List of mayors of Cincinnati

Mayor of Cincinnati
Mayor of Cincinnati
	Seal of Cincinnati, Ohio
	Flag of Cincinnati, Ohio
	Incumbent; Aftab Pureval; since January 4, 2022
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years; may serve two consecutive terms; renewable once
Inaugural holder	David Ziegler
Formation	1802
Succession	Vice Mayor of Cincinnati
Salary	$121,291
Website	Office of the Mayor

The mayor of Cincinnati is recognized as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes. There have been seventy-six mayors of Cincinnati. The first mayor was David Ziegler, who took office in 1802. The current mayor is Aftab Pureval, who was elected on November 2, 2021, and took office at noon on January 4, 2022.

Executive powers

The mayor shall preside over all meetings of the Cincinnati City Council. The mayor may call a special meeting of the council, but may not have a vote in the council. The mayor has the power to propose legislation for debate among the council. The mayor shall appoint and may remove the vice-mayor and the chair of all committees of the council without the advice and consent of the council.

The mayor of Cincinnati shall be recognized as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes, except as provided otherwise in the city charter of Cincinnati. The mayor may appoint a city manager upon an affirmative vote of five members of the city council following the mayor's recommendation.

The mayor delivers an annual address to the council and citizens of the city reporting on the state of the city and making recommendations for the establishment and achievement of future city goals.

In time of public danger or emergency, the mayor, with the consent of the council, may take command of the police, maintain order and enforce the law.

Succession

In the event of the death, removal or resignation of the mayor, the Vice Mayor of Cincinnati shall succeed to the office of mayor in accordance with the city charter. The current vice mayor of Cincinnati is Jan Michelle Kearney.

History

Until the charter of 1815, the president of the council served as equivalent of mayor. Two sources agree on the list of presidents:^[1]^[2]

Prior to 1925 (and since 1999) the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio was elected in a separate, partisan election.

In 1924, the Charter Party, a local third-party, was founded. It has elected members of the city council and mayors. Until 1961, many Democrats ran as Charterites. The party focuses exclusively on local government; thus, many Charterites switch to a major party when seeking office outside Cincinnati.

From 1925 through 1998, the mayor was chosen by the city council from among its nine members.

In 1971, a coalition of two parties, the Democrats and the Charterites, worked out a power-sharing plan, which, starting in 1973, resulted in a rotating mayorship. After a few years of rotation, they decided that the city council member who received the most votes in the election would automatically become mayor.

In 1999, Charlie Luken became the first mayor to take office under a restored system of direct mayoral election.^[3]

Mayor firsts

In 1900, Julius Fleischmann became the youngest mayor of Cincinnati at the age of 28 years.

In 1954, Dorothy N. Dolbey became the first female mayor of the City of Cincinnati.

In 2006, Mark Mallory was the first directly elected African-American Mayor of Cincinnati.

On November 2, 2021, Aftab Pureval was elected the first Asian American mayor of Cincinnati. Mayor Pureval is the 70th and current mayor of Cincinnati.

