List of mayors of Jacksonville, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Jacksonville
Flag of the City of Jacksonville
Seal of the City of Jacksonville
Incumbent Donna Deegan since July 1, 2023
Style	The Honorable
Term length	4 years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	William J. Mills
Formation	1832
Salary	$206,218

The Mayor of Jacksonville is the main leader for the city of Jacksonville, Florida. This person also manages Duval County. Jacksonville uses a "strong mayor" system. This means the mayor has a lot of power compared to the Jacksonville City Council.

Since the late 1800s, when Jacksonville and Duval County started to combine, the mayor has been in charge of the whole county. After a bigger combination in 1968, the mayor's office officially became the executive leader for the county. The current mayor is Donna Deegan. She was elected in the 2023 election and started her term on July 1, 2023.

History of Jacksonville's Mayors

The first mayor of Jacksonville, William J. Mills, was chosen in 1832. In 1841, a new city rule changed the title to "Intendant." It went back to "Mayor" in 1859. We don't have much information about mayors from 1832 to 1848. This is because the Great Fire of 1901 destroyed many city records. Most of what we know comes from old newspapers.

There were no mayoral elections in 1840. Also, during the Civil War, no elections were held in 1862, 1863, or 1864. After the war, during the Reconstruction era, elections started again. However, the mayor didn't have much power then. The United States Military was mostly in charge of the city. There was no set time limit for how long a mayor could serve.

On May 31, 1887, the city made a new plan. It added several nearby areas like LaVilla and Springfield. The mayor's term also changed from one year to two years. The mayor at that time, John Quincy Burbridge, had just been elected. But the new plan meant a new election had to happen. On December 13, 1887, Charles Bristol Smith, a Republican, won. He had support from the city's large African American community. After this, local Democrats asked the Florida State Legislature to change the city rules again. They wanted to reduce Republican and Black people's involvement in local politics. Because of this, people could not directly elect mayors from 1889 to 1893. During this time, the city council chose the mayors. The governor of Florida appointed the city council members.

The city's rules changed many times over the next few decades. More areas were added, making the city bigger. But the biggest change to local government was the Jacksonville Consolidation. This happened on October 1, 1968. In this event, the governments of Duval County and City of Jacksonville joined together. This made the city limits include almost the entire county. Mayor Hans Tanzler had just started his term on June 23, 1967. But because of the consolidation, he had to run again for the new combined city government. Tanzler was re-elected and started his new term on March 1, 1968. Since then, mayors have been elected every four years. In 1991, voters decided that mayors could only serve two terms in a row.

Who Has Been Mayor of Jacksonville?

Here is a list of some of the people who have served as mayor of Jacksonville:

Early Mayors (Before the Civil War)

Intendants (1841-1859)

Mayors Before Consolidation (Selected)

Mayors of the Consolidated City

More to Explore

• Timeline of Jacksonville, Florida