# List of mayors of West Palm Beach, Florida

Elections in Florida :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1848
1852
1856
1860
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
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1845
1848
1851
1855
1857
1868
1875
1879
1881
1885
1887
1890
1891
1893 sp
1897
1899
1899 sp
1903
1905 sp
1908
1909 sp
1911
1914
1916
1920
1922
1926
1928
1932
1934
1936 sp
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
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1845
AL sp
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1865
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1955
6th sp
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1989
18th sp
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2001
1st sp
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
19th sp
2012
2014
13th sp
19th sp
2016
2018
2020
2022
20th sp
2024
C.S. House of Representatives elections
1861
1863
1st sp :
State government
General elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2020
2022
2026
Gubernatorial elections
1845
1848
1852
1856
1860
1865
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1954 sp
1956
1960
1964
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Attorney General elections
1966
1970
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Chief Financial Officer elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Agriculture Commissioner elections
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Senate elections
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Ballot measures
1998 Florida Amendment 8
2008 Florida Amendment 2
2014 Florida Amendment 2
2016 Florida Amendment 1
2016 Florida Amendment 2
2018 Florida Amendment 4
2020 Florida Amendment 1
2020 Florida Amendment 2
2020 Florida Amendment 3
2020 Florida Amendment 4
2020 Florida Amendment 5
2022 Florida Amendment 1
2022 Florida Amendment 2
2022 Florida Amendment 3
2024 Florida Amendment 3
2024 Florida Amendment 4 :
Jacksonville
Mayoral elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
Sheriff elections
2022 sp :
Miami
Mayoral elections
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021 :
Miami-Dade County
Mayoral elections
1996
2008
2011 (recall)
2011 sp
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
Orlando
Mayoral elections
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2003 sp
2004
2008
2012
2015
2019
2023 :
St. Petersburg
Mayoral elections
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021 :
Tallahassee
Mayoral elections
1997
2003 sp
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Tampa
Mayoral elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Other localities
Fort Lauderdale
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006
2009
2012
2015
2018
2020
Gainesville
2016
2019
2022
Hialeah
2011
Miami Beach
2011
2013
2015
North Miami
2013
2014 sp
2017
2021
Orange County
2010
2022
Pensacola
2022 :
Government :
vte :
The Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida is a nonpartisan office that is the head of the executive branch of West Palm Beach's government. The type of government is Mayor-Commission. Powers and duties of the mayor include approving the agenda of and presiding over the meetings of the city commission, the ability to veto the city commission votes, including line-item vetoes in regards to the city budget, but vetoes can be overrode with a 4-1 vote. The mayor and city manager both have supervisory powers over the city's departments. Additionally, the mayor may initiate investigations involving the city of West Palm Beach. Since 1991, mayors have been popularly elected to four-year terms. City Hall is located at 401 Clematis Street, with the mayor's office on the second floor.
On November 6, 1894, the day after West Palm Beach was incorporated, voters elected John S. Earman as the first mayor. Beginning in 1919, the city operated under a council–manager form of government, with the mayor elected to the city commission and selected by other members of that body to serve a one-year term. The mayor served as a chairperson of the commission and had far less power than the city manager. A referendum in March 1991 resulted in a transition to a directly elected strong mayor. The first modern election for mayor occurred in November 1991, resulting in Nancy M. Graham becoming the city's first strong mayor. The current mayor is Keith James, who was elected on March 12, 2019.

## Early mayors (1894–1919)

| Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
| John S. Earman | 1894 | 1896 | |
| J. F. Lamond | 1896 | 1897 | |
| Marion Eugene "M. E." Gruber | 1897 | 1898 | |
| Wilmon Whilldin | 1898 | 1899 | |
| Richard J. Chillingworth | 1899 | 1901 | Grandfather of Curtis Chillingworth, who was murdered in 1955 while serving as state judge |
| Louis W. Burkhardt | 1901 | 1901 | |
| George G. Currie | 1901 | 1904 | |
| William I. Metcalf | 1904 | 1905 | |
| George B. Baker | 1905 | 1907 | |
| J. T. DeBerry | 1907 | 1909 | |
| George W. Potter | 1909 | 1910 | |
| James B. McGinley | 1910 | 1912 | |
| C. S. Anderson | 1912 | 1914 | |
| Murray D. Carmichael | 1914 | 1916 | Later served in the Florida House of Representatives |
| W. A. Dutch | 1916 | September 22, 1919 | |

