List of mayors and city managers of Lowell, Massachusetts facts for kids
Lowell, Massachusetts, is a city with a rich history, and its leaders have played a big part in shaping it. This article tells you about the people who have served as the city's mayors and city managers.
From 1836 until 1943, the mayor of Lowell was the main leader of the city. They were in charge of how the city was run. But in 1943, Lowell changed its government system to something called a "Plan E" form. This meant that starting January 1, 1944, a professional city manager took over the daily running of the city. The mayor's job still exists, but it became more of a ceremonial role, like a representative for the city, rather than the main decision-maker.
Meet the Mayors of Lowell
Quick facts for kids Mayor of Lowell |
|
---|---|
Incumbent
Daniel Rourke since January 2, 2024 |
|
Style | His/Her Honor |
Member of | School Committee |
Residence | None official |
Seat | Lowell City Hall |
Appointer | City Council vote |
Term length | Two years |
Constituting instrument | Lowell City Charter |
Precursor | Lowell Board of Selectmen (1826-1836) |
Formation | 1836 |
First holder | Elisha Bartlett |
Salary | $30,000 (2017) |
# | Mayor | Picture | Term | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Elisha Bartlett | ![]() |
1836–1838 | Whig | |
2nd | Luther Lawrence | 1838 – April 17, 1839 | Federalist | ||
A | Elisha Huntington | ![]() |
April 1839 – April 1840 | Whig | Became acting mayor after the death of Luther Lawrence. |
3rd | Elisha Huntington | ![]() |
April 1840 – April 1842 | Whig | |
4th | Nathaniel Wright | April 1842 – April 1844 | Citizens ticket, (1842); Whig (1843) | ||
5th | Elisha Huntington | ![]() |
April 1844 – January 1846 | Whig | |
6th | Jefferson Bancroft | ![]() |
1846–1848 | Whig | |
7th | Josiah B. French | 1849–1850 | Coalitionist/Democratic | ||
8th | James H.B. Ayer | ![]() |
1851 | Whig | |
9th | Elisha Huntington | ![]() |
January 1852 – January 1853 | Whig | |
10th | Sewall G. Mack | 1853–1854 | Whig | ||
11th | Ambrose Lawrence | ![]() |
1855 | Native American Party | |
12th | Elisha Huntington | ![]() |
1856 | Whig | |
13th | Stephen Mansur | ![]() |
1857 | Republican | |
14th | Elisha Huntington | ![]() |
January 1858 – January 1859 | Whig | |
15th | James Cook | 1859 | Republican | ||
16th | Benjamin C. Sargent | 1860–1861 | Republican | ||
17th | Hocum Hosford | 1862–1865 | Citizens ticket (1862–1863), Republican (1864) | ||
18th | Josiah G. Peabody | 1865–1866 | Republican | ||
19th | George F. Richardson | ![]() |
1867 – January 4, 1869 | Republican | |
20th | Jonathan P. Folsom | ![]() |
January 4, 1869 – 1870 | Republican | |
21st | Edward Fay Sherman | 1871 | Republican | ||
22nd | Josiah G. Peabody | 1872 | Republican | ||
23rd | Francis Jewett | 1873–1875 | Republican | ||
24th | Charles A. Stott | January 1, 1876 – 1877 | Republican | ||
25th | John A. G. Richardson | January 7, 1878 – 1879 | Democratic | ||
26th | Frederic T. Greenhalge | ![]() |
1880 – January 2, 1882 | Republican | |
27th | George Runels | January 2, 1882 | Republican | ||
28th | John J. Donovan | 1883–1884 | Democratic | First Irish-American Mayor of Lowell. | |
29th | Edward J. Noyes | 1885 | Republican | ||
30th | James C. Abbott | 1886–1887 | Democratic | ||
31st | Charles Dana Palmer | ![]() |
1888 – January 1891 | Republican | |
32nd | George W. Fifield | ![]() |
January 1891 – 1892 | Democratic | |
33rd | John J. Pickman | ![]() |
1893–1894 | Republican | |
34th | William F. Courtney | 1895–1897 | Democratic | ||
35th | Col. James W. Bennett | 1898 | Republican | ||
36th | Jeremiah Crowley | ![]() |
1899–1900 | Democratic | Irish-American. |
37th | Charles A. R. Dimon | ![]() |
1901 – May 5, 1902 | Democratic | |
A | William E. Badger | 1902 | Republican | Acting mayor. | |
38th | Charles E. Howe | 1903–1904 | Republican | ||
39th | James B. Casey | 1905–1906 | Democratic | Irish-American. | |
40th | Frederick W. Farnham | 1907–1908 | Republican | ||
41st | George H. Brown | January 1, 1909-January, 1910 | Republican | ||
42nd | John F. Meehan | 1910–1911 | Democratic | Irish-American. | |
43rd | James E. O'Donnell | 1912–1913 | Democratic | Irish-American. | |
44th | Dennis J. Murphy | 1914–1915 | Democratic | Irish-American. | |
45th | James E. O'Donnell | 1916–1917 | Democratic | ||
46th | Perry D. Thompson | ![]() |
1918–1921 | Republican | |
47th | George H. Brown | 1922 | Republican | ||
48th | John J. Donovan | 1923–1926 | Democratic | ||
49th | Thomas J. Corbett | 1927–1928 | Democratic | ||
50th | Thomas H. Braden | 1929–1931 | Republican | ||
52nd | Charles H. Slowey | 1932–1933 | Democratic | ||
