List of mayors of Buffalo, New York facts for kids

The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York.

Quick facts for kids Mayor of the City of Buffalo
Flag of the City of Buffalo
Seal of the City of Buffalo
Incumbent Byron Brown since January 1, 2006
Government of Buffalo
Style	The Honorable (formal) Mr. Mayor (informal)
Seat	Buffalo City Hall
Term length	Four years; renewable
Constituting instrument	Buffalo City Charter
Inaugural holder	Ebenezer Johnson
Formation	1832
Succession	Deputy Mayor of Buffalo
Deputy	Deputy Mayor of Buffalo
Salary	$178,519 (2024)

List of mayors

No.	Name	Picture	Party	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Ebenezer Johnson		Democratic-Republican	May 1832	March 1833	1st term. Served as a doctor during the War of 1812
2	Major Andre Andrews			1833	1834	Founding member of the first Bank of Buffalo
3	Ebenezer Johnson		Democratic-Republican	1834	1835	2nd term
4	Hiram Pratt		Whig	1835	1836	1st term
5	Samuel Wilkeson			1836	1837
6	Josiah Trowbridge		Whig	March 14, 1837	December 21, 1837
7	Pierre A. Barker			1837	1838
8	Ebenezer Walden		Whig	March 13, 1838	1839
9	Hiram Pratt		Whig	1839	1840	2nd term
10	Sheldon Thompson		Whig	1840	March 2, 1841
11	Isaac R. Harrington		Whig	March 2, 1841	March 8, 1842
12	George William Clinton			1842	1843	Served as the 7th United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York
13	Joseph G. Masten		Democratic	1843	1844	1st term
14	William Ketchum		Whig	1844	1845
15	Joseph G. Masten		Democratic	1845	1846	2nd term
16	Solomon G. Haven		Whig	1846	1847
17	Elbridge G. Spaulding		Whig	1847	1848	Served as New York State Treasurer from 1854–1855 and was twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
18	Orlando Allen		Whig	1848	1849
19	Hiram Barton		Whig	1849	1850	1st term
20	Henry K. Smith		Democratic	1850	1851
21	James Wadsworth		Democratic	March 4, 1851	March 9, 1852
22	Hiram Barton		Whig	1852	1853	2nd term
23	Eli Cook		Democratic	1853	1855
24	Frederick P. Stevens		Democratic	1856	1857
25	Timothy T. Lockwood		Democratic	1858	1859
26	Franklin A. Alberger		Republican	1860	1861
27	William G. Fargo		Democratic	1862	1865	Co-founded the modern day financial firms of American Express and Wells Fargo
28	Chandler J. Wells		Republican	1866	1867
29	William F. Rogers		Democratic	1868	1869
30	Alexander Brush		Republican	1870	1873	1st term
31	Lewis P. Dayton		Democratic	1874	1875
32	Philip Becker		Republican	1876	1877
33	Solomon Scheu		Democratic	1878	1879
34	Alexander Brush		Republican	1880	1881	2nd term
35	Grover Cleveland		Democratic	January 2, 1882	November 20, 1882	Elected 22nd & 24th President of the United States. The only American President to be mayor of a major city.
36	Marcus M. Drake		Republican	November 20, 1882	December 29, 1882
37	Harmon S. Cutting		Democratic	December 29, 1882	January 16, 1883
38	John B. Manning		Democratic	January 16, 1883	January 6, 1884
39	Jonathan Scoville		Democratic	January 7, 1884	1885
40	Philip Becker		Republican	1886	1889
41	Charles F. Bishop		Democratic	1890	1894
42	Edgar B. Jewett		Republican	1895	1897
43	Conrad Diehl		Democratic	1898	1901
44	Erastus C. Knight		Republican	1902	1905
45	James N. Adam		Democratic	1906	1909
46	Louis P. Fuhrmann		Democratic	1910	1917
47	George S. Buck		Republican	1918	1921
48	Frank X. Schwab		Republican	1922	1929
49	Charles E. Roesch		Republican	1930	1933
50	George J. Zimmermann		Democratic	1934	1937
51	Thomas L. Holling		Democratic	1938	1941
52	Joseph J. Kelly		Democratic	1942	1945
53	Bernard J. Dowd		Republican	1946	1949
54	Joseph Mruk		Republican	January 1, 1950	December 31, 1953
55	Steven Pankow		Democratic	January 1, 1954	December 31, 1957
56	Frank A. Sedita		Democratic	January 1, 1958	December 31, 1961	1st term
57	Chester A. Kowal		Republican	January 1, 1962	December 31, 1965
58	Frank A. Sedita		Democratic	January 1, 1966	March 5, 1973	2nd term
59	Stanley M. Makowski		Democratic	March 5, 1973	December 31, 1977
60	James D. Griffin		Democratic	January 1, 1978	December 31, 1993
61	Anthony Masiello		Democratic	January 1, 1994	December 31, 2005
62	Byron Brown		Democratic	January 1, 2006	Present	Longest-serving mayor. First African-American mayor.

Number of mayors by party affiliation

History

In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the town of Black Rock and the city proper was divided into thirteen wards. In addition, the term of city offices, including mayor changed from a one-year term to a two-year term and was elected directly by the people.

Mayoral elections

(winners are in bold)

See also

• Timeline of Buffalo, New York