List of mayors of Saginaw, Michigan facts for kids

This is a list of mayors of Saginaw, Michigan.

City of East Saginaw 1859–1889

The City of East Saginaw was incorporated in 1859 and existed until it was consolidated with the City of Saginaw in 1889 (effective 1890). The City Charter was granted by the legislature. Mayors were elected for one-year terms.

City Charter of 1889

The City of East Saginaw and the City of Saginaw were consolidated by an act of the Legislature of the State of Michigan in 1889 and was given the same name as the former City of Saginaw. The city charter was granted by legislative act and provided for an elected executive mayor and a city council consisting of 21 aldermen elected from several wards in the city.

City Charter of 1913

The Legislature of the State of Michigan enacted the Home Rule Cities Act in 1909 that permitted cities to frame and adopt their own Charters. In 1913 the electors of the City of Saginaw adopted a Charter following the Commission form of government. It became effective January 1, 1914 at which time the mayor and commissioners took office.

City Charter of 1936

Under the current city charter, effective January 6, 1936, the mayoral term in Saginaw is two years. The mayor is chosen by the City Council from among its own members at the first meeting following a regular municipal election which takes place in November of odd-numbered years. The first city council under the current charter took office on January 6, 1936, and chose a mayor at that time to serve until after the 1937 municipal election. Elections were held in April from 1937 through 1971, at which time it was changed to November.

Image	Mayor	Start of term	End of term	Notes
	Frank Marxer	January 6, 1936	April 12, 1937	First mayor under Council-Manager form of government (City Charter of 1936)
	Francis J. McDonald	April 12, 1937	April 10, 1939
	John W. Symons Jr.	April 10, 1939	April 14, 1941
	William J. Brydges	April 14, 1941	April 12, 1943
	Eric F. Wieneke	April 12, 1943	April 9, 1945
	Harold J. Stenglein	April 9, 1945	April 11, 1949	Two terms served as mayor. First mayor to serve more than one term.
	Edwin W. Koepke	April 11, 1949	April 9, 1951
	William R. Hart	April 9, 1951	April 13, 1953
	George H. Fischer	April 13, 1953	April 11, 1955
	Maurice E. Brown	April 11, 1955	April 8, 1957
	R. James Harvey	April 8, 1957	April 13, 1959
	R. Dewey Stearns	April 13, 1959	April 10, 1961
	G. Stewart Francke	April 10, 1961	April 12, 1965	Two terms served as mayor.
	James W. Stenglein	April 12, 1965	April 10, 1967
	Henry G. Marsh	April 10, 1967	April 14, 1969	First African-American to serve as Mayor
	Warren C. Light	April 14, 1969	April 12, 1971
	Paul H. Wendler	April 12, 1971	November 13, 1973	Served an extended length term because elections were moved to November from April during his term.
	William F. Nelson Jr.	November 13, 1973	November 10, 1975
	Raymond M. Tortora	November 10, 1975	November 14, 1977
	Joe Stephens	November 14, 1977	November 12, 1979	Second African-American to serve as Mayor
	Vacant	November 12, 1979	December 10, 1979	The council was deadlocked for nearly one month in selecting a mayor.
	Paul P. Prudhomme	December 10, 1979	November 9, 1981
	Ronald M. Bushey	November 9, 1981	November 14, 1983
	Lawrence D. Crawford	November 14, 1983	November 9, 1987	Two terms as mayor.
	Delbert J. Schrems	November 9, 1987	November 13, 1989
	Henry H. Nickleberry	November 13, 1989	November 8, 1993	Two terms as mayor.
	Gary L. Loster	November 8, 1993	November 12, 2001	Four terms as mayor. (Only mayor under 1936 charter to serve more than two terms.)
	Wilmer Jones Ham	November 12, 2001	November 14, 2005	Two terms as mayor. First female and first African-American female to serve as mayor. Her son, Darvin Ham, played in the NBA.
	Carol B. Cottrell	November 14, 2005	November 12, 2007
	Joyce J. Seals	November 12, 2007	November 9, 2009	second African-American female to serve as mayor
	Greg Branch	November 9, 2009	November 11, 2013	Two terms as mayor.
	Dennis Browning	November 11, 2013	2018	A 2013 change in election schedule from odd years to even years means Browning will be the only mayor under this charter to serve a three-year term. Browning's first term ended on November 14, 2016.
	Floyd Kloc	2018	2019
	Brenda Moore	2020	Incumbent

See also

• Government of Saginaw, Michigan
• Saginaw, Michigan