53rd | James J. Bruin | 1934–1935 | Democratic | ||
54th | Dewey G. Archambault | 1936–1939 | Republican | First Franco-American Mayor of Lowell. | |
55th | George T. Ashe | ![]() |
1940–1943 | Democratic | |
A | Joseph J. Sweeney | 1943 | Democratic | Acting mayor. He was the last mayor before the City Manager government started. | |
56th | Woodbury F. Howard | 1944–1945 | Republican | First ceremonial mayor. This was the start of the "weak mayor" system. The city manager government began on January 1, 1944. | |
57th | Leo A. Roy | 1946–1947 | Republican | ||
58th | George A. Ayotte | 1948–1949 | Republican | ||
59th | William C. Geary | 1950 | Democratic | ||
60th | George C. Eliades | 1951–1952 | Democratic | First Greek-American Mayor of Lowell. | |
61st | Henry Beaudry | ![]() |
1952–1953 | Republican | |
62nd | John Janas | ![]() |
1954–1955 | Republican | First Polish-American Mayor of Lowell. |
63rd | Samuel S. Pollard | 1956–1959 | Democratic | ||
64th | Raymond J. Lord | 1960–1961 | Republican | ||
65th | Joseph M. Downes | 1962–1963 | Democratic | ||
66th | Ellen A. Sampson | ![]() |
1964–1965 | Republican | First Female Mayor of Lowell. |
67th | Edward J. Early Jr. | 1966–1967 | Democratic | ||
68th | Robert G. Maguire | 1968–1969 | Democratic | ||
69th | Richard P. Howe | 1970–1971 | Democratic | ||
70th | Ellen A. Sampson | ![]() |
1972–1973 | Republican | |
71st | Armand W. LeMay | 1974–1975 | Democratic | ||
72nd | Leo J. Farley | 1976–1977 | Democratic | ||
73rd | Raymond F. Rourke | ![]() |
1978–1979 | Democratic | |
74th | Robert C. Maguire | 1980–1981 | Democratic | ||
75th | M. Brendan Fleming | ![]() |
1982–1983 | Democratic | |
76th | Brian J. Martin | ![]() |
1984–1985 | Democratic | |
77th | Robert B. Kennedy | ![]() |
1986–1987 | Democratic | |
78th | Richard P. Howe | 1988–1991 | Democratic | ||
79th | Tarsy T. Poulios | 1992–1993 | Democratic | ||
80th | Richard P. Howe | 1994–1995 | Democratic | ||
81st | Edward "Bud" Caulfield | 1996–1997 | |||
82nd | Eileen Donoghue | ![]() |
1998–2001 | Democratic | |
83rd | Rita Mercier | 2002–2003 | Democratic | ||
84th | Armand Mercier | 2004–2005 | |||
85th | William F. Martin | 2006–2007 | Democratic | ||
86th | Edward "Bud" Caulfield | 2008–2009 | Democratic | ||
87th | James L. Milinazzo | 2010–2011 | Democratic | Italian-American. | |
88th | Patrick O. Murphy | ![]() |
2012–2013 | Independent | Inaugurated at age 29, he was the youngest mayor in Lowell history. |
89th | Rodney Elliott | ![]() |
2014–2016 | Democratic | |
90th | Edward J. Kennedy | ![]() |
2016–2018 | Democratic | |
91st | William Samaras | 2018–2020 | Democratic | ||
92nd | John Leahy | 2020–2022 | Independent | ||
93rd | Sokhary Chau | 2022-2024 | Democratic | First Cambodian mayor in the United States. | |
94th | Daniel Rourke | 2024–present |
Lowell's City Managers
# | City Manager | Term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1st | John J. Flannery | 1944–1952 | |
2nd | Ulysses J. Lupien | 1952–1953 | He was the former Massachusetts Director of Civil Service. |
A | William Sullivan | 1953 | |
3rd | Frank E. Barrett | 1953–1962 | |
4th | Cornelius Desmond | 1962–1963 | He was a former State Representative. |
5th | P. Harold Ready | 1963–1966 | |
6th | Charles Gallagher | 1966–1970 | |
A | Leo Morris | 1970 | |
7th | James Sullivan | 1970–1974 | He was also a City Manager for Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
A | Robert W. Healy | 1974 | He later became the City Manager for Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
8th | Paul J. Sheehy | 1974–1975 | He was a former State Representative. |
A | William Busby | 1975 | |
9th | William S. Taupier | 1975–1979 | He was a former Mayor of Holyoke. |
A | Victor Normand | 1979 | |
10th | B. Joseph Tully | 1979–1987 | He was a former State Senator. |
11th | James Campbell | 1987–1991 | |
A | James Kennedy | 1991 | |
12th | Richard Johnson | 1991–1995 | He was a former Mayor of Taunton. |
13th | Brian J. Martin | 1995–2000 | He was a former Mayor of Lowell. |
14th | John F. Cox | 2000–2006 | He was a former State Representative. |
A | James Kennedy | 2006 | |
15th | Bernard F. Lynch | 2006–2014 | He was the first Town Manager of Chelmsford. |
A | Michael Geary | 2014 | |
16th | Kevin J. Murphy | 2014–2018 | He was a former State Representative. |
17th | Eileen Donoghue | 2018–2022 | She was a former Mayor and State Senator. |
A | Michael Geary | 2022 | |
18th | Thomas Golden Jr. | 2022–present | He was a former State Representative. |
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List of mayors and city managers of Lowell, Massachusetts Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.