# List of mayors of Racine, Wisconsin

This is a list of mayors of Racine, Wisconsin, USA. Racine was originally incorporated as a village in 1841 before Wisconsin statehood. In the first term of the Wisconsin Legislature (1848), Racine was re-incorporated as a city. Racine has always since then utilized a mayor-council form of government. Mayors were initially elected every year; a two-year mayoral term was adopted in 1891, and a four-year term was implemented in 1991.
The first mayor of Racine was Reuben M. Norton, a pioneer businessman. The current mayor is Cory Mason, who previously represented Racine in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Racine's longest-serving mayor was Stephen F. Olsen, serving from 1973 to 1987. The most notable mayor was likely Walter Samuel Goodland (1911–1915), who went on to become governor of Wisconsin. The most locally famous mayor was likely Jerome Case (1856, 1858, 1860), who also established the Case Corporation which was a major employer in the city and whose name is still present on many local institutions, including Jerome I. Case High School.

## Village presidents (1841–1848)

The village of Racine was incorporated by an act of the Wisconsin Territory government signed into law on February 13, 1841. An election was held on April 6, 1841, to elect the first village government.
| Order | President | Term start | Term end | Notes |
| X | Elias Smith | 1841 | 1841 | Elected but resigned at the time his term was scheduled to begin, April 12. |
| 1 | Charles S. Wright | 1841 | 1842 | Elected at May 5 special election. |
| 2 | Bushnell B. Gary | 1842 | 1843 | |
| 3 | Matthew B. Mead | 1843 | 1844 | |
| 4 | Warren Cole | 1844 | 1845 | |
| 5 | John A. Carswell | 1845 | 1846 | |
| 6 | Clark W. Spafard | 1846 | 1847 | |
| 7 | C. W. White | 1847 | 1848 | |
| 8 | Eli R. Cooley | 1848 | 1848 | |

## Mayors with 1-year term (1848–1891)

Wisconsin achieved statehood in May 1848, and the 1st Wisconsin Legislature met in June. At that session, they approved an act to re-incorporate Racine as a city, which was signed by Governor Nelson Dewey on August 8, 1848. The first city election was held in October of that year. Unless otherwise indicated, Wisconsin's mayoral elections have always taken place on the first Tuesday of April, with inauguration following within two weeks.
| Order | Mayor | Term start | Term end | Notes |
| 1 | Reuben M. Norton | 1848 | 1849 | Elected in October 1848. |
| 2 | Henry Bryan | 1849 | 1850 | |
| 3 | Eli R. Cooley | 1850 | 1851 | |
| 4 | William H. Waterman | 1851 | 1852 | |
| 5 | William T. Richmond | 1852 | 1853 | |
| 6 | David McDonald | 1853 | 1855 | First two-term mayor. |
| 7 | George Wustum | 1855 | 1856 | |
| 8 | Jerome I. Case | 1856 | 1857 | |
| 9 | John W. Cary | 1857 | 1858 | |
| 10 | Jerome I. Case | 1858 | 1859 | |
| 11 | William W. Vaughan | 1859 | 1860 | |
| 12 | Jerome I. Case | 1860 | 1861 | First three-term mayor. |
| 13 | George C. Northrop | 1861 | 1862 | |
| 14 | Alvin Raymond | 1862 | 1863 | |
| 15 | George C. Northrop | 1863 | 1864 | |
| 16 | Thomas Falvey | 1864 | 1865 | |
| 17 | John W. Hart | 1865 | 1866 | |
| 18 | George A. Thompson | 1866 | 1869 | First mayor to serve three consecutive terms. |
| 19 | Massena B. Erskine | 1869 | 1872 | |
| 20 | Reuben G. Doud | 1872 | 1874 | |
| 21 | Robert Hall Baker | 1874 | 1875 | |
| 22 | Reuben G. Doud | 1875 | 1876 | |
| 23 | John G. Meachem | 1876 | 1879 | |
| 24 | Ernest J. Hueffner | 1879 | 1880 | |
| 25 | Massena B. Erskine | 1880 | 1881 | |
| 26 | William P. Packard | 1881 | 1883 | |
| 27 | Titus G. Fish | 1883 | 1884 | |
| 28 | Martin Mathias Secor | 1884 | 1885 | |
| 29 | Joseph Miller | 1885 | 1886 | |
| 30 | Daniel A. Olin | 1886 | 1888 | |
| 31 | Martin Mathias Secor | 1888 | 1889 | |
| 32 | Frank L. Mitchell | 1889 | 1890 | |
| 33 | Adolph Weber | 1890 | 1891 | |

## Mayors with 2-year term (1891–1991)

| Order | Mayor | Term start | Term end | Notes |
| 34 | Jackson I. Case | 1891 | 1895 | |
| 35 | David G. Janes | 1895 | 1897 | |
| 36 | Fred Graham | 1897 | 1899 | |
| 37 | Michael Higgins Jr. | 1899 | 1903 | |
| 38 | Peter B. Nelson | 1903 | 1907 | Elected 1903, 1905. |
| 39 | Alex J. Horlick | 1907 | 1911 | Elected 1907, 1909. |
| 40 | Walter Samuel Goodland | 1911 | 1915 | Elected 1911, 1913. |
| 41 | T. William Thiesen | 1915 | 1919 | Elected 1915, 1917. |
| 42 | William H. Armstrong | 1919 | 1921 | Elected 1919. |
| 43 | A. J. Lunt | 1921 | 1923 | Elected 1921. |
| 44 | William H. Armstrong | 1923 | 1931 | Elected 1923, 1925, 1927, 1929. First five-term mayor. |
| 45 | William J. Swoboda | 1931 | 1937 | Elected 1931, 1933, 1935. |
| 46 | Roy A. Spencer | 1937 | 1939 | Elected 1937. |
| 47 | T. G. Morris | 1939 | 1943 | Elected 1939, 1941. |
| 48 | Francis H. Wendt | 1943 | 1949 | Elected 1943, 1945, 1947. |
| 49 | John E. Gothner | 1949 | 1955 | Elected 1949, 1951, 1953. |
| 50 | Jack H. Humble | 1955 | 1963 | Elected 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961. |
| 51 | William H. Beyer | 1963 | 1969 | Elected 1963, 1965, 1967. |
| 52 | Kenneth L. Huck | 1969 | 1973 | Elected 1969, 1971. |
| 53 | Stephen F. Olsen | 1973 | 1987 | Elected 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985. First mayor to serve seven terms. Racine's longest-serving mayor. |
| 54 | N. Owen Davies | 1987 | 1995 | Elected 1987, 1989. |

## Mayors with 4-year term (1991–present)

In 1989, Racine's city council voted to double the mayoral term from two years to four years.
| Order | Mayor | Term start | Term end | Notes |
| 54 | N. Owen Davies | 1987 | 1995 | Re-elected 1991. |
| 55 | James M. Smith | 1995 | 2003 | Elected 1995, 1999. |
| 56 | Gary E. Becker | 2003 | 2007 | Elected 2003, 2007. Indicted and resigned in January 2009. |
| - | Tom Friedel | 2009 | 2009 | Interim mayor elected by city council January 30, 2009. |
| 57 | John Dickert | 2009 | 2017 | Elected in May 5, 2009, special election. Re-elected 2011, 2015. Resigned July 2017. |
| - | Dennis Wiser | 2017 | 2017 | Acting mayor due to succession ordinance (was city council president at the time of Dickert's resignation). |
| 58 | Cory Mason | 2017 | present | Elected in October 17, 2017, special election. Re-elected 2019, 2023. |