List of mayors of Charlottesville, Virginia facts for kids
The Mayor of Charlottesville is like the leader of the City Council in Charlottesville, Virginia. Imagine the City Council as a team that helps run the city. The Mayor is the person who leads their meetings and is often the public face of the city.
For a long time, before 1888, Charlottesville was a town inside Albemarle County, Virginia. Back then, people in Charlottesville directly voted for their mayor in elections. In 1888, Charlottesville became its own separate city, not part of the county anymore. But they still chose their mayors the same way, with people voting directly.
Things changed in 1922. From that year on, people in Charlottesville started voting for several individuals to be on the City Council. At first, there were three council members, and since 1928, there have been five. These elections used to happen in May or June every two years. But starting in 2007, the council elections moved to November of odd-numbered years.
Now, the people elected to the City Council choose one of their own members to be the Mayor. This Mayor leads the council meetings and sometimes acts as the official representative for the city at events. However, the Mayor doesn't have special legal powers or executive authority on their own.
Who Has Been Mayor of Charlottesville?
Charlottesville has had many mayors over the years, each playing a part in the city's history. The way mayors were chosen changed over time, from being directly elected by the public to being chosen by the City Council members themselves.
Mayors Chosen by the People (1853–1922)
Before 1922, the citizens of Charlottesville voted directly for their mayor. Here is a list of some of the mayors who were chosen this way:
| Mayor | Political party | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher L. Fowler | April 1868 | ||
| T. W. Savage | April 1868 | March 1870 | |
| N. H. Massie | March 1870 | April 1870 | |
| Christopher L. Fowler | April 1870 | 1870 | |
| William L. Cochran | 1870 | 1875? | |
| Richard F. Harris | 1875 | 1881 | |
| B. R. Pace | July 1, 1881 | July 1, 1883 | |
| Richard F. Harris | July 1, 1883 | 1888 | |
| Samuel Baker Woods | 1888 | 1892 | |
| L. T. Hanckel | 1892 | 1894 | |
| John Shelton Patton | Democratic | 1894 | 1896 |
| J. Samuel McCue | Democratic | 1896 | August 31, 1900 |
| Charles W. Allen | September 1, 1900 | August 31, 1902 | |
| J. Samuel McCue | Democratic | September 1, 1902 | August 31, 1904 |
| George W. Olivier | September 1, 1904 | August 31, 1908 | |
| Elbridge G. Haden | September 1, 1908 | August 31, 1912 | |
| Alpheus V. Conway | September 1, 1912 | August 31, 1916 | |
| Elbridge G. Haden | September 1, 1916 | August 31, 1920 | |
| Benjamin E. Wheeler | September 1, 1920 | August 31, 1922 |
Mayors Chosen by City Council (1922–Present)
Since 1922, the people of Charlottesville vote for members of the City Council. Then, the City Council members themselves choose one person from their group to be the Mayor. Here is a list of the mayors chosen by the City Council:
| Mayor | Political party | Tenure start | Tenure end | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John R. Morris | Democratic | September 1, 1922 | August 31, 1924 | 1 |
| Jury Y. Brown | Democratic | September 1, 1924 | August 31, 1930 | 3 |
| Frederick L. Watson | Democratic | September 1, 1930 | August 31, 1932 | 1 |
| Frederick W. Twyman | Democratic | September 1, 1932 | August 31, 1934 | 1 |
| W. Dandridge Haden | Democratic | September 1, 1934 | August 31, 1938 | 2 |
| George T. Huff | Democratic | September 1, 1938 | August 31, 1940 | 1 |
| W. Dandridge Haden | Democratic | September 1, 1940 | August 31, 1942 | 1 (3 total) |
| J. Emmett Gleason | Democratic | September 1, 1942 | August 31, 1944 | 1 |
| Roscoe S. Adams | Democratic | September 1, 1944 | August 31, 1948 | 1 |
| Gus Tebell | Democratic | September 1, 1948 | August 31, 1950 | 1 |
| Strother F. Hamm | Democratic | September 1, 1950 | August 31, 1952 | 1 |
| William R. Hill | Democratic | September 1, 1952 | August 31, 1954 | 1 |
| Sol B. Weinberg | Democratic | September 1, 1954 | August 31, 1956 | 1 |
| Robert M. “Jack” Davis | Democratic | September 1, 1956 | August 31, 1958 | 1 |
| Thomas J. Michie | Democratic | September 1, 1958 | August 31, 1960 | 1 |
| Louie L. Scribner | Democratic | September 1, 1960 | August 31, 1962 | 1 |
| Bernard J. Haggerty | Democratic | September 1, 1962 | August 31, 1964 | 1 |
| Lindsey B. Mount | Democratic | September 1, 1964 | August 31, 1966 | 1 |
| Burkett A. Reynolds | Democratic | September 1, 1966 | August 31, 1968 | 1 |
| Gunther "Dutch" Vogt | Republican | September 1, 1968 | August 31, 1970 | 1 |
| Mitchell Van Yahres | Democratic | September 1, 1970 | July 3, 1972 | 1 |
| Francis H. Fife | Democratic | July 3, 1972 | July 1, 1974 | 1 |
| Charles H. Barbour | Democratic | July 1, 1974 | July 1, 1976 | 1 |
| Nancy K. O'Brien | Democratic | July 1, 1976 | July 1, 1978 | 1 |
| Laurence A. Brunton | Republican | July 1, 1978 | July 1, 1980 | 1 |
| Francis L. Buck | Democratic | July 1, 1980 | July 1, 1988 | 4 |
| Elizabeth "Bitsy" Waters | Democratic | July 1, 1988 | July 2, 1990 | 1 |
| Alvin Edwards | Democratic | July 2, 1990 | July 1, 1992 | 1 |
| Tom Vandever | Democratic | July 1, 1992 | July 4, 1994 | 1 |
| David Toscano | Democratic | July 4, 1994 | July 1, 1996 | 1 |
| Kay Slaughter | Democratic | July 1, 1996 | July 1, 1998 | 1 |
| Virginia Daugherty | Democratic | July 1, 1998 | July 3, 2000 | 1 |
| Blake Caravati | Democratic | July 3, 2000 | July 1, 2002 | 1 |
| Maurice Cox | Democratic | July 1, 2002 | July 1, 2004 | 1 |
| David Brown | Democratic | July 1, 2004 | January 7, 2008 | 2 |
| Dave Norris | Democratic | January 7, 2008 | January 3, 2012 | 2 |
| Satyendra Huja | Democratic | January 3, 2012 | January 4, 2016 | 2 |
| Michael Signer | Democratic | January 4, 2016 | January 2, 2018 | 1 |
| Nikuyah Walker | Independent | January 2, 2018 | January 5, 2022 | 2 |
| J. Lloyd Snook, III | Democratic | January 5, 2022 | January 2, 2024 | 1 |
| Juandiego Wade | Democratic | January 2, 2024 | Incumbent | 1 |
