 1873 1875 18 Joseph Stringham 1875 1876 19 Andrew Haben 1876 1878 20 Sanford Beckwith 1878 1879 21 Harvey B. Dale 1879 1880 22 Joseph Stringham 1881 1882 23 George White Pratt 1882 1885 24 Andrew Haben 1885 1886 25 Carlton Foster 1886 1887 26 Harvey B. Dale 1887 1889 27 Ephraim E. Stevens 1889 1890 28 George White Pratt 1890 1891 29 William Dichmann 1891 1893 30 Charles Oellerich 1893 1895 31 Arthur Kellogg 1895 1897 32 Alison B. Ideson 1897 1899 33 James H. Merrill 1899 1901 34 John Mulva 1901 1905 35 John Banderob 1905 1909 36 John C. Voss 1909 1911 37 John Banderob 1911 1912 38 John Mulva 1912 1918 39 A. C. McHenry 1918 1924 40 Henry F. Kitz 1924 1930 41 Taylor G. Brown 1930 1933 42 George F. Oaks 1933 1935 43 Charles A. Wiechering 1935 1939 44 George F. Oaks 1939 1947 45 Ernest R. Siewert 1947 1953 46 John C. Voss 1953 1955 47 Ernest R. Siewert 1955 1957

City manager (1957–present) In November 1956, Oshkosh voters agreed to a referendum which abolished the office of mayor and entrusted executive functions to a city manager to be hired by the city council. To this day, the Oshkosh city manager is the chief executive in the city, despite the re-creation of the office of mayor.

Order Manager Term start Term end Notes 1 Hans S. Thorgrimsen 1957 1960 2 Raymond E. Harbaugh 1960 1966 3 Angus Crawford 1966 1970 Acting Jack Schneiuder 1970 1970 4 Gordon Jaeger 1970 1976 Acting David Wendtland 1976 1976 5 William D. Frueh 1976 1996 Resigned 1996. Acting Gerald Konrad 1996 1996 6 Richard Wollangk 1996 2007 Elected by city council 1996. Resigned 2007. Acting John Fitzpatrick 2007 2008 7 Mark Rohloff 2008 present Elected by city council 2008.

Hybrid mayor-council president (1979–2005) In 1979, the Oshkosh city council voted to re-establish the office of "mayor". The new mayoral office replaced the office of city council president with slightly expanded powers to make appointments to city boards and commissions, and to serve as the ceremonial leader of the city. The mayor was not directly elected, but was chosen by a vote of the city council each April at the start of the city council session for a one-year term. All city councilmembers were at that time elected at-large.

Order Mayor Term start Term end Notes 48 Kenneth Schiefelbein 1979 1980 49 Donald Kutchera 1980 1982 50 Robert Pung 1982 1984 Defeated Kutchera in April 1982 city council vote (4–3) 51 Kathleen Propp 1984 1986 First woman as mayor, elected by council 1984. Re-elected by council 1985. 52 Floyd Chapin 1986 1988 Elected by council 1986. Re-elected by council 1987. 53 James Mather 1988 1990 Elected by council 1988. Re-elected by council 1989. 54 Thomas Binner 1990 1992 Elected by council 1990. Re-elected by council 1991. 55 Robert Jungwirth 1992 1993 Elected by council 1992. Gambling scandal. 56 Richard Wollangk 1993 1996 Defeated Jungwirth in April 1993 city council vote (5–2) 57 William Castle 1996 1998 Elected by council 1996. Re-elected by council 1997. 58 Melanie Bloechl 1998 2000 Elected by council 1998. Re-elected by council 1999. 59 Jon Dell'Antonia 2000 2002 Elected by council 2000. Re-elected by council 2001. 60 Stephen Hintz 2002 2004 Elected by council 2002. Re-elected by council 2003. 61 Mark Harris 2004 2005 Elected by council 2004. Elected county executive 2005.

Mayors (2005–present) In November 2004, Oshkosh voters agreed to a referendum which restored the mayor as a directly elected officer with veto power over the city council. Mayors are elected to two-year terms.

Order Mayor Term start Term end Notes 62 William Castle 2005 2007 Elected 2005. 63 Frank Tower 2007 2009 Elected 2007. 64 Paul J. Esslinger 2009 2011 Defeated Tower in 2007 election. 65 Burk Tower 2011 2015 Elected 2011. Re-elected 2013. 66 Steve Cummings 2015 2019 Elected 2015. 67 Lori Palmeri 2019 2023 68 Matt Mugerauer 2023 present Elected 2023.

See also Oshkosh history

References

Further reading