Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut

Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut
Incumbent
Caroline Simmons
since 2021
TypeMayor
Term length4 years
Formation1894
First holderCharles H. Leeds

The mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, United States, is the city's chief executive.

History of the mayoralty

Before 1945, the city charter of the City of Stamford divided the city into two separate political jurisdictions: a central city with a "strong mayor" form of government and a town which employed the traditional town meeting form of government.[1] From the 1930s, reformers began seeking to change this system on the grounds that it accorded too much power to the mayor and that the separation of the town and city for some purposes but not others "was an outmoded and inefficient way to govern a modern city."[1]

In 1946, the Charter Consolidation Inquiry Commission, created by the Connecticut General Assembly, issued recommendations for Stamford government to unify under a single jurisdiction led by a strong mayor, and with a city council (called the Board of Representatives) of forty members, with two elected from twenty districts.[1] These recommendations were approved by Stamford voters and the new system took effect on April 15, 1949.[1]

Stamford retains its strong-mayor form of government today.[1] The mayor appoints the departments heads, acts as chief executive officer of the city, and is responsible for presenting the budget to the board of finance, city council, and planning board.[1] The city council approves the budget and passes ordinances and resolutions.[1] Both the mayor and the city council serve four-year terms, and there are no term limits.[1]

List of mayors of Stamford

The following table lists the mayors of Stamford, as well as their dates in office, their dates of birth, and (if deceased) their dates of death.[2][3]

Name Served Party Date of birth Date of death Notes
Charles H. Leeds 1894-1895 January 9, 1834 November 6, 1914
Edwin L. Scofield 1895-1897 June 18, 1852 January 14, 1918
William J. H. Bohannan 1897-1899 March 9, 1865 August 29, 1947
Edward J. Tupper 1899-1900 September 19, 1853 October 2, 1922
Homer Stille Cummings 1900-1902 Democrat April 30, 1870 September 10, 1956
Charles H. Leeds 1902-1904 January 6, 1873 February 7, 1967
Homer Stille Cummings 1904-1906 Democrat April 30, 1870 September 10, 1956 Subsequently Attorney General of the United States (1933-1939)
Edward J. Tupper 1906-1910 September 19, 1853 October 2, 1922
Charles E. Rowell 1911-1913 May 3, 1849 March 29, 1914
Walter G. Austin 1913-1915 December 9, 1853 January 14, 1937
John M. Brown 1915-1915 November 7, 1856 December 10, 1915
John J. Treat 1916-1922 June 10, 1873 February 7, 1928
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. 1923-1924 Democrat April 23, 1894 January 18, 1970
John F. Keating 1924-1926 September 8, 1876 September 15, 1946
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. 1927-1928 Democrat April 23, 1894 January 18, 1970
William W. Graves 1928-1930 October 28, 1868 December 26, 1965
John F. Keating 1934-1935 September 8, 1876 September 15, 1946
Joseph P. Boyle 1930-1934 1883 May 25, 1948
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. 1935-1936 Democrat April 23, 1894 January 18, 1970 Subsequently representative from Connecticut's 4th congressional district
Edward A. Gonnoud 1936-1938 Democrat September 12, 1892 June 26, 1951
Charles E. Moore 1938-1940 Republican June 29, 1884 June 22, 1967
Edward A. Gonnoud 1940-1942 Democrat September 12, 1892 June 26, 1951
Charles E. Moore 1942-1949 Republican June 29, 1884 June 22, 1967
George T. Barrett 1949-1951 Republican November 29, 1884 October 11, 1954
Thomas F. J. Quigley 1951-1957 Democrat April 19, 1903 November 9, 1996
Webster C. Givens 1957-1959 Republican[4] December 23, 1898 September 7, 1968
James Walter Kennedy 1959-1963 Democrat June 8, 1912 June 26, 1977 Subsequently Commissioner of the NBA (1963–1975)
William F. Hickey Jr. 1963-1963 Democrat May 28, 1929 July 21, 2016
Thomas C. Mayers 1963-1967 Republican[5] March 21, 1909 December 20, 1997
Bruno E. Giordano 1967-1969 Democrat[5] July 29, 1929 May 27, 2016
Julius Morris Wilensky 1969-1973 Republican[6] October 10, 1916 October 25, 2004
Frederick P. Lenz, Jr. 1973-1975 Democrat[6]
Louis A. Clapes 1975-1983 Republican[7] April 10, 1917 November 20, 1990
Thom Serrani 1983-1991 Democrat[8] 1948 — Elementary school redistricting plan sent South Field Village Housing Projects children to Cove Schools
Stanley J. Esposito 1991-1995 Republican —
Dannel Patrick "Dan" Malloy 1995-2009 Democrat July 21, 1955 — Subsequently governor of Connecticut
Michael Pavia 2009-2013 Republican —
David R. Martin 2013–2021 Democrat February 23, 1953 —
Caroline Simmons 2021–Present Democrat February 10, 1986 — First female mayor in Stamford history

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Peter F. Burns, Electoral Politics Is Not Enough: Racial and Ethnic Minorities and Urban Politics (State University of New York Press, Albany, 2006), pp. 25-26.
  2. ^ Stamford Mayors, Stamford Board of Representatives.
  3. ^ Stamford Mayors Archived 2015-04-27 at archive.today, Ferguson Library.
  4. ^ "More of a Long Story".
  5. ^ a b "Former Stamford mayor Bruno Giordano dies at 86". Stamford Advocate. 30 May 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Democrat Elected in Stamford, Beating 2-Term C. O. P. Mayor". The New York Times. 7 November 1973.
  7. ^ "Louis Clapes, 73, Dies; Ex-Mayor of Stamford". The New York Times. 25 November 1990.
  8. ^ Judson, George (27 October 1991). "Stamford, Hoping for Growth, Chooses a Mayor". The New York Times.

External links

  • Consolidation - Fifty Years in the Making from the Stamford Board of Representatives