# Mayor of Baltimore

Elections in Maryland :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1788–89
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1788
1790
1791
1793
1793 sp
1795
1796
1796 sp
1797 sp
1800 sp
1801 sp
1802
1806
1806 sp
1808
1809
1813 sp
1816 sp
1819
1819 sp
1821
1822 sp
1825
1826 sp
1827
1831
1833
1835 sp
1836 sp
1837
1838 sp
1839
1839 sp
1841 sp
1843
1849
1850 sp
1851
1855
1861
1864 sp
1865 sp
1868 sp
1874
1878
1880
1884
1886
1890
1892
1892 sp
1896
1898
1902
1904
1908
1908 sp
1910
1913 sp
1916
1914
1920
1922
1928
1926
1932
1934
1938
1940
1944
1946
1950
1952
1956
1958
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2016
2018
2022
2024
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1789
1790
1791
3rd sp
1792
1793
2nd sp
1794
2nd sp
3rd sp
1796
2nd sp
3rd sp
1798
7th sp
1801
1802
2nd sp
1803
1804
4th sp
1806
7th sp
1808
1810
4th sp
7th sp
1811
6th sp
1812
1814
1816
3rd sp
5th sp
1818
1820
1822
1823
5th sp
1824
1826
2nd sp
1829
1831
1832
6th sp
1833
1834
1st sp
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1844
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1861
1863
1864
1866
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1st sp
1894
1st sp
5th sp
1896
1898
1900
1st sp
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1913
3rd sp
1914
1st sp
1916
1918
2nd sp
1920
1922
1924
5th sp
1926
1928
1930
1932
4th sp
1934
1936
1938
1939
1st sp
5th sp
1940
1941
6th sp
1942
1944
1946
1947
3rd sp
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1971
1st sp
1972
1973
1st sp
1974
1976
1978
1980
1981
5th sp
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
7th sp
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
4th sp
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
7th sp
2022
2024
6th :
State government
General elections
2006
2010
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1838
1841
1844
1847
1850
1853
1857
1861
1864
1867
1871
1875
1879
1883
1887
1891
1895
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1926
1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1969 sp
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Attorney General elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Comptroller elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Senate elections
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
House of Delegates elections
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
County government
County executive elections
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
County offices
2006
2010
2018
2022 :
Ballot measures
1992
Question 6
2012
Question 4
Question 6
2022
Question 4
2024
Question 1 :
Annapolis
Mayoral elections
2017
2021
2025 :
Baltimore
Mayoral elections
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003–04
2007
2011
2016
2020
2024
Ballot measures
Question P :
Government :
vte :
The mayor of Baltimore is the head of the executive branch of the government of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills, ordinances, or resolutions passed by the unicameral Baltimore City Council. In addition, the Mayor oversees all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and shares with the Governor of Maryland, responsibilities for the public school system within the city limits. As of December 8, 2020, the Office of the mayor of the City of Baltimore has changed hands 62 times with 53 different individuals in assuming office in the 223 years of city government, 1797–2020. The Office of the Mayor is located in the historic Baltimore City Hall located at 100 Holliday Street in downtown Baltimore.

