List of mayors of Chester, Pennsylvania

The Mayor of Chester is the chief executive of the government of the city of Chester, Pennsylvania as stipulated by the city charter.[1] This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Chester.

On March 5, 1795, the borough of Chester, which had been governed under the charter granted by William Penn in 1701, was incorporated by the Pennsylvania Assembly.[2] Chester was incorporated as a city on February 4, 1866[3] with a mayor-council government system, consisting of a popularly elected city mayor and city council. The terms of the mayor and city council members are four years.[1]

Mayors (1866–present)

Mayor[4][5] Term Political party Notes
John Larkin, Jr. 1866–1872 Republican Larkin was the first mayor of Chester and refused to accept any salary for his service as mayor[6]
Dr. J.L. Forwood 1872–1881 Democrat
James Barton, Jr. 1881–1884 Republican
Dr. J.L. Forwood 1884–1887 Democrat
Major Joseph R. T. Coates 1887–1893 Republican Coates was an officer in the 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment of the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War and served in several of the key battles of the war.[7]
John B. Hinkson 1893–1896 Democrat [8]
Crosby M. Black[9] 1896–1899 Republican Black served as a Pennsylvania State Representative from 1905 to 1906[9]
Dr. Daniel W. Jefferis 1899–1902 Republican
Howard H. Houston 1902–1905 Republican
William H. Berry 1905–1905 Democrat Berry was elected Pennsylvania State Treasurer in the fall of 1905 and resigned as mayor in Dec. 1905[4]
Samuel E. Turner 1906–1906 Republican Elected by Chester City Council to fill Berry's term [4]
Dr. Samuel R. Crothers 1906–1908 Republican
David M. Johnson 1908–1911 Republican
William Ward Jr. 1911–1915 Republican This was Ward's 1st of two terms as mayor[10]
Wesley S. McDowell[11] 1916–1920 Republican McDowell ordered all hotels, pool halls and liquor stores closed, implemented a curfew after dark and forbade the carrying of weapons in order to quell the 1917 Chester race riot[12]
William T. Ramsey 1920–1924 Republican Ramsey served as a Pennsylvania State Representative from 1913 to 1920[13]
Samuel E. Turner 1924–1931 Republican
T. Woodward Trainer 1931–1932 Republican Resigned. Appointed Clerk of House of Representatives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania January 3, 1939[4]
William Ward Jr. 1932–1939 Republican This was Ward's 2nd of two terms as mayor[10]
Clifford H. Peoples 1939–1945 Republican
Ralph S. Swarts 1944–1956 Republican Originally appointed on January 5, 1943, to replace Mayor Peoples. Ran unopposed in November 1943[4]
Joseph L. Eyre 1956–1963 Republican Eyre was a direct descendant of John Larkin, Jr., the first mayor of Chester.[14]
James Henry Gorbey 1964–1967 Republican Gorbey became a judge for the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas and a federal judge for the United States District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania[15]
John H. Nacrelli 1968–1979 Republican Nacrelli was convicted of federal bribery and racketeering charges related to his activities as mayor and served two years in prison[16]
Joseph F. Battle Jr. 1979–1986 Republican Battle was nominated to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas in 1987 by Robert P. Casey[17]
Willie Mae James Leake 1986–1991 Republican Leake was Chester's first female mayor and first African-American mayor[4][18]
Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard 1992–1995 Democrat First African-American Democratic mayor. Bohannan-Sheppard created a major controversy by hiring a convicted murderer and rapist as her administrative assistant[19]
Dr. Aaron Wilson Jr. 1996–1998 Republican Wilson resigned to take a seat on the Pennsylvania state Public Utility Commission[20]
Dominic F. Pileggi 1999–2002 Republican Pileggi became a Pennsylvania State Senator for the 9th Senatorial District and a Judge for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas[21]
Wendell Butler Jr. 2002–2012 Republican Butler served as police chief of Chester for 10 years as well as two terms as Mayor[22]
John Linder 2012–2016 Democrat 2nd African-American Democratic mayor[23]
Thaddeus Kirkland 2016–2024 Democrat Kirkland was a member of the 159th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 23 years[22]
Stefan Roots 2024–present Democrat Roots was a member of the Chester City Council from 2022 to 2024[24][25]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b "City of Chester Mayor Butler". City of Chester. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Ashmead 1884, pp. 332–333.
  3. ^ Ashmead 1884, p. 333.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "OldChesterPa: Chester Mayors". www.oldchesterpa.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Political Graveyard: Mayors of Chester,Pennsylvania". www.politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  6. ^ Ashmead, Henry Graham (1883). Historical Sketch of Chester on Delaware. Chester, Pennsylvania: Republican Steam Printing House. p. 36. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  7. ^ Wiley 1894, p. 70.
  8. ^ Wiley 1894, p. 181.
  9. ^ a b "Crosby M. Black". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "William Ward Jr". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  11. ^ Donahue, John (1926). Who's Who in Delaware County (PDF). Press of Chester Times. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  12. ^ Smith, Eric Ledell (2008). "The 1917 Race Riot in Chester, Pennsylvania". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 75 (2): 183. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  13. ^ "William T. Ramsey". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "Mayor Joseph L. Eyre". www.oldchesterpa.com. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  15. ^ James Henry Gorbey at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  16. ^ Thompson, Ginger. "Mayor's hiring of convict disrupts Pa community's rebirth". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  17. ^ Viola, Michael (2011). Time's-a-Marchin': Life Through The Lens of a News Photographer. Philadelphia: Xlibris. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4797-5249-2. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Kelly, Morgan. "The History of Chester". www.ejnet.org. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  19. ^ Thompson, Ginger. "Mayor's hiring of convict disrupts Pa community's rebirth". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  20. ^ Lynch, Danielle. "Delco's Movers & Shakers: From Chester to state Senate, Pileggi a man on the move". www.delcotimes.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  21. ^ Alexandersen, Christian. "From lawmaker to law enforcer: Pa. Senator set to become judge in 2016". www.pennlive.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  22. ^ a b Sullivan, Vince. "Familiar foes battle for mayor in Chester". www.delcotimes.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  23. ^ Kopp, John (January 3, 2012). "Linder sworn in as new Chester mayor". The Delco Daily Times. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  24. ^ Carey, Kathleen E. "Roots win council nomination in Chester upset". www.delcotimes.com. MediaNews Group. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  25. ^ Rodgers, Loretta. "New Chester mayor is 'ready to work'". myspiritnews.com. The Spirit. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

Sources

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