List of mayors of Salem, Massachusetts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Salem
Flag of Salem
Seal of Salem
Incumbent Dominick Pangallo since May 27, 2023
Style	His/Her Honor
Member of	School Committee Board of Library Trustees Board of Trust Fund Commissioners
Residence	None official
Seat	Salem City Hall
Nominator	Nominating petition
Appointer	Popular vote
Term length	Four years
Constituting instrument	Salem City Charter
Precursor	Salem Board of Selectmen (1629-1836)
Formation	1836
First holder	Leverett Saltonstall
Salary	$150,000 (2023)

City Seal

The mayor of Salem is the top leader of the city government in Salem, Massachusetts. Think of them as the city's chief executive, responsible for making sure the city runs smoothly. Before 1836, Salem was just a town and didn't have a mayor. It was managed by a group called the "Board of Selectmen." But on March 23, 1836, Salem officially became a city, and that's when it got its very first mayor!

A Look at Salem's Mayors

This table shows all the people who have served as mayor of Salem, from the very first one to the current mayor. You can see their names, when they served, and which political party they belonged to, if any.

#	Mayor	Picture	Term	Party	Notes
1st	Leverett Saltonstall		1836–1838	Whig	Salem's first mayor under its original city rules.
2nd	Stephen C. Phillips		1838–1842	Whig
3rd	Stephen Palfrey Webb		1842–1845	Whig	Later served as mayor of San Francisco, California.
4th	Joseph S. Cabot		1845–1849	Whig
5th	Nathaniel Silsbee, Jr.		1849–1851	Whig
6th	David Pingree		1851–1852	Independent
7th	Charles Wentworth Upham		1852–1853	Whig
8th	Asahel Huntington		1853–1854	Know Nothing
9th	Joseph Andrews		1854–1856	Know Nothing
10th	William S. Messervy		1856–1858	Democratic
11th	Nathaniel Silsbee, Jr.		1858–1859	Republican
12th	Stephen Palfrey Webb		1860–1862	Republican	Served a second time as mayor of Salem.
13th	Stephen G. Wheatland		1863–1864	Democratic
14th	Joseph B. F. Osgood		1865–1865	Republican
15th	David Roberts		January 1866 – September 26, 1867	Republican	Resigned during his term.
16th	William Cogswell		September 26, 1867–1869	Republican
17th	Nathanial Brown		1870–1871	None
18th	Samuel Calley		1872–1872	Republican
19th	William Cogswell		1873–1875	Republican	Served a second time as mayor of Salem.
20th	Henry Laurens Williams		1875–1876	None
21st	Henry K. Oliver		1877–1880	Republican
22nd	Samuel Calley		1881–1882	Republican	Served a second time as mayor of Salem.
23rd	William M. Hill		1883–1884	None
24th	Arthur L. Huntington		1885–1885	None
25th	John M. Raymond		1886–1887	None
26th	Robert S. Rantoul		1890–1893	Democratic
27th	James H. Turner		1894–1897	None
28th	David P. Waters		1898–1898	None
29th	James H. Turner		1899–1899	None
30th	David M. Little		1900–1900	None
31st	John F. Hurley		1901–1902	None
32nd	Joseph N. Peterson		1903–1905	Republican
33rd	Thomas G. Pinnock		1906–1907	Republican
34th	John F. Hurley		1908–1909	None
35th	Arthur Howard		1910–1910	None
36th	Rufus D. Adams		1911–1912	Republican	Last mayor under Salem's first city rules (from 1836).
37th	John F. Hurley		1913–1915		First mayor under Salem's second city rules (from 1912).
38th	Mathias J. O'Keefe		1915–1915		Elected to finish the term after Mayor Hurley was recalled.
39th	Henry P. Benson		1916–1917		Last mayor under Salem's second city rules.
40th	Denis J. Sullivan		1918–1923	Republican	First mayor under Salem's third city rules (from 1916).
41st	George J. Bates		1924–1937	Republican	Later served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
42nd	Edward A. Coffey		1938–1947	Republican
43rd	Joseph B. Harrington		1948–1949	Democratic
44th	Francis X. Collins		1950–1969	Democratic
45th	Samuel Edward Zoll		1970–1973	Democratic
46th	Jean A. Levesque		1973–1983	Republican
47th	Anthony V. Salvo		1984–1989	Democratic
48th	Neil J. Harrington		1990–1997	Democratic
49th	Stanley J. Usovicz, Jr.		1998–2005	Democratic
50th	Kim Driscoll		January 2006 – January 4, 2023	Democratic	Later elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.
51st	Bob McCarthy		January 4, 2023 – May 27, 2023		Served as Acting Mayor after Mayor Driscoll resigned.
52nd	Dominick Pangallo		May 27, 2023 – Present	Democratic	Elected in a special election to finish Mayor Driscoll's term.

See Also

• Timeline of Salem, Massachusetts