List of mayors of Spokane facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Spokane
Flag of Spokane, Washington
Incumbent Lisa Brown since January 2, 2024

The mayor of Spokane is like the main boss of the city government in Spokane, Washington. Spokane is a big city in the United States. The mayor helps manage and run many different parts of the city. This includes things like parks, roads, and public safety.

Over time, the mayor's job in Spokane has changed. From when the city started until 1960, Spokane used a "commission system." This meant a group of people shared power. In 1960, people voted to try a "city manager system." Here, a city manager had most of the power. But in 2001, Spokane switched to a "strong mayor" system. This gave the mayor more power to lead the city.

Past Mayors of Spokane

Early Mayors (1881–2001)

Spokane had many mayors before the "strong mayor" system began. Here is a list of them.

#	Photo	Mayor	Term start	Term end
1		Robert W. Forrest	1881	1882
2		James N. Glover	1883	1884
3		Anthony M. Cannon	1885	1886
4		William H. Taylor	1887	1888
5		Jacob Hoover	1888	1889
6		Francis M. Tull	1889	1889
7		Isaac S. Kaufman	1889	1889
8		Fred Furth	1889	1890
9		Charles F. Clough	1890	1891
10		David B. Fotheringham	1891	1892
11		Daniel M. Drumheller	1892	1893
12		Edward L. Powell	1893	1894
13		Horatio N. Belt	1894	1896
14		Elmer D. Olmsted	1897	1898
15		James M. Comstock	1898	1901
16		Patrick S. Byrne	1901	1903
17		L. Frank Boyd	1903	1905
18		Floyd L. Daggett	1905	1907
19		C. Herbert Moore	1907	1909
20		Nelson S. Pratt	1909	1911
21		William J. Hindley	1911	1913
22		Charles M. Fassett	1914	1916
23		Charles A. Fleming	1916	1917
24		Charles M. Fassett	1918	1920
25		Charles A. Fleming	1920	1929
26		Leonard Funk	1929	1935
27		Arthur W. Burch	1935	1937
28		Frank G. Sutherlin (Sr.)	1937	1945
29		Otto A. Dirkes	1945	1946
30		Arthur Meehan	1945	1955
31		Willard Taft	1955	1958
32		Frank G. Sutherlin (Jr.)	1958	1960
33		Kenneth Lawson	1960	1960
34		Neal R. Fosseen	1960	1967
35		David H. Rodgers	1967	1978
36		Ron Bair	1978	1982
37		James Everett Chase	1982	1986
38		Vicki McNeill	1986	1990
39		Sheri S. Barnard	1990	1994
40		Jack Geraghty	1994	1998
41		John Talbott	1998	2000

Mayors Under the Strong Mayor System (2001–Present)

Spokane changed to the "strong mayor" system in January 2001. This system gives the mayor more direct power to run the city.

#	Photo		Mayor	Term	Party	Election	Notes
42			Powers, JohnJohn Powers	December 28, 2000 – December 23, 2003	Democratic	2000	Elected for a shorter term of three years because of the new strong mayor system.
43			West, James E.James E. West	December 23, 2003 – December 16, 2005	Republican	2003	Left office early in 2005.
44			Hession, Dennis P.Dennis P. Hession	December 16, 2005 – November 27, 2007	Democratic	—	Chosen by the city council to be mayor after the previous mayor left office.
45			Verner, MaryMary Verner	November 27, 2007 – December 30, 2011	Democratic	2007
46			Condon, DavidDavid Condon	December 30, 2011 – December 30, 2019	Republican	2011
						2015
47			Woodward, NadineNadine Woodward	December 30, 2019 – January 2, 2024	Republican	2019
48			Brown, LisaLisa Brown	January 2, 2024 – present	Democratic	2023

See Also

• City government in Washington (state)