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List of mayors of Flint, Michigan facts for kids

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The mayor of Flint, Michigan is the city's top leader. In Flint, the mayor has a lot of power, which is called a "strong mayor" system. This means the mayor is in charge of the city's day-to-day operations and can make many decisions. Before 1929, the mayor's role was different. For a while, the mayor was part of a group called the City Commissioners, who worked in a "council-manager" type of government. This system means a city manager handles daily tasks, while the council (or commissioners) makes big decisions.

Early Mayors (1855–1888)

When Flint first became a city, the mayor was one of many officials elected by the whole city. Other important roles included the Recorder, Supervisor, Treasurer, and Marshal. There were also people in charge of schools and helping those in need. Besides these city-wide roles, other administrative officers were chosen from different parts of the city, called wards.

Below is a list of the mayors during this early period:

Mayor Start of Term End of Term Notes
Grant Decker 1855 1856
Robert J. S. Page 1856 1857
Henry M. Henderson 1857 1858
William M. Fenton 1858 1860 Some records show Porter Hazelton as mayor from 1859 to 1860
Henry H. Crapo 1860 1861
Ephraim S. Williams 1861 1862
William Paterson 1862 1863
William Hamilton 1863 1865
William B. McCreery 1865 1867
Austin B. Witherbee 1867 1868
Samuel M. Axford 1868 1869
William S. Patrick 1869 1870
James B. Walker 1870 1871
David Spencer Fox 1871 1873
George H. Durand 1873 1875
Alexander McFarland 1875 1876
William Hamilton 1876 1877
Edward Hughes Thomson 1877 1878
Jerome Eddy 1878 1879
James C. Willson 1879 1880
Zacheus Chase 1880 1881
Charles A. Mason 1881 1882
William A. Atwood 1882 1883
George E. Newall 1883 1884
William W. Joyner 1884 1885
Mathew Davison 1885 1886
George T. Warren 1886 1887
John C. Dayton 1887 1888

Changes in 1888

In 1888, Flint adopted a new city charter, which is like a city's constitution. This new charter likely changed how the city government worked and how the mayor's role fit into it.

Here are the mayors who served under the 1888 charter:

Mayor Start of Term End of Term Notes
Oren Stone 1888 1889
Frank D. Baker 1889 1890
William A. Paterson 1890 1891
Francis H. Rankin Jr. 1891 1892
George E. Taylor 1892 1893
Andrew J. Ward 1893 1894
Arthur C. McCall 1894 1894
John C. Zimmerman Sr. 1895 1896
Samuel C. Randall 1896 1897
Milton C. Pettibone 1897 1898
George R. Gold 1898 1899
Hugh Alexander Crawford 1899 1900
Charles A. Cummings 1900 1901
Clark B. Dibble 1901 1902
Austin D. Alvord 1902 1904
Bruce J. McDonald 1904 1905
David D. Aitken 1905 1906
George E. McKinley 1906 1908
Horace C. Spencer 1908 1909
Guy W. Selby 1909 1911
John A. C. Menton 1911 1912
Charles Stewart Mott 1912 1914
John R. MacDonald 1914 1915
William H. McKeighan 1915 1916
Earl F. Johnson 1916 1917
George C. Kellar 1917 1918
Charles Stewart Mott 1918 1919
George C. Kellar 1919 1920
Edwin W. Atwood 1920 1922
William H. McKeighan 1922 1923
David R. Cuthbertson 1923 1924
Judson L. Transue 1924 1927
William H. McKeighan 1927 1928
Ray A. Brownell 1929 1930


Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress
American (Know Nothing) (K-N)
Adams (A),
Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J),
National Republican (NR)
Anti-Administration (Anti-Admin)
Anti-Masonic (Anti-M)
Conservative (Con)
Democratic (D)
Dixiecrat (Dix),
States' rights (SR)
Democratic-Republican (D-R)
Farmer–Labor (FL)
Federalist (F)
Free Soil (FS)
Free Silver (FSv)
Fusion (FU)
Greenback (GB)
Jacksonian (J)
Nonpartisan League (NPL)
Nullifier (N)
Opposition (O)
Populist (Pop)
Pro-Administration (Pro-Admin)
Progressive (Prog)
Prohibition (Proh)
Readjuster (Rea)
Republican (R)
Socialist (Soc)
Unionist (U)
Whig (W)
Independent,
None,
or Unaffiliated

The 1929 Charter: A New System

In 1929, Flint changed its government again. It moved to a council–manager system. In this system, the city council (which was called the "City Commission" in Flint) makes the laws and big decisions, and they hire a professional city manager to run the city's daily business. The mayor was part of this City Commission.

