Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri is the highest official in the Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Government.
Since the 1920s the city has had a council-manager government in which a city manager runs most of the day to day operations of the city. Kansas City has a relatively weak mayor compared to other large cities of its size, in terms of actual power held by the position, as defined in the charter. However, the Mayor of Kansas City is considered extremley influential in making public policy, he presides over all city council meetings that he is able to, and he has a vote on the council. Due to these factors combined, the mayor is the holds a significant amount of de facto power in the city government.
Since 1946 Mayors of Kansas City are elected by the voters of Kansas City to four year terms, and are limited to two terms under the city's charter. Mayors initially served one year terms until 1890 when they began serving two-year terms.
The mayor of Kansas City occupies an office on the 29th floor (the highest floor in the building) of the Kansas City City Hall.
Eleven of Kansas City's mayors are interred in Elmwood Cemetery (Kansas City, Missouri).
The current mayor of Kansas City is Mark Funkhouser.
Mayors include:
- William S. Gregory 1853
- Johnston Lykins 1854
- John Johnson 1855 (35 days)
- Milton J. Payne 1855-1860
- George. M.B. Maughs 1860
- Robert T. Van Horn 1861
- Milton J. Payne 1862
- William Bonnifield 1863
- Robert T. Van Horn 1863, 1864
- Patrick Shannon 1865
- Alexander L. Harris 1866
- Edward H. Allen 1867
- Alexander L. Harris 1868
- Francis R. Long 1869
- Elijah M. McGee 1870
- William Warner 1871
- Robert H. Hunt 1872
- Edward Lowe Martin 1873
- Smith D. Woods 1874
- Turner A. Gill 1875, 1876
- James W.L. Slavens 1877
- George M. Shelley 1878, 1879
- Charles A. Chace 1880
- Daniel A. Frink 1881
- Thomas B. Bullene 1882
- James Gibson 1883
- Leander J. Talbott 1884
- John W. Moore 1885
- Henry C. Kumpf 1886, 1888
- Joseph J. Davenport 1889
- Benjamin Holmes 1890-1891 (two-year terms begin)
- William S. Cowherd 1892-1893
- Webster Davis 1894-1895
- James M. Jones 1896-1899
- James A. Reed 1900-1903
- Jay H. Neff 1904-1905
- Henry M. Beardsley 1906-1907
- Thomas T. Crittenden Jr. 1908-1909
- Darius A. Brown 1910-1911
- Henry L. Jost 1912-1915
- George H. Edwards 1916-1917
- James Cowgill 1918-1921
- Sam B. Strother 1921 (succeeded on Cowgill's death)
- Frank H. Cromwell 1922-1923
- Albert I. Beach 1924-1930
- Bryce B. Smith 1930-1939
- John B. Gage 1940-1946
- William E. Kemp 1946-1955 (four-year terms begin)
- H. Roe Bartle 1955-1963
- Ilus W. Davis 1963-1971
- Charles B. Wheeler, Jr. 1971-1979
- Richard L. Berkley 1979-1991
- Emanuel Cleaver 1991-1999
- Kay Barnes 1999-2007
- Mark Funkhouser May 1, 2007-
