List of mayors of Charlottesville, Virginia facts for kids
The Mayor of Charlottesville is a very important leader in the city of Charlottesville, Virginia. This person leads the City Council, which is a group of people elected to make decisions for the city.
For a long time, before 1888, Charlottesville was a town inside Albemarle County, Virginia. Back then, people voted directly for their mayor in elections. In 1888, Charlottesville became an independent city, meaning it was separate from the county. People still voted for the mayor in the same way.
However, things changed in 1922. Since then, people in Charlottesville vote for a group of individuals to be on the City Council. At first, there were three council members, and then five from 1928 until today. These elections used to happen in May or June every even-numbered year. But starting in 2007, the 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 face of the city government for special events. The mayor doesn't have separate legal power or executive authority like a president, but they are a key leader.
Who Has Been Mayor?
This section lists the people who have served as mayor of Charlottesville over the years.
Mayors Chosen by Voters (1853–1922)
Here are some of the mayors who were directly elected by the people of Charlottesville before 1922.
| 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 City Council members have chosen one of their own to be the mayor. Here is a list of those mayors, including the current mayor as of July 2025.
| Image | Mayor | Political party | Tenure start | Tenure end | Terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | First African-American mayor | |
| 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 | ||
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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 |
