Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
Incumbent Vi Lyles since December 2017
Term length	2 years
Formation	1853
First holder	William F. Davidson

The Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina is the leader of the city government. This person helps make important decisions for Charlotte and its people. The current mayor is Vi Lyles, a member of the Democratic Party. She became mayor in December 2017.

The role of mayor began in 1853. Back then, the leader was called an "intendent." The first intendent was William F. Davidson. In 1861, the title officially changed to "mayor." Mayors in Charlotte serve for two years at a time. Elections for mayor happen in "off-years," meaning they don't happen at the same time as big national elections like for president. The mayor who served the longest was Pat McCrory. He was mayor from 1995 to 2009.

Meet Charlotte's Mayors: A Historical List

This list shows all the people who have served as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. It includes their time in office and some interesting facts about their terms.

Image	Mayor	Term	Political party	Notes
	William F. Davidson	1853–1857	-	First leader, then called "intendent."
	David Parks	1857–1859	-
	Jennings B. Kerr	1859–1861	-
	William A. Owens	1861–1862	-	Resigned to join the military.
	Robert F. Davidson	1862–1863	-	Finished Owens' term.
	Samuel A. Harris	1864–1865	-	Appointed by the governor.
	H.M. Pritchard	1865–1866	-	Appointed by the governor.
	Samuel A. Harris	1866–1868	-	Served a second time.
	Frederick W. Ahrens	1867–1868	-	Appointed by the governor.
	H.M. Pritchard	1868–1869	-	Served a second time.
	Clement Dowd	1869–1871	Democratic	Later became a U.S. Representative.
	John A. Young	1871–1873	-
	William F. Davidson	1873–1875	-	Served a second time.
	William Johnston	1875–1878	-
	Benjamin Rush Smith	1878–1879	-
	Frank I. Osborne	1879–1880	Democratic	Later served in the North Carolina State Senate.
	Frederick S. DeWolfe	1880–1883	-
	William C. Maxwell	1883–1884	-
	William Johnston	1884–1887	-	Served a second time.
	F. Brevard McDowell	1887–1891	-
	R.J. Brevard	1891–1895	-
	E.B. Spring	1897–1899	-
	Johnson D. McCall	1899–1901	Democratic
	Peter Marshall Brown	1901–1905	Democratic
	Samuel S. McNinch	1905–1907	Democratic
	Thomas S. Franklin	1907–1909	Democratic	Helped get money for Charlotte's first public library.
	Thomas W. Hawkins	1909–1911	Democratic
	Charles A. Bland	1911–1915	Democratic
	Thomas Leroy Kirkpatrick	1915–1917	Democratic
	Frank R. McNinch	1917–1920	Democratic	Later led important government commissions.
	John M. Wilson	1920–1921	Democratic	Became mayor when Frank McNinch left for a new job.
	James O. Walker	1921–1924	Democratic
	Harvey W. Moore	1924–1926	Democratic
	David M. Abernathy	1926–1927	Democratic	Chosen after Mayor Moore resigned.
	F. Marion Redd	1927–1929	Democratic
	George E. Wilson, Jr.	1929–1931	Democratic
	Charles E. Lambeth	1931–1933	Democratic
	Arthur E. Wearn	1933–1935	Democratic
	Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr.	1935–1941	Democratic	Charlotte Douglas International Airport is named after him.
	E. McA. Currie	1941–1943	Democratic
	Herbert Hill Baxter	1943–1949	Democratic	Charlotte College (now University of North Carolina at Charlotte) was started during his term.
	Victor Shaw	1949–1953	Democratic
	Philip Van Every	1953–1957	Democratic	The Charlotte Coliseum was built during his time.
	James Saxon Smith	1957–1961	Democratic
	Stanford R. Brookshire	1961–1969	Democratic	Lake Norman was developed. Brookshire Freeway is named for him.
	John M. Belk	1969–1977	Democratic	The first Charlotte Convention Center was built. John Belk Freeway is named for him.
	Kenneth R. Harris	1977–1979	Republican	Charlotte's first Republican mayor.
	H. Edward Knox	1979–1983	Democratic	Discovery Place museum was built.
	Harvey Gantt	1983–1987	Democratic	Charlotte's first African-American mayor. The Harvey B. Gantt Center is named in his honor.
	Sue Myrick	1987–1991	Republican	Charlotte's first female mayor. Later became a U.S. Representative.
	Richard Vinroot	1991–1995	Republican	The Bank of America Corporate Center was completed.
	Pat McCrory	1995–2009	Republican	Served the longest as mayor (seven terms). Later became Governor of North Carolina.
	Anthony Foxx	2009–2013	Democratic	Left office to become the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
	Patsy Kinsey	2013	Democratic	Finished the rest of Foxx's term.
	Patrick Cannon	2013–2014	Democratic	Resigned from office.
	Dan Clodfelter	2014–2015	Democratic	Appointed mayor by the City Council.
	Jennifer Roberts	2015–2017	Democratic
	Vi Lyles	2017–	Democratic	Charlotte's first African-American female mayor.

See also

• Timeline of Charlotte, North Carolina