List of mayors of Trenton, New Jersey facts for kids

Trenton is a city that needs leaders to help it run smoothly. The most important leader in Trenton is the Mayor. The mayor is like the city's chief executive officer. They work with the city council to make decisions and manage the city's services.

How Trenton's Government Works

Long ago, in 1837, Trenton grew too big for its old way of being governed. So, the city decided to have a mayor. This new system, with a mayor and city council, is still used today!

Trenton's government follows a special plan called the Faulkner Act of 1950. This plan sets up a "mayor-council" system. This means there's a mayor and a city council.

Who Makes Up the City Government?

The city government has a mayor and seven city council members.

• Three council members are elected from the whole city (this is called "at-large").
• Four council members are elected from specific areas called "wards". Think of wards as different neighborhoods or districts within the city.

Both the mayor and the council members are chosen by voters at the same time. They serve for four years. Their elections are "non-partisan", which means they don't run as members of a political party like Republican or Democrat.

List of Trenton's Mayors

Trenton has had many mayors over the years, each serving the city in their own way. Here is a list of the people who have held the important role of mayor in Trenton.

#	Image	Mayor	Term in office	Length of service	Party affiliation		Previous office
1		Moore Furman (1728–1808)	1792 – 1794	2 years		[data missing]	Deputy Quartermaster-General and Forage Master of New Jersey
2		Aaron Woodruff (1762–1817; aged 54)	1794 – 1797	3 years		Federalist	Member of the General Assembly
3		James Ewing (1744–1823)	1797 – 1803	6 years		[data missing]	New Jersey Assemblyman
4		Joshua Wright	1803 – 1806	3 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
5		Stacy Potts	1806 – 1814	8 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
6		Robert McNealy	1814 – 1832	18 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
7		Charles Burroughs	1832 – 1847	15 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
8		Samuel R. Hamilton	1847 – 1849	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
9		William C. Howell	1849 – 1850	1 year		[data missing]	[data missing]
10		William Napton	1850 – 1852	2 years		[data missing]	New Jersey Assemblyman
11		John R. Tucker	1852 – 1854	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
(10)		William Napton	1854 – 1855	1 year		[data missing]	Former Mayor of Trenton
12		William P. Sherman	1855 – 1855	under 1 year		[data missing]	[data missing]
(11)		John R. Tucker	1855 – 1856	1 year		[data missing]	Former Mayor of Trenton
13		Joseph Wood	1856 – 1859	3 years		Democratic	[data missing]
14		Franklin S. Mills	1859 – 1861	2 years		[data missing]	New Jersey Assemblyman
15		William R. McKean	1861 – 1863	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
(14)		Franklin S. Mills	1863 – 1867	4 years		[data missing]	Former Mayor of Trenton
16		Alfred Reed (1839–1918)	1867 – 1868	1 year		[data missing]	[data missing]
(10)		William Napton	1868 – 1871	3 years		Republican	Former Mayor of Trenton
17		John Briest	1871 – 1875	4 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
18		Wesley Creveling	1875 – 1877	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
19		Daniel R. Bodine	1877 – 1879	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
20		William Rice	1879 – 1881	2 years			[data missing]
21		Garrett D. W. Vroom (b. 1843)	1881 – 1884	3 years		Democratic	[data missing]
22		Richard Grant Augustus Donnelly (1841–1905; aged 63)	1884 – 1886	2 years		Democratic	New Jersey Assemblyman
23		John Woolverton	1886 – 1887	1 year		Democratic	Former New Jersey Senator
24		Frank A. Magowan	April 17, 1887 – 1889	2 years		Republican	Rubber manufacturer
25		Anthony A. Skirm	1889 – 1891	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
26		Daniel J. Bechtel	1891 – 1893	2 years		Democratic	[data missing]
27		Joseph B. Shaw (1857/58–1936; aged 61)	1893 – 1895	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
28		Emory Neal Yard	1895 – 1897	2 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
29		Welling G. Sickel'''' (1858–1911; aged 52)	1897 – 1899	2 years		Republican	Vice President of United Globe Rubber Co.
30		Frank O. Briggs (1851–1913; aged 61)	1899 – 1902(lost re-election)	3 years		Republican	Member of the Trenton School Board
31		Frank S. Katzenbach (1868–1929; aged 60)	1902 – 1906	4 years		Democratic	Alderman At-large
32		Frederick W. Gnichtel (b. 1860)	1906 – 1908	2 years		Republican	City Councilman
33		Walter Madden (b. 1873)	1908 – 1911	3 years		Democratic	[data missing]
In 1911, Trenton adopted the commission form of government. The mayor was elected by the commissioners and typically the most popular member at the previous election.
34		Frederick W. Donnelly (1866–1935; aged 68)	1911 – November 1, 1932(resigned)	21 years		Democratic	Businessman, president of the Trenton Harbor Board, and son of former mayor R.G.A. Donnelly
35		Edward W. Lee (1876/77–1942; aged 65)	November 1, 1932 – November 18, 1932	18 days		[data missing]	Member of the Trenton City Commission
36		George B. LaBarre	November 18, 1932 – 1934	2 years		[data missing]	Member of the Trenton City Commission
In 1935, Trenton adopted the council-manager form of government.
37		William J. Connor	May 14, 1935 – 1939	4 years		[data missing]	[data missing]
In 1939, Trenton reverted to the commission form of government.
38		Leo Rogers (1896/97–1941; aged 44)	May 23, 1939 – March 7, 1941(died in office)	2 years		Democratic	Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor and candidate for New Jersey Senate (1937)
39		Ward Lee	1941 – 1941	under 1 year		[data missing]	[data missing]
40		John Anthony Hartmann I	1941 – 1943	2 years		[data missing]	Member of the Trenton City Commission'
41		Andrew Duch	May 1943 – May 19, 1947	4 years		[data missing]	Mercer County Prosecutor, Director of Public Safety
42		Donal J. Connolly (1909–1995; aged 86)	May 20, 1947 – 1959	12 years		Democratic	State Assemblyman
43		Arthur J. Holland (1918–1989; aged 71)	1959 – 1966	6 years		Democratic	City Councilman
44		Carmen J. Armenti (1929–2001; aged 72)	1966 – 1970	4 years		Democratic	City Councilman, North Ward
(43)		Arthur J. Holland (1918–1989; aged 71)	1970 – November 9, 1989	19 years		Democratic	Former Mayor of Trenton
(44)		Carmen J. Armenti (1929–2001; aged 72)	November 9, 1989 – July 1, 1990	234 days		Republican	City Council President
45		Douglas Palmer (born in 1951; aged 73)	July 1, 1990 – July 1, 2010	20 years		Democratic	Mercer County Freeholder
46		Tony F. Mack (born in 1966; aged 59)	July 1, 2010 – February 26, 2014(removed from office)	3 years, 67 days		Democratic	Mercer County Freeholder
47		George Muschal	February 26, 2014 – July 1, 2014	125 days		Unaffiliated	City Councilman, South Ward
48		Eric Jackson (born in 1959; aged 66)	July 1, 2014 – July 1, 2018	4 years		Democratic	Trenton Director of Public Works
49		W. Reed Gusciora (born in 1960; aged 65)	July 1, 2018 (incumbent)	7 years		Democratic	New Jersey Assemblyman