List of mayors and city managers of Cambridge, Massachusetts facts for kids

Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a city that has been led by many important people over the years. These leaders help make decisions about how the city runs, from schools and parks to roads and public safety. The main leaders are the mayors and, more recently, the city managers.

A mayor is usually the head of the city government, chosen by the people who live there. They often lead meetings, represent the city, and help set goals. In Cambridge, the role of the mayor has changed over time. For many years, the mayor was the main leader. But later, the city decided to have a "city manager" as well.

A city manager is a professional who is hired to run the day-to-day operations of the city. Think of them like a CEO of a company, but for a city! They handle things like budgets, city staff, and making sure services are delivered smoothly. In Cambridge, the city manager is in charge of most of the daily work, while the mayor leads the City Council and represents the city.

Meet Cambridge's Past Mayors

The mayor of Cambridge is chosen by the City Council from among its members. This means the mayor is also a councilor. The mayor leads the City Council meetings and acts as the official face of the city.

No.	Mayor	Image	Term	Party
1	James D. Green		May 1846 – April 1848
2	Sidney Willard		April 1848 – April 1851
3	George Stevens		April 1851 – April 1853
4	James D. Green		April 1853 – April 1854	None
5	Abraham Edwards		April 1854 – January 1855
6	Zebina L. Raymond		January 1855 – January 1856
7	John Sargent		January 1855 – January 1860
8	James D. Green		January 1860 – July 24, 1861
9	Charles Theodore Russell		July 31, 1861 – January 1863
10	George C. Richardson		January 1863 – January 1864
11	Zebina L. Raymond		January 1864 – January 1865
12	J. Warren Merrill		January 1865 – January 1867
13	Ezra Parmenter		January 1867 – January 1868
14	Charles H. Saunders		January 1868 – January 1870
15	Hamlin R. Harding		January 1870 – January 1872
16	Henry Oscar Houghton		January 1872 – January 1873
17	Isaac Bradford		January 1873 – January 1877	Democratic
18	Frank Augustus Allen		January 1877 – January 1878
19	Samuel L. Montague		January 1878 – January 1880
20	James Morris Whiton Hall		January 1880 – January 1881
21	James Augustus Fox		January 1881 – January 1885
22	William Russell		January 1885 – January 1889	Democratic
23	Henry Gilmore		January 1889 – January 1891
24	Alpheus B. Alger		January 1891 – January 1892
25	William Bancroft		January 1893 – January 1897
26	Alvin F. Sortwell		January 1897 – January 1899
27	Edgar R. Champlin		January 1899 – January 1901	Republican
28	David T. Dickinson		January 1901 – January 1902	Republican
29	John H. H. McNamee		January 1902 – January 1904
30	Augustine J. Daly		January 1904 – January 1906
31	Charles H. Thurston		January 1906 – January 1907
32	Walter C. Wardwell		January 1907 – April 1909
33	William F. Brooks		April 1908 – April 1911
34	J. Edward Barry		April 1911 – April 1914
35	Timothy W. Good		April 1914 – January 3, 1916
36	Wendell D. Rockwood		January 3, 1916 – January 1918
37	Edward W. Quinn		January 1918 – January 1930	Democratic
38	Richard M. Russell		January 1930 – January 1936	Democratic
39	John D. Lynch		January 1936 – January 1938
40	John W. Lyons		January 1938 – July 22, 1941
41	Francis C. Sennott		July 23, 1941 – January 1, 1942		This was the last mayor before Cambridge changed its government style to include a city manager.
42	John H. Corcoran		1942 – December 28, 1945	Democratic	This is when the city manager system began.
43	John D. Lynch		1946–1947
44	Michael Neville		1948–1949
45	Edward Crane		1950–1951
46	Joseph DeGuglielmo		1952–1953
47	John J. Foley		1954–1955
48	Edward J. Sullivan		1956–1957
49	Tom McNamara		1958–1959
50	Edward Crane		1960–1965
51	Daniel Hayes		1966–1967
52	Walter Sullivan		1968–1969
53	Alfred Vellucci		1970–1971
54	Barbara Ackermann		1972–1973
55	Walter Sullivan		1974–1975
56	Alfred Vellucci		1976–1977
57	Thomas Danehy		1978–1979
58	Francis Duehay		1980–1981
59	Alfred Vellucci		1982–1983
60	Leonard J. Russell		1984–1985
61	Francis Duehay		1985
62	Walter Sullivan		1986–1987
63	Alfred Vellucci		1988–1989
64	Alice Wolf		1990–1991
65	Kenneth Reeves		1992–1995
66	Sheila Russell		1996–1997
67	Francis Duehay		1998–1999
68	Anthony Galluccio		2000–2001
69	Michael A. Sullivan		2002–2005
70	Kenneth Reeves		2006–2007
71	E. Denise Simmons		2008–2009
72	David P. Maher		2010–2011
73	Henrietta Davis		2012–2013
74	David P. Maher		2014–2015
75	E. Denise Simmons		2016–2017
76	Marc C. McGovern		2018–2019
77	Sumbul Siddiqui		2020–2024
78	E. Denise Simmons		2024–present

Cambridge's City Managers

The city manager is a very important role in Cambridge. They are hired by the City Council to handle the daily operations of the city. This includes managing city departments, preparing the budget, and making sure city services run smoothly.