List of mayors of Manchester, New Hampshire facts for kids
This is a list of mayors of Manchester, New Hampshire.
Political party designations are shown for some mayors, where known. However, municipal elections are officially non-partisan.
Throughout most of the previous century, elections have been held in odd-numbered years. Mayors are elected for a two-year term of office. The first city election in Manchester, New Hampshire occurred on August 19, 1846.
The administrative and executive powers of the city are vested in the mayor. The mayor must be a resident of the city for at least a year prior to filing for the office of mayor. The mayor has the power to supervise the administrative affairs of the city and presides over meetings of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The mayor is the de facto head of the Board of School Committee, which oversees the city’s schools.
From 1846 to 1857, mayors served for a one-year term, expiring on the third Tuesday in March. From 1857 to 1872, the mayor's term expired on the last day of December. In 1873, the term ended annually on the Third Tuesday in March, up until 1880, when it became a two-year term.
List
Mayor | Term | Party | Birth–death | Notes | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hiram Brown | 1846–1847 | Whig | January 23, 1801 – September 7, 1890 | Elected the city's first mayor, August 19, 1846. | |
Jacob F. James | 1847–1849 | Whig | d, April 15, 1892 | Elected May 22, 1847, after two previous elections had been invalidated, since no candidate had won the required number of votes. He was re-elected April 26, 1848, after two elections had failed to yield the need number of votes to declare a winner. | |
Warren L. Lane | 1849–1850 | Democrat | d. March 4, 1861 | Elected in Oct. 1849 special election after elections in both April and May 1849 election yielded no clear winner. | |
Moses Fellows | 1851–1852 | ||||
Frederick Smyth | 1852–1855 | March 9, 1819 – April 22, 1899 | |||
Theodore T. Abbott | 1855–1857 | American | March 22, 1799 – 1886 | Elected March 1855, re-elected March 1856. | |
Jacob F. James | 1857 | Elected Nov. 1856. | |||
Alonzo Smith | 1858 | May 21, 1808 – April 17, 1865 | |||
Edward W. Harrington | 1859–1860 | ||||
David A. Bunton | 1861–1862 | Republican | October 18, 1805 – July 10, 1890 | ||
Theodore T. Abbott | 1863 | American | March 22, 1799 – 1886 | ||
Frederick Smyth | 1864 | Republican | March 9, 1819 – April 22, 1899) | Smyth won election almost unanimously with numerous candidates receiving 5 votes or less. Elected governor of New Hampshire in 1865. | |
Darwin J. Daniels | 1865 – August 15, 1865 | d. August 15, 1865 | Died in office, aged 50. [1] | ||
John Hosley | August 1865 – 1866 | Elected to fill vacancy. | |||
Joseph B. Clark | 1867 | ||||
James A. Weston | 1868 | Democrat | Governor of New Hampshire, 1871–1872 | ||
Isaac W. Smith | 1869 | Republican | May 18, 1825 – 1898 | ||
James A. Weston | 1870–1871 | Democrat | |||
Person Colby Cheney | 1872 | Republican | Governor of New Hampshire 1875–77. Appointed U.S. Senator 1886–1887 to fill vacancy. | ||
Charles H. Bartlett | 1873 | October 15, 1833–January 25, 1900 | Elected December 12, 1872, resigned February 18, 1873 because he was Clerk of the U.S. District Court, and could not hold a state or municipal elected office. | ||
John P. Newell | 1873 | Chosen mayor by Aldermen and the Common Council to fill vacancy. | |||
James A. Weston | 1874–1875 | Democrat | |||
Alpheus Gay | 1875–1876 | ||||
Ira Cross | 1876–1877 | Republican | July 23, 1833 – February 11, 1914 | Resigned. | |
John L. Kelly | 1877–1880 | ||||