## History

James Calhoun was first elected in 1794 under the old Baltimore Town government with a group of town commissioners, and continued as the first mayor under the new City Charter in 1796–97, when the city was incorporated as the "City of Baltimore" under the authority of the Maryland General Assembly, which had originally authorized the port in 1706 and the creation of a town in 1729 and its laying out in early 1730. Calhoun continued to serve for another seven years until 1804.
Baltimore had been the county seat of surrounding Baltimore County, which had been "erected" (authorized) in 1659 as the fifth county designated in the Province of Maryland and first county in northern Maryland, since finagling a scheme to move the courthouse from old Joppa in 1767. The city was separated from the adjacent County by the provisions of the new second Maryland Constitution of 1851 and became an independent city with the same status as the other 22 (later 23) counties of Maryland. Then the seat for Baltimore County was moved after a referendum to Towsontown (later Towson), a few miles north of Baltimore, with the building there in 1854 of its first courthouse structure.
Six individuals are credited with multiple, non-consecutive returns to the office after completing an initial term, and are counted as separate mayoralties. These are: Edward Johnson (twice), John Montgomery, Ferdinand C. Latrobe (elected four times), Howard W. Jackson, William F. Broening, and Theodore R. McKeldin.
The mayor was originally elected to a term of two years under the original City Charter of 1796–1797. In 1920, the charter was amended so the mayor serves a term of four years. There are no limits on the number of terms a mayor may serve.
For years, the mayor was elected in the year immediately preceding the presidential election. However, in 2012, the 2015 election was postponed to 2016 in order to better align with national elections. As a result, incumbent Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had her term extended an additional year. An earlier attempt to move the mayoral election to the same year as presidential elections was made in 1999, but went awry when the General Assembly refused to move the primary election. As a result, then-incumbent Martin O'Malley was nominated for a second term in 2003, then had to wait over a year to run in and win the general election.
Baltimore has experienced major turnover in the mayor's office in recent years, in large part due to corruption scandals. In September 2015, incumbent mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced she would not seek re-election, setting up a hotly-contested primary election in the heavily Democratic city in 2016. Maryland State Senator Catherine Pugh defeated former mayor Shelia Dixon, who resigned from office in 2010 after pleading guilty to misappropriating holiday gift cards intended to serve poor Baltimore residents. Pugh easily defeated Republican Alan Walden and Green Party candidate Joshua Harris to become the 50th Mayor of Baltimore, and was sworn in on December 6, 2016. Pugh resigned on May 2, 2019, amid a scandal in which Pugh was accused of, and eventually pled guilty to charges of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion regarding a scheme to sell copies of a self-published children's book series, known as Healthy Holly, to the University of Maryland Medical System without competition. Upon Pugh's resignation, then-City Council President Jack Young took over as Mayor. In the 2020 Democratic primary, Young went up against Dixon, his successor as City Council President Brandon Scott, former T. Rowe Price executive and Obama administration Treasury Department official Mary Miller, former federal prosecutor and deputy Attorney General of Maryland Thiruvendran Vignarajah. Scott narrowly edged out Dixon, with Young finishing a distant fifth. Brandon Scott was elected with more than 70% of the vote in the November general election, and was sworn in as the city's 52nd Mayor on December 8, 2020.
Some well-known political and historical figures to have held the office of Mayor of Baltimore include:
* Samuel Smith, Revolutionary War soldier and War of 1812 commander, twice elected to the House of Representatives and Senate respectively, twice served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, served as Mayor from 1835 until 1838.
* Thomas Swann, member of the American Party, better known as the "Know-Nothings," served as Mayor from 1856 until 1860, was elected as the 33rd Governor of Maryland in 1866, and subsequently served in the House of Representatives for ten years until 1879.
* William Pinkney Whyte, served as mayor from 1881 until 1883, served three non-consecutive terms as United States Senator, was elected the 35th Governor of Maryland in 1872, and as Attorney General of Maryland in 1887.
* Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., served three terms as Mayor from 1947 until 1959, best known outside of Baltimore as the father to future Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, son Thomas D'Alesandro III also served as Mayor for one term from 1967 until 1971.
* William Donald Schaefer, served four terms as Mayor, the most of anyone to hold the office, from 1971 until 1987, when he became the 58th Governor of Maryland. Schaefer would also serve as Comptroller of Maryland later in life from 1999 until 2007.
* Kurt Schmoke, served three terms as Mayor from 1987 until 1999, was the first African-American to be elected Mayor of Baltimore.
* Martin O'Malley, served two terms as Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 until 2007, when he became the 61st Governor of Maryland, was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2016, dropped out of contest in the winter of 2016 after failing to secure a strong finish in the Iowa caucuses.

