# Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut

The mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, United States, is the city's chief executive.

## History of the mayoralty

Before 1945, the city charter of the City of Stamford divided the city into two separate political jurisdictions: a central city with a "strong mayor" form of government and a town which employed the traditional town meeting form of government. From the 1930s, reformers began seeking to change this system on the grounds that it accorded too much power to the mayor and that the separation of the town and city for some purposes but not others "was an outmoded and inefficient way to govern a modern city."
In 1946, the Charter Consolidation Inquiry Commission, created by the Connecticut General Assembly, issued recommendations for Stamford government to unify under a single jurisdiction led by a strong mayor, and with a city council (called the Board of Representatives) of forty members, with two elected from twenty districts. These recommendations were approved by Stamford voters and the new system took effect on April 15, 1949.
Stamford retains its strong-mayor form of government today. The mayor appoints the departments heads, acts as chief executive officer of the city, and is responsible for presenting the budget to the board of finance, city council, and planning board. The city council approves the budget and passes ordinances and resolutions. Both the mayor and the city council serve four-year terms, and there are no term limits.

## List of mayors of Stamford

The following table lists the mayors of Stamford, as well as their dates in office, their dates of birth, and (if deceased) their dates of death.
| Name | Served | Party | Date of birth | Date of death | Notes |
| Charles H. Leeds | 1894-1895 | | January 9, 1834 | November 6, 1914 | |
| Edwin L. Scofield | 1895-1897 | | June 18, 1852 | January 14, 1918 | |
| William J. H. Bohannan | 1897-1899 | | March 9, 1865 | August 29, 1947 | |
| Edward J. Tupper | 1899-1900 | | September 19, 1853 | October 2, 1922 | |
| Homer Stille Cummings | 1900-1902 | Democrat | April 30, 1870 | September 10, 1956 | |
| Charles H. Leeds | 1902-1904 | | January 6, 1873 | February 7, 1967 | |
| Homer Stille Cummings | 1904-1906 | Democrat | April 30, 1870 | September 10, 1956 | Subsequently Attorney General of the United States (1933-1939) |
| Edward J. Tupper | 1906-1910 | | September 19, 1853 | October 2, 1922 | |
| Charles E. Rowell | 1911-1913 | | May 3, 1849 | March 29, 1914 | |
| Walter G. Austin | 1913-1915 | | December 9, 1853 | January 14, 1937 | |
| John M. Brown | 1915-1915 | | November 7, 1856 | December 10, 1915 | |
| John J. Treat | 1916-1922 | | June 10, 1873 | February 7, 1928 | |
| Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. | 1923-1924 | Democrat | April 23, 1894 | January 18, 1970 | |
| John F. Keating | 1924-1926 | | September 8, 1876 | September 15, 1946 | |
| Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. | 1927-1928 | Democrat | April 23, 1894 | January 18, 1970 | |
| William W. Graves | 1928-1930 | | October 28, 1868 | December 26, 1965 | |
| John F. Keating | 1934-1935 | | September 8, 1876 | September 15, 1946 | |
| Joseph P. Boyle | 1930-1934 | | 1883 | May 25, 1948 | |
| Alfred N. Phillips, Jr. | 1935-1936 | Democrat | April 23, 1894 | January 18, 1970 | Subsequently representative from Connecticut's 4th congressional district |
| Edward A. Gonnoud | 1936-1938 | Democrat | September 12, 1892 | June 26, 1951 | |
| Charles E. Moore | 1938-1940 | Republican | June 29, 1884 | June 22, 1967 | |
| Edward A. Gonnoud | 1940-1942 | Democrat | September 12, 1892 | June 26, 1951 | |
| Charles E. Moore | 1942-1949 | Republican | June 29, 1884 | June 22, 1967 | |
| George T. Barrett | 1949-1951 | Republican | November 29, 1884 | October 11, 1954 | |
| Thomas F. J. Quigley | 1951-1957 | Democrat | April 19, 1903 | November 9, 1996 | |
| Webster C. Givens | 1957-1959 | Republican | December 23, 1898 | September 7, 1968 | |
| James Walter Kennedy | 1959-1963 | Democrat | June 8, 1912 | June 26, 1977 | Subsequently Commissioner of the NBA (1963–1975) |
| William F. Hickey Jr. | 1963-1963 | Democrat | May 28, 1929 | July 21, 2016 | |
| Thomas C. Mayers | 1963-1967 | Republican | March 21, 1909 | December 20, 1997 | |
| Bruno E. Giordano | 1967-1969 | Democrat | July 29, 1929 | May 27, 2016 | |
| Julius Morris Wilensky | 1969-1973 | Republican | October 10, 1916 | October 25, 2004 | |
| Frederick P. Lenz, Jr. | 1973-1975 | Democrat | | | |
| Louis A. Clapes | 1975-1983 | Republican | April 10, 1917 | November 20, 1990 | |
| Thom Serrani | 1983-1991 | Democrat | 1948 | — | Elementary school redistricting plan sent South Field Village Housing Projects children to Cove Schools |
| Stanley J. Esposito | 1991-1995 | Republican | | — | |
| Dannel Patrick "Dan" Malloy | 1995-2009 | Democrat | July 21, 1955 | — | Subsequently governor of Connecticut |
| Michael Pavia | 2009-2013 | Republican | | — | |
| David R. Martin | 2013–2021 | Democrat | February 23, 1953 | — | |
| Caroline Simmons | 2021–Present | Democrat | February 10, 1986 | — | First female mayor in Stamford history |