This is a list of mayors of Merced, California.City of Merced, City Clerk Division. Historical Data – City Officials. Records Management, City Manager's Office, City of Merced. Updated August 10, 2026.
The City of Merced was formed after a petition was filed with the Merced County Board of Supervisors on March 7, 1889. Voters approved incorporation and elected the city's first officials on March 30, 1889, and the Board of Supervisors canvassed and declared the results on April 1, 1889. The Secretary of State approved the incorporation on April 3, 1889, establishing Merced as a sixth-class city.
Governing body and mayoral selection From when the incorporation of the city until 1928, Merced was governed under a five-member Board of Trustees. The first appointed officer was given the title of "President of the Board of Trustees" who then functioned as mayor, chosen by a vote of the trustees themselves rather than directly elected. On January 3, 1928, the governing body was renamed to the City Council, and its members became Councilmen. The presiding office was also then formally renamed to Mayor.
The City of Merced has operated under this general-law commission form of government until April 12, 1949, when voters approved a Charter form of government. A special election on July 19, 1949, expanded the council from five to its current form of seven members, who took office July 26, 1949. The council had continued to choose the mayor from among its own members after the charter change.
Council (and mayoral) elections were held every two years in April from 1890 through 1979. Beginning with the election of November 3, 1981, the city moved municipal elections to November of odd-numbered years. In 1993, Richard Bernasconi became Merced's first directly elected mayor, ending the long-standing practice of council members selecting the mayor from the city council. The mayoral term, historically renewed every two years, was also extended to three years by charter amendment in 2013 to align city elections with statewide elections, and was extended again to four years beginning with the November 2020 election. Matthew Serratto became the first mayor elected to a four-year term Since 2016, most council seats have been elected by district, though the mayor continues to be elected at large.
Chronological list + Mayors of Merced Name Took office Left office Notes1M.D. WoodApril 1, 1889April 21, 1890First mayor of Merced, chosen by the board of trustees.2E.T. DixonApril 21, 1890April 19, 18943W.H. TurnerApril 19, 1894April 20, 1908Served continuously as a trustee from 1889 to 1908. The city's records describe his mayoral tenure as sixteen years, though the recorded office dates span fourteen years.4L. HendersonApril 20, 1908April 18, 19105S.C. CornellApril 18, 1910January 3, 1911Resigned from the board of trustees.6C.T. HunterJanuary 3, 1911September 19, 1911Elected by the board after Cornell's resignation; himself resigned as president of the board.7L. HendersonSeptember 19, 1911April 15, 1912Second term.8E.R. AlvordApril 15, 1912April 27, 19149R. BarcroftApril 27, 1914April 17, 1916Elected after the council took 43 secret ballots across two meetings.10True W. FowlerApril 17, 1916April 15, 191811J.B. OlceseApril 15, 1918April 19, 192012J.D. WoodApril 19, 1920April 21, 192413A.E. HowardApril 21, 1924April 19, 192614J.D. WoodApril 19, 1926April 18, 1932Second term. Title changed from President of the board of trustees to Mayor on January 3, 1928, without interrupting his tenure.15John R. CornettJuly 18, 1932April 16, 1934The council could not agree on a mayor after the 1932 election and rotated an acting mayor at each meeting for three months; Cornett was elected after 156 secret ballots.16J.C. CocanourApril 16, 1934April 20, 193617L.J.C. WegnerApril 20, 1936April 18, 193818Peter P. MyhandApril 18, 1938July 1, 1939Resigned after his election to the California State Senate in December 1938.19Richard A. JonesJuly 1, 1939April 20, 1942Elected by the council to complete Myhand's term.20Wilbur C. McMurryApril 20, 1942April 16, 194621J.E. FritzApril 16, 1946April 20, 194822A. Homer GriffinApril 20, 1948July 26, 1949Last mayor before Merced's 1949 charter reorganization.23Kenneth E. MorleyJuly 26, 1949April 14, 1953First mayor under the Charter government and the expanded seven-member council.24Frank S. ArnoldApril 14, 1953April 12, 195525Reno FerreroApril 12, 1955April 9, 195726Angelo BardiniApril 9, 1957April 14, 195927L. Earle SalterApril 14, 1959April 11, 196128Gyle MillerApril 11, 1961April 9, 196329Richard W. ZugApril 9, 1963April 13, 196530Ralph H. ShannonApril 13, 1965April 8, 196931James H. VaughnApril 8, 1969April 13, 197132Edwin M. DewhirstApril 13, 1971April 22, 197533William P. QuigleyApril 22, 1975April 24, 197934Robert L. HartApril 24, 1979May 4, 1981Resigned.35Carol GabriaultMay 4, 1981November 10, 1981First woman to serve as mayor of Merced; appointed to complete Hart's term.36Norman HermanNovember 10, 1981March 15, 1983Replaced as mayor by a special vote of the council.37Carol GabriaultMarch 15, 1983November 15, 1983Second term.38Samuel C. PipesNovember 15, 1983November 12, 198539Marvin WellsNovember 12, 1985November 14, 198940Bruce GabriaultNovember 14, 1989November 12, 199141James LindseyNovember 12, 1991November 9, 199342Richard BernasconiNovember 9, 1993November 10, 1997First directly elected mayor of Merced.43Mary Jo KnudsenNovember 10, 1997November 13, 200144Hubert "Hub" WalshNovember 13, 2001November 28, 200545Ellie WootenNovember 28, 2005November 30, 200946William SpriggsNovember 30, 2009December 5, 201147Stanley ThurstonDecember 5, 2011December 19, 2016Term extended from two to three years by charter amendment in 2013, aligning city elections with statewide even-year elections.48Mike MurphyDecember 19, 2016December 7, 202049Matthew SerrattoDecember 7, 2020IncumbentFirst mayor elected to a four-year term.
See also Merced, California Merced County, California Government of California
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