## In Popular Culture

Seasons 3 to 5 HBO television series The Wire present a fictionalized view of Baltimore city politics and featured Clarence Royce, Tommy Carcetti as fictionalized mayors of Baltimore.
The actual former mayor of Baltimore Kurt Schmoke has appeared on the show in a cameo role

## List

| # | Mayor | Term start | Term end | Terms | Party | Notes |
| 1 | James Calhoun | 1797 | 1804 | 5 | None | |
| 2 | Thorowgood Smith | 1804 | 1808 | 2 | None | |
| 3 | Edward Johnson | 1808 | 1816 | 4 | Democratic-Republican | |
| 4 | George Stiles | 1816 | 1819 | 1 1⁄2 | Democratic-Republican | Resigned during second term, died shortly after. |
| (3) | Edward Johnson | 1819 | 1820 | Partial | Democratic-Republican | Elected by the 1818 electors to finish out Mayor Stiles' term. |
| 5 | John Montgomery | 1820 | 1822 | 1 | Democratic-Republican | |
| (3) | Edward Johnson | 1822 | 1824 | 1 | Democratic-Republican | |
| (5) | John Montgomery | 1824 | 1826 | 1 | Democratic-Republican | |
| 6 | Jacob Small | 1826 | 1831 | 2 1⁄2 | Democratic-Republican | Resigned from office. |
| 7 | William Steuart | 1831 | 1832 | Partial | Democratic-Republican | Elected by the 1830 electors to finish out Mayor Small's term. |
| 8 | Jesse Hunt | 1832 | 1835 | 1 1⁄2 | Whig | Resigned from office. |
| 9 | Samuel Smith | 1835 | 1838 | 1 1⁄2 | Democratic | First elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Hunt's term, elected to a full term in 1836. |
| 10 | Sheppard C. Leakin | 1838 | 1840 | 1 | Whig | |
| 11 | Samuel Brady | 1840 | 1842 | Partial | Whig | Resigned from office. |
| 12 | Solomon Hillen Jr. | 1842 | 1843 | Partial | Democratic | First elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Brady's term, elected to a full term in 1842. Resigned from office. |
| 13 | James O. Law | 1843 | 1844 | Partial | Democratic | Elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Hillen's term. |
| 14 | Jacob G. Davies | 1844 | 1848 | 2 | Whig | |
| 15 | Elijah Stansbury Jr. | 1848 | 1850 | 1 | Democratic | |
| 16 | John H.T. Jerome | 1850 | 1852 | 1 | Democratic | |
| 17 | John S. Hollins | 1852 | 1854 | 1 | Democratic | |
| 18 | Samuel Hinks | 1854 | 1856 | 1 | American | |
| 19 | Thomas Swann | 1856 | 1860 | 2 | American | |
| 20 | George W. Brown | 1860 | 1861 | Partial | Constitutional Union | Arrested and removed from office by the Union Army for Confederate sympathies. |
| 21 | John C. Blackburn | 1861 | 1861 | Partial | None | President of the First Branch of the City Council and served as Mayor Ex Officio from Mayor Brown's arrest until October 1861. |
| 22 | Charles J. Baker | 1861 | 1862 | Partial | None | Served as Mayor Ex Officio from October 1861 to January 1862, when Chapman was elected until the new First Branch organized and elected a President in January 1862. He was not recognized as an acting mayor until 1989. |
| 23 | John L. Chapman | 1862 | 1867 | 3 1⁄2 | Republican | President of the First Branch of the City Council and served as Mayor Ex Officio from January to November 1862. Elected to three terms. His final term was reduced from two years to one year per the new Maryland Constitution. |
| 24 | Robert T. Banks | 1867 | 1871 | 1 | Democratic | The Maryland Constitution of 1867 extended the term of office from two to four years. The term was reduced back to two years in 1870. |
| 25 | Joshua Van Sant | 1871 | 1875 | 2 | Democratic | |
| 26 | Ferdinand C. Latrobe | 1875 | 1877 | 1 | Democratic | |
| 27 | George P. Kane | 1877 | 1878 | Partial | Democratic | Died in office. |