Horace B. Putnam | 1881–1884 | November 5, 1825 – April 20, 1888 | |||
George H. Stearns | 1885–1886 | April 22, 1838 – August 21, 1929 | Died at the age of 91. | ||
John Hosley | 1887–1888 | ||||
David B. Varney | 1889–1890 | ||||
Edgar J. Knowlton | 1891 – May 10, 1894 | Resigned May 10, 1894. David B. Varney de facto mayor, July 1894 – June 1895. | |||
William C. Clarke | 1895–1902 | ||||
Eugene E. Reed | 1903–1910 | Democrat | April 23, 1866 – December 15, 1940 | U.S. Congress, 1913 – 1915, defeated 1914. Candidate for U.S. Senate, 1918. | |
Edward C. Smith | 1911–1912 | Republican | October 24, 1864 – August 25, 1926 | ||
Charles C. Hayes | 1913–1914 | Republican | |||
Harry W. Spaulding | 1915–1917 | Republican | |||
Moise Verrette | 1918–1921 | Democrat | Executive Councillor 1916–1918 | ||
George E. Trudel | 1922–1925 | ||||
Arthur E. Moreau | 1926–1931 | Republican | |||
Damase Caron | 1932–1941 | Democrat | |||
Wilfred A. Laflamme | 1942–1943 | Republican | |||
Josephat T. Benoit | 1944–1961 | Democrat | March 3, 1900 – May 14, 1976 | Served a record nine consecutive terms. Born a Canadian citizen and moved to the United States at the age of seven. Held two doctorates. | |
John C. Mongan | 1962–1963 | Republican | April 17, 1925 – June 10, 2013 | Inaugurated at Memorial High School, first mayor since 1946 inaugurated outside of City Hall. | |
Roland S. Vallee | 1964–1967 | Democrat | November 13, 1929 – October 27, 1997 | Known as the "singing mayor." | |
John C. Mongan | 1968–1969 | Republican | April 17, 1925 – June 10, 2013 | ||
Henry J. Pariseau | 1970 | Republican | April 1, 1918 – May 30, 1970 | Died in office | |
Charles R. "Dick" Stanton | 1970–1971 | Democrat | April 10, 1929 – May 10, 1985 | City Clerk Stanton was chosen by Board of Mayor and Aldermen to fill remainder of Pariseau's two-year term. | |
Sylvio L. Dupuis | 1972–1975 | Democrat | b. 1934 | Resigned, May 1975, to be one of the founders of Catholic Medical Center. | |
Charles R. "Dick" Stanton | 1975–1981 | Democrat | April 10, 1929 – May 1985 | Subsequent to his reappointment as City Clerk, Stanton was chosen by Board of Mayor and Aldermen to fill remainder of Dupuis' two-year term, then won three terms as mayor in his own right in 1975, 1977 and 1979. | |
Emile Beaulieu | 1982–1983 | Democrat | April 2, 1931 – December 30, 2016 | Lost reelection to Robert F. Shaw, 1983. | |
Robert F. Shaw | 1984–1987 | Republican | May 29, 1934 – August 17, 2004 | Switched to Democratic Party in 1995. Killed in auto accident on Route 93 in Manchester. | |
Emile Beaulieu | 1988–1989 | Democrat | April 2, 1931 – December 30, 2016 | Lost reelection to Raymond J. Wieczorek, 1989. Switched to Republican Party in 1995. | |
Raymond Wieczorek | 1989–2000 | Republican | December 9, 1928 – November 22, 2022 | Lost reelection to Robert A. Baines, 1999. Later served as an Executive Councillor 2002–2012. | |
Robert A. Baines | 2000–2006 | Democrat | b. 1946 | Lost reelection to Frank Guinta, 2005. | |
Frank Guinta | 2006–2010 | Republican | b. September 26, 1970 | Inaugurated January 3, 2006. Youngest Manchester mayor in over 150 years. Later served as U.S. Representative 2011–2013; 2015–2017. | |
Theodore "Ted" Gatsas | 2010–2018 | Republican | b. May 22, 1950 | Inaugurated January 5, 2010. Lost reelection to Joyce Craig, 2017. Now serving as an Executive Councillor 2019– | |
Joyce Craig | 2018–2024 | Democratic | Inaugurated January 2, 2018. First female elected mayor of Manchester. | ||
Jay Ruais | 2024–present | Republican | Inaugurated January 2, 2024. |
See also
- Mayoral elections in Manchester, New Hampshire