The mayor of Flint, Michigan is like the city's main leader. Flint has a "strong mayor" system, which means the mayor has a lot of power to make decisions and manage the city's daily operations. Before 1929, Flint had a different system where the mayor was part of a group called the City Commissioners, which was more like a "council-manager" government. In that system, the council (or commission) made the big decisions, and a city manager handled the day-to-day work.
Early Mayors: 1855–1888
In the early days of Flint, the mayor was one of several important officials elected by the whole city. Other elected roles included the Recorder, Supervisor, Treasurer, and Marshal. There were also other administrative officers chosen by different areas of the city, called wards.
Mayor |
Start of Term |
End of Term |
Notes |
Grant Decker |
1855 |
1856 |
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Robert J. S. Page |
1856 |
1857 |
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Henry M. Henderson |
1857 |
1858 |
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William M. Fenton |
1858 |
1860 |
Some records show Porter Hazelton as mayor from 1859 to 1860 |
Henry H. Crapo |
1860 |
1861 |
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Ephraim S. Williams |
1861 |
1862 |
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William Paterson |
1862 |
1863 |
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William Hamilton |
1863 |
1865 |
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William B. McCreery |
1865 |
1867 |
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Austin B. Witherbee |
1867 |
1868 |
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Samuel M. Axford |
1868 |
1869 |
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William S. Patrick |
1869 |
1870 |
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James B. Walker |
1870 |
1871 |
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David Spencer Fox |
1871 |
1873 |
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George H. Durand |
1873 |
1875 |
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Alexander McFarland |
1875 |
1876 |
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William Hamilton |
1876 |
1877 |
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Edward Hughes Thomson |
1877 |
1878 |
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Jerome Eddy |
1878 |
1879 |
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James C. Willson |
1879 |
1880 |
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Zacheus Chase |
1880 |
1881 |
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Charles A. Mason |
1881 |
1882 |
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William A. Atwood |
1882 |
1883 |
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George E. Newall |
1883 |
1884 |
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William W. Joyner |
1884 |
1885 |
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Mathew Davison |
1885 |
1886 |
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George T. Warren |
1886 |
1887 |
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John C. Dayton |
1887 |
1888 |
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The 1888 City Charter
Flint adopted a new city charter in 1888, which changed how the city government worked. Here are the mayors who served under this new charter.
Mayor |
Start of Term |
End of Term |
Notes |
Oren Stone |
1888 |
1889 |
|
Frank D. Baker |
1889 |
1890 |
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William A. Paterson |
1890 |
1891 |
|
Francis H. Rankin Jr. |
1891 |
1892 |
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George E. Taylor |
1892 |
1893 |
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Andrew J. Ward |
1893 |
1894 |
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Arthur C. McCall |
1894 |
1894 |
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John C. Zimmerman Sr. |
1895 |
1896 |
|
Samuel C. Randall |
1896 |
1897 |
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Milton C. Pettibone |
1897 |
1898 |
|
George R. Gold |
1898 |
1899 |
|
Hugh Alexander Crawford |
1899 |
1900 |
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Charles A. Cummings |
1900 |
1901 |
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Clark B. Dibble |
1901 |
1902 |
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Austin D. Alvord |
1902 |
1904 |
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Bruce J. McDonald |
1904 |
1905 |
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David D. Aitken |
1905 |
1906 |
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George E. McKinley |
1906 |
1908 |
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Horace C. Spencer |
1908 |
1909 |
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Guy W. Selby |
1909 |
1911 |
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John A. C. Menton |
1911 |
1912 |
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Charles Stewart Mott |
1912 |
1914 |
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John R. MacDonald |
1914 |
1915 |
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William H. McKeighan |
1915 |
1916 |
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Earl F. Johnson |
1916 |
1917 |
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George C. Kellar |
1917 |
1918 |
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Charles Stewart Mott |
1918 |
1919 |
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George C. Kellar |
1919 |
1920 |
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Edwin W. Atwood |
1920 |
1922 |
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William H. McKeighan |
1922 |
1923 |
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David R. Cuthbertson |
1923 |
1924 |
|
Judson L. Transue |
1924 |
1927 |
|
William H. McKeighan |
1927 |
1928 |
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Ray A. Brownell |
1929 |
1930 |
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Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress |
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The 1929 City Charter
In 1929, Flint changed its government again. It moved to a "council-manager" system. In this setup, the city council was called the "City Commission," and the mayor was one of its members.
Mayor |
Start of Term |
End of Term |
Notes |
Harvey J. Mallery |
1930 |
1931 |
|
William H. McKeighan |
1931 |
1933 |
|
Ray A. Brownell |
1933 |
1934 |
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Howard J. Clifford |
1934 |
1935 |
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George E. Boysen |
1935 |
1936 |
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Harold E. Bradshaw |
1936 |
1938 |
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Harry M. Comins |
1938 |
1940 |
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Oliver Tappin |
1940 |
1940 |
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William Osmund Kelly |
1940 |
1944 |
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Edwin C. McLogan |
1944 |
1946 |
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Edward J. Viall |
1946 |
1948 |
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George G. Wills |
1948 |
1950 |
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Paul Lovegrove |
1950 |
1952 |
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Donald W. Riegle Sr. |
1952 |
1954 |
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George M. Algoe |
1954 |
1958 |
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Robert J. Egan |
1958 |
1960 |
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Charles A. Mobley |
1960 |
1962 |
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George R. Poulos |
1962 |
1964 |
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Harry K. Cull |
1964 |
1966 |
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Floyd J. McCree |
1966 |
1968 |
First African-American mayor |
Donald R. Cronin |
1968 |
1970 |
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Francis E. Limmer(C. Stanley Mills) |
1970 |
1973 |
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Paul Calvin Visser |
1973 |
1975 |
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The 1974 City Charter
Under the 1974 Charter, the mayor's job became an elected position where candidates do not run as members of a political party. This is called a "non-partisan" election.
Mayor |
Start of Term |
End of Term |
Administrator |
Notes |
Elections |
James W. Rutherford |
1975 |
1983 |
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|
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 African-American mayor elected by the people
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 a special vote in 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
Became the City Administrator on July 9, 2002, because 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, which was lifted in 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 removed on January 12, 2011, due to the city's money problems. An Emergency Manager took over until April 30, 2015, when a Receivership Board began to oversee some parts of the city. |
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)
|
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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