## Council-manager government mayors (1919–1991)

| Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
| David F. Dunkle | September 22, 1919 | September 8, 1921 | |
| Murray D. Carmichael | September 8, 1921 | 1922 | Later served in Florida House of Representatives |
| L. Garland Biggers | 1922 | 1923 | |
| Joseph Mandel | 1923 | 1924 | First Jewish mayor |
| Henry Stephen Harvey | 1924 | 1926 | |
| Spencer T. Lainhart | 1926 | 1927 | |
| J. C. McCreary | 1927 | 1928 | |
| Vincent Oaksmith | 1928 | 1929 | |
| John R. Beacham | 1930 | 1931 | Later became President of the Florida Senate |
| Elza B. Donnell | 1931 | 1933 | |
| Charles B. Watkins | 1933 | 1934 | |
| Paschal C. "Pat" Reese | 1934 | 1935 | |
| F. Theodore "Ted" Brown | 1935 | 1937 | |
| Sanford D. "Sam" Morris | 1937 | 1939 | |
| Ernest Metcalf | 1939 | 1940 | |
| Ronald V. Ware | 1940 | 1941 | |
| Willis H. "Bill" Hitt | 1941 | 1942 | |
| J. O. Bowen | 1942 | 1943 | |
| Vincent Oaksmith | 1943 | 1944 | |
| George H. McCampbell | 1944 | 1945 | Brother of S. Perry McCampbell |
| Stanley Peeler | 1945 | 1946 | |
| E. Tinsley Halter | 1946 | 1947 | |
| Willis H. "Bill" Hitt | 1947 | 1948 | |
| Lloyd C. Bell | 1948 | 1949 | |
| William P. "Bill" Holland | 1949 | 1950 | |
| L. Thomas Keating | 1950 | 1951 | |
| Hustin V. McMillan | 1951 | 1952 | |
| H. Elmo Robinson | 1952 | 1953 | |
| S. Perry McCampbell | 1953 | 1954 | Brother of George H. McCampbell |
| Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth | 1954 | 1955 | |
| C. Harold Earnest | 1955 | 1956 | |
| Maurice E. "Buster" Holley | 1956 | 1957 | |
| Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth | 1957 | 1958 | |
| Horace S. Miller | 1958 | 1959 | |
| William P. "Bill" Holland | 1959 | 1960 | |
| Percy I. Hopkins, Jr. | 1960 | 1961 | |
| Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm | 1961 | 1961 | Served three days |
| Percy I. Hopkins, Jr. | 1961 | 1962 | |
| C. Ben Holleman | 1962 | 1963 | |
| Robert "Bob" Hawkey | 1963 | 1963 | Served for about two weeks |
| Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm | 1963 | 1964 | |
| Fred O. Easley, Jr. | 1964 | 1966 | |
| C. Harold Earnest | 1966 | 1967 | |
| Reid Moore, Jr. | 1967 | 1968 | Served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1977–1978 and 1981–1982 |
| David H. Brady | 1968 | 1969 | |
| Eugene W. Potter | 1969 | 1970 | |
| Fred O. Easley, Jr. | 1970 | 1971 | |
| Francis H. Foster, Jr. | 1971 | 1972 | |
| M. P. "Ham" Anthony | 1972 | 1973 | |
| G. Ray Sparks, Jr. | 1973 | 1974 | |
| Fred O. Easley, Jr. | 1974 | 1975 | |
| Richard E. Linn | 1975 | 1976 | |
| James M. Adams | 1976 | 1977 | |
| M. P. "Ham" Anthony | 1977 | 1978 | |
| Helen Wilkes | 1978 | 1980 | First woman to serve as mayor |
| James M. Adams | 1980 | 1981 | |
| Michael D. Hyman | 1981 | 1982 | |
| Eva W. Mack | 1982 | 1984 | First African American mayor |
| Dwight Baber | 1984 | 1985 | |
| Carol Roberts | 1985 | 1986 | Served on the canvassing board for the 2000 Florida election recount and the Democratic Party nominee for Florida's 22nd congressional district in 2002 |
| Samuel A. Thomas | 1986 | 1987 | |
| Richard V. Reikenis | 1987 | 1988 | |
| Pat Pepper Schwab | 1988 | 1989 | |
| James O. Poole | 1989 | 1991 | |
| John F. "Jeff" Koons | 1991 | 1991 | Served for eight months |

## Strong mayor (1991–present)

| Name | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
| Nancy M. Graham | November 1991 | March 25, 1999 | First strong mayor |
| Joel T. Daves III | March 25, 1999 | March 27, 2003 | Lost re-election |
| Lois Frankel | March 27, 2003 | March 31, 2011 | Served in the Florida House of Representatives (1987–2003) and the U.S. House of Representatives (2013–present) |
| Jeri Muoio | March 31, 2011 | April 4, 2019 | |
| Keith A. James | April 4, 2019 | Incumbent | |