The Mayor of Chester is the chief executive of the government of the city of Chester, Pennsylvania as stipulated by the city charter.[1] This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Chester.
On March 5, 1795, the borough of Chester, which had been governed under the charter granted by William Penn in 1701, was incorporated by the Pennsylvania Assembly.[2] Chester was incorporated as a city on February 4, 1866[3] with a mayor-council government system, consisting of a popularly elected city mayor and city council. The terms of the mayor and city council members are four years.[1]
Mayors (1866–present)
edit| Mayor[4][5] | Term | Political party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Larkin, Jr. | 1866–1872 | Republican | Larkin was the first mayor of Chester and refused to accept any salary for his service as mayor[6] |
| Dr. J.L. Forwood | 1872–1881 | Democrat | |
| James Barton, Jr. | 1881–1884 | Republican | |
| Dr. J.L. Forwood | 1884–1887 | Democrat | |
| Major Joseph R. T. Coates | 1887–1893 | Republican | Coates was an officer in the 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment of the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War and served in several of the key battles of the war.[7] |
| John B. Hinkson | 1893–1896 | Democrat | [8] |
| Crosby M. Black[9] | 1896–1899 | Republican | Black served as a Pennsylvania State Representative from 1905 to 1906[9] |
| Dr. Daniel W. Jefferis | 1899–1902 | Republican | |
| Howard H. Houston | 1902–1905 | Republican | |
| William H. Berry | 1905–1905 | Democrat | Berry was elected Pennsylvania State Treasurer in the fall of 1905 and resigned as mayor in Dec. 1905[4] |
| Samuel E. Turner | 1906–1906 | Republican | Elected by Chester City Council to fill Berry's term [4] |
| Dr. Samuel R. Crothers | 1906–1908 | Republican | |
| David M. Johnson | 1908–1911 | Republican | |
| William Ward Jr. | 1911–1915 | Republican | This was Ward's 1st of two terms as mayor[10] |
| Wesley S. McDowell[11] | 1916–1920 | Republican | McDowell ordered all hotels, pool halls and liquor stores closed, implemented a curfew after dark and forbade the carrying of weapons in order to quell the 1917 Chester race riot[12] |
| William T. Ramsey | 1920–1924 | Republican | Ramsey served as a Pennsylvania State Representative from 1913 to 1920[13] |
| Samuel E. Turner | 1924–1931 | Republican | |
| T. Woodward Trainer | 1931–1932 | Republican | Resigned. Appointed Clerk of House of Representatives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania January 3, 1939[4] |
| William Ward Jr. | 1932–1939 | Republican | This was Ward's 2nd of two terms as mayor[10] |
| Clifford H. Peoples | 1939–1945 | Republican | |
| Ralph S. Swarts | 1944–1956 | Republican | Originally appointed on January 5, 1943, to replace Mayor Peoples. Ran unopposed in November 1943[4] |
| Joseph L. Eyre | 1956–1963 | Republican | Eyre was a direct descendant of John Larkin, Jr., the first mayor of Chester.[14] |
| James Henry Gorbey | 1964–1967 | Republican | Gorbey became a judge for the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas and a federal judge for the United States District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania[15] |
| John H. Nacrelli | 1968–1979 | Republican | Nacrelli was convicted of federal bribery and racketeering charges related to his activities as mayor and served two years in prison[16] |
| Joseph F. Battle Jr. | 1979–1986 | Republican | Battle was nominated to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas in 1987 by Robert P. Casey[17] |
| Willie Mae James Leake | 1986–1991 | Republican | Leake was Chester's first female mayor and first African-American mayor[4][18] |
| Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard | 1992–1995 | Democrat | First African-American Democratic mayor. Bohannan-Sheppard created a major controversy by hiring a convicted murderer and rapist as her administrative assistant[19] |
| Dr. Aaron Wilson Jr. | 1996–1998 | Republican | Wilson resigned to take a seat on the Pennsylvania state Public Utility Commission[20] |
| Dominic F. Pileggi | 1999–2002 | Republican | Pileggi became a Pennsylvania State Senator for the 9th Senatorial District and a Judge for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas[21] |
| Wendell Butler Jr. | 2002–2012 | Republican | Butler served as police chief of Chester for 10 years as well as two terms as Mayor[22] |
| John Linder | 2012–2016 | Democrat | 2nd African-American Democratic mayor[23] |
| Thaddeus Kirkland | 2016–2024 | Democrat | Kirkland was a member of the 159th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 23 years[22] |
| Stefan Roots | 2024–present | Democrat | Roots was a member of the Chester City Council from 2022 to 2024[24][25] |
References
editCitations
- ^ a b "City of Chester Mayor Butler". City of Chester. Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ Ashmead 1884, pp. 332–333.
- ^ Ashmead 1884, p. 333.
- ^ a b c d e f "OldChesterPa: Chester Mayors". www.oldchesterpa.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ "The Political Graveyard: Mayors of Chester,Pennsylvania". www.politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ Ashmead, Henry Graham (1883). Historical Sketch of Chester on Delaware. Chester, Pennsylvania: Republican Steam Printing House. p. 36. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ Wiley 1894, p. 70.
- ^ Wiley 1894, p. 181.
- ^ a b "Crosby M. Black". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ a b "William Ward Jr". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Donahue, John (1926). Who's Who in Delaware County (PDF). Press of Chester Times. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ Smith, Eric Ledell (2008). "The 1917 Race Riot in Chester, Pennsylvania". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 75 (2): 183. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "William T. Ramsey". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ "Mayor Joseph L. Eyre". www.oldchesterpa.com. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ James Henry Gorbey at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Thompson, Ginger. "Mayor's hiring of convict disrupts Pa community's rebirth". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Viola, Michael (2011). Time's-a-Marchin': Life Through The Lens of a News Photographer. Philadelphia: Xlibris. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4797-5249-2. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Morgan. "The History of Chester". www.ejnet.org. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Thompson, Ginger. "Mayor's hiring of convict disrupts Pa community's rebirth". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ Lynch, Danielle. "Delco's Movers & Shakers: From Chester to state Senate, Pileggi a man on the move". www.delcotimes.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Alexandersen, Christian. "From lawmaker to law enforcer: Pa. Senator set to become judge in 2016". www.pennlive.com. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Vince. "Familiar foes battle for mayor in Chester". www.delcotimes.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Kopp, John (January 3, 2012). "Linder sworn in as new Chester mayor". The Delco Daily Times. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
- ^ Carey, Kathleen E. "Roots win council nomination in Chester upset". www.delcotimes.com. MediaNews Group. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ Rodgers, Loretta. "New Chester mayor is 'ready to work'". myspiritnews.com. The Spirit. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
Sources
- Ashmead, Henry Graham (1884). History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. L.H. Everts & Co.
- Wiley, Samuel T. (1894). Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. New York: Gresham Publishing Company.