Here are the mayors who served under the 1929 charter:

Mayor Start of Term End of Term Notes
Harvey J. Mallery 1930 1931
William H. McKeighan 1931 1933
Ray A. Brownell 1933 1934
Howard J. Clifford 1934 1935
George E. Boysen 1935 1936
Harold E. Bradshaw 1936 1938
Harry M. Comins 1938 1940
Oliver Tappin 1940 1940
William Osmund Kelly 1940 1944
Edwin C. McLogan 1944 1946
Edward J. Viall 1946 1948
George G. Wills 1948 1950
Paul Lovegrove 1950 1952
Donald W. Riegle Sr. 1952 1954
George M. Algoe 1954 1958
Robert J. Egan 1958 1960
Charles A. Mobley 1960 1962
George R. Poulos 1962 1964
Harry K. Cull 1964 1966
Floyd J. McCree 1966 1968 First African-American mayor
Donald R. Cronin 1968 1970
Francis E. Limmer(C. Stanley Mills) 1970 1973
Paul Calvin Visser 1973 1975

The 1974 Charter: Non-Partisan Elections

The 1974 Charter brought another big change. Under this new charter, the mayor's position became "non-partisan." This means that when people vote for mayor, the candidates do not have their political party (like Democrat or Republican) listed next to their name on the ballot. This is meant to encourage voters to choose based on the person, not their party.

Here are the mayors who served under the 1974 charter:

Mayor Start of Term End of Term Administrator Notes Elections
James W. Rutherford 1975 1983
Year Votes opponent opponent's votes
1975 20,679 Floyd J. McCree 20,474
1979 20,738 Floyd J. McCree 12,902
James A. Sharp Jr. 1983 1987 First elected African-American mayor
2nd African-American mayor
1983 21,718 James W. Rutherford 20,467
Matthew S. Collier 1987 1991
1987 22,874 James A. Sharp Jr. 19,509
Woodrow Stanley 1991 March 5, 2002 ? (1991–2001)
Darnell Earley (2001–2002)		 3rd African-American mayor
Removed from office by voters during his third term
1991 25,946 Matt Collier 17,686
1995 21,687 Don Williamson 9,168
1999 17,224 Scott Kincaid 16,393
2002 12,336 Recall 15,863
Darnell Earley March 5, 2002 August 6, 2002 himself Temporary Mayor as per City Charter
Also acted as City Administrator after July 9, 2002, when the State appointed an Emergency Financial Manager, Ed Kurtz
James W. Rutherford August 6, 2002 2003 Darnell Earley elected to finish Stanley's term; the City was still under a State Financial Manager
2002 11,239 Arthur J. Pointer (WI) 4,712
Don Williamson 2003 February 15, 2009 Peggy R. Cook (2003–2007)
Darryl Buchanan (2007–2009)
Michael Brown (2009)		 Initially under an Emergency Financial Manager until 2004. He resigned while facing a recall vote.
2003 13,906 Floyd Clack 9,228
2007 12,434 Dayne Walling 11,853
Michael Brown February 16, 2009 August 5, 2009 himself Temporary Mayor as per City Charter
Dayne Walling August 5, 2009 November 9, 2015
  • Gregory Eason (August 14, 2009- December 2, 2011)
  • Michael Brown (8/7/2012- July 2013)
  • Natasha Henderson
 His powers were reduced starting December 1, 2011, due to the city's financial emergency. An Emergency Manager took over many duties until April 30, 2015, when a Receivership Board began overseeing some city operations.
2009 12,266 Brenda Clack 6,876
2011 8,819 (56%) Darryl Buchanan 6,868 votes (44%)
Karen Weaver November 9, 2015 November 11, 2019
  • Natasha Henderson
  • Sylvester Jones
  • Steve Branch (Chief of Staff, interim)
 She served under the RTA Board oversight. She was the first female mayor of Flint.
2015 7,825 (55%) Dayne Walling 6,061 (43%)
Sheldon Neeley November 11, 2019 present Clyde Edwards
2019 7,082 (50.19%) Karen Weaver 6,877 (48.74%)
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List of mayors of Flint, Michigan Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.