List of mayors

Dates	Name	Life dates	Party	Elected by
1802–1803	David Ziegler	1748–1811	no party	public
1803–1804	Joseph Prince		no party	public
1805–1806	James Findlay	1770–1835	no party	public
1807	John S. Gano			public
1807	Martin Baum	1765–1831		public
1808–1809	Daniel Symmes	1772–1827		public
1810–1811	James Findlay (2nd)	1770–1835		public
1812	Martin Baum (2nd)	1765–1831		public
1813	William Stanley			public
1814	Samuel W. Davies	1776–1843		public
1815–1819	William Corry	1779–1833		public
1819–1831	Isaac G. Burnet	1784–1856		public
1831–1833	Elisha Hotchkiss	1778–1858	Democratic	public
1833–1843	Samuel W. Davies	1776–1843	Whig	public
1843–1851	Henry E. Spencer	1807–1882	Whig	public
1851–1853	Mark P. Taylor		Democratic	public
1853–1855	David T. Snelbaker	1804–1867	Democratic	public
1855–1857	James J. Faran	1808–1892	Democratic	public
1857–1859	Nicholas W. Thomas	1810–1864	Whig	public
1859–1861	Richard M. Bishop	1812–1893	Democratic	public
1861–1863	George Hatch		Democratic	public
1863–1866	Leonard A. Harris	1824–1890	Republican	public
1866–1869	Charles F. Wilstach	1818–1882	Republican	public
1869–1871	John F. Torrence	1819–1883	Republican	public
1871–1873	S. S. Davis	1817–1896	Republican	public
1873–1877	George W. C. Johnston	1828–1879	Democratic	public
1877–1879	Robert M. Moore	1816–1880	Republican	public
1879–1881	Charles Jacob Jr.	1834–1913	Republican	public
1881–1883	William F. Means		Democratic	public
1883–1885	Thomas J. Stephens	1823–1892	Democratic	public
1885–1889	Amor Smith Jr.	1840–1915	Republican	public
1889–1894	John B. Mosby	1845–1928	Republican	public
1894–1897	John A. Caldwell	1852–1927	Republican	public
1897–1900	Gustav Tafel	1830–1908	Democratic	public
1900–1905	Julius Fleischmann	1871–1925	Republican	public
1906–1907	Edward J. Dempsey	1858–1929	Democratic	public
1908–1909	Leopold Markbreit	1842–1909	Republican	public
1909	John Galvin	1862–1922	Republican	public
1910–1911	Louis Schwab	1850–1926	Republican	public
1912–1913	Henry Thomas Hunt	1879–1956	Democratic	public
1914–1915	Frederick S. Spiegel	1855–1925	Republican	public
1916–1917	George Puchta	1860–1937	Republican	public
1918–1921	John Galvin (2nd)	1862–1922	Republican	public
1922–1925	George Carrel	1865–1949	Republican	public
1926–1929	Murray Seasongood	1878–1983	Charterite	council
1930–1937	Russell Wilson	1876–1946	Charterite	council
1938–1947	James G. Stewart	1880–1959	Republican	council
1947–1948	Carl W. Rich	1898–1972	Republican	council
1948–1951	Albert D. Cash	1897–1952	Democratic	council
1951–1953	Carl W. Rich (2nd)	1898–1972	Republican	council
1953–1954	Edward N. Waldvogel	1894–1954	Charterite	council
1954	Dorothy N. Dolbey	1908–1991	Charterite	council
1954	Carl W. Rich (3rd)	1898–1972	Republican	council
1955–1957	Charles Phelps Taft II	1897–1983	Republican	council
1957–1960	Donald D. Clancy	1921–2007	Republican	council
1960–1967	Walton H. Bachrach	1904–1989	Republican	council
1967–1971	Eugene P. Ruehlmann	1925–2013	Republican	council
1971	Willis D. Gradison Jr.	1928–	Republican	council
1971–1972	Thomas A. Luken	1925–2018	Democratic	council
1972–1975	Theodore M. Berry	1905–2000	Charterite	council
1975–1976	Bobbie L. Sterne	1919–2017	Charterite	council
1976–1977	James T. Luken	1921–1979	Democratic	council
1977–1978	Jerry Springer	1944–2023	Democratic	council
1978–1979	Bobbie L. Sterne (2nd)	1919–2017	Charterite	council
1979–1980	J. Kenneth Blackwell	1948–	Charterite	council
1980–1982	David S. Mann	1939–	Democratic	council
1982–1983	Thomas B. Brush	1934–	Charterite	council
1983–1984	Arnold L. Bortz	1946–	Charterite	council
1984–1991	Charles J. Luken	1951–	Democratic	council
1991	David S. Mann (2nd)	1939–	Democratic	council
1991–1993	Dwight Tillery	1948–	Democratic	council
1993–1999	Roxanne Qualls	1953–	Democratic	council
1999–2005	Charles J. Luken (2nd)	1951–	Democratic	public
2006–2013	Mark Mallory	1962–	Democratic	public
2013–2022	John Cranley	1974–	Democratic	public
2022–present	Aftab Pureval	1982–	Democratic	public