| (26) | Ferdinand C. Latrobe | 1878 | 1881 | 1 1⁄2 | Democratic | First elected in a special election to finish out Mayor Kane's term, elected to a full term in 1879. |
| 28 | William P. Whyte | 1881 | 1883 | 1 | Democratic | |
| (26) | Ferdinand C. Latrobe | 1883 | 1885 | 1 | Democratic | |
| 29 | James Hodges | 1885 | 1887 | 1 | Republican | |
| (26) | Ferdinand C. Latrobe | 1887 | 1889 | 1 | Democratic | |
| 30 | Robert C. Davidson | 1889 | 1891 | 1 | Democratic | |
| (26) | Ferdinand C. Latrobe | 1891 | 1895 | 2 | Democratic | |
| 31 | Alcaeus Hooper | 1895 | 1897 | 1 | Republican | |
| 32 | William T. Malster | 1897 | 1899 | 1 | Republican | |
| 33 | Thomas G. Hayes | 1899 | 1903 | 1 | Democratic | |
| 34 | Robert McLane | 1903 | 1904 | Partial | Democratic | Died in office. |
| 35 | E. Clay Timanus | 1904 | 1907 | Partial | Republican | President of the Second Branch. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Mayor McLane's death. |
| 36 | J. Barry Mahool | 1907 | 1911 | 1 | Democratic | Lost reelection. |
| 37 | James H. Preston | 1911 | 1919 | 2 | Democratic | Lost reelection. |
| 38 | William F. Broening | 1919 | 1923 | 1 | Republican | Lost reelection. |
| 39 | Howard W. Jackson | 1923 | 1927 | 1 | Democratic | Did not run for reelection. |
| (38) | William F. Broening | 1927 | 1931 | 1 | Republican | Did not run for reelection. |
| (39) | Howard W. Jackson | 1931 | 1943 | 3 | Democratic | Lost reelection in 1943. |
| 40 | Theodore McKeldin | 1943 | 1947 | 1 | Republican | Did not run for reelection. |
| 41 | Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. | 1947 | 1959 | 3 | Democratic | Lost reelection in 1959. |
| 42 | J. Harold Grady | 1959 | 1962 | Partial | Democratic | Resigned following appointment as a Judge to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City (Circuit Court). |
| 43 | Philip H. Goodman | 1962 | 1963 | Partial | Democratic | City Council President. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Grady's resignation. Lost reelection to a full term. |
| (40) | Theodore McKeldin | 1963 | 1967 | 1 | Republican | Did not run for reelection. |
| 44 | Thomas D'Alesandro III | 1967 | 1971 | 1 | Democratic | Did not run for reelection. |
| 45 | William D. Schaefer | 1971 | 1987 | 4 | Democratic | Baltimore's longest-serving mayor. Resigned following his election as governor. |
| 46 | Clarence H. Burns | 1987 | 1987 | Partial | Democratic | City Council President. First African-American mayor of Baltimore. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Schaefer's resignation. Lost reelection to a full term. |
| 47 | Kurt Schmoke | 1987 | 1999 | 3 | Democratic | First African-American elected Mayor of Baltimore. Did not run for reelection in 1999. |
| 48 | Martin O'Malley | 1999 | 2007 | 2 | Democratic | Resigned following his election as governor. |
| 49 | Sheila Dixon | 2007 | 2010 | Partial | Democratic | City Council President. First female Mayor of Baltimore and first female elected Mayor of Baltimore. Succeeded to the mayoralty following O'Malley's resignation. Elected to a full term in 2007. Resigned from office in January 2010. |
| 50 | Stephanie Rawlings-Blake | 2010 | 2016 | 1 1⁄2 | Democratic | City Council President. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Dixon's resignation. Elected to a full term in 2011. Did not run for reelection in 2016. |
| 51 | Catherine Pugh | 2016 | 2019 | Partial | Democratic | Resigned from office May 2, 2019. |
| 52 | Jack Young | 2019 | 2020 | Partial | Democratic | City Council President. Succeeded to the mayoralty following Pugh's resignation. |
| 53 | Brandon Scott | 2020 | Incumbent | | Democratic | Inaugurated on December 8, 2020 |