The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is

Cherelle Parker Cherelle Lesley Parker (born September 9, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia since 2024. She is the first woman to hold the office. Parker served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 20 ...

, who is the first woman to hold the position.

History

18th century

The first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

was

Humphrey Morrey Humphrey Morrey, or Murrey (–1716) was the first mayor of Philadelphia under William Penn's 1691 charter. He was not elected, but rather was appointed by Penn. Career In 1683, Morrey came to Philadelphia in the colonial-era Province of Pennsyl ...

, who was appointed to the position by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

, the founder of the city and the colonial-era

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

, which became the state of Pennsylvania following the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Penn subsequently appointed

Edward Shippen Edward Shippen (1639 – October 2, 1712) was the second mayor of Philadelphia, although under William Penn's charter of 1701, he was considered the first. Early life Edward was born in Methley, West Yorkshire, to William and Mary, who were ma ...

under the city charter of 1701. The

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

then elected Shippen to a second term. Subsequent mayors, who held office for one year, were elected by the Philadelphia City Council. The initial mayors of Philadelphia were not compensated and candidates sometimes objected strongly to being selected to the position, sometimes choosing even to pay a fine rather than serve in the position. In 1704,

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

Griffith Jones was elected but declined to serve, for which he was fined twenty pounds. In 1706, Thomas Story, also an alderman, was similarly fined for refusing office. In 1745, Abraham Taylor, a Philadelphia alderman, was fined thirty pounds for refusing to assume the office. The city council then elected Joseph Turner, who also refused and was likewise fined.John Thomas Scharf, Thompson Westcott, ''History of Philadelphia, 1609–1884'', Lippincott, Phila., 1884. Others who refused election included Richard Hill (1717), Issac Norris (1722), John Mifflin, and Alexander Stedman. In other cases, William Coxe pleaded illness (1758), Samuel Mifflin (1761), William Coxe and Daniel Benezet (1762), and John Barclay and George Roberts (1792). Robert Wharton declined in 1800 and 1811, and ended up 14 one-year terms, making him the most-often-elected (16 times, including refusals) and longest-serving (14 years) mayor in Philadelphia history. In 1747, at the request of retiring Mayor William Attwood, Council resolved to institute an annual salary of 100 pounds for the office. The same year, Anthony Morris secretly fled to

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

to avoid being notified of his election as the city's mayor. When he could not be located after three days of searching, a new election was scheduled, and Attwood was reelected to a second term.

19th century

In 1826, the

altered its protocols for electing a mayor, permitting any Philadelphia citizen to run for the office. Beginning in 1839, mayors were elected by popular vote. If no candidate won a majority of the popular vote, then the joint Councils (Select and Common) determined the winner between the two leading candidates. John Swift was the first mayor to be elected directly by the people in the

1840 Philadelphia mayoral election The 1840 Philadelphia mayoral election saw John Swift reelected to office for his eighth overall non-consecutive term. This was the first Philadelphia mayoral election in which the mayor wound up being solely elected by the general public. S ...

. The term of office for the mayor was extended to two years in 1854, to three years in 1861, and to four years in 1885. The Act of 1885 also prohibited mayors from succeeding themselves.

20th century

The consecutive term limitation for mayor was lifted in the 1940s, which permitted incumbent

Bernard Samuel Bernard "Barney" Samuel (March 9, 1880 – January 12, 1954) was a Republican politician who served as the 89th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1941 to 1952. He is to date the last Republican elected mayor of Philadelphia. Political career Ascen ...

to run for reelection. In 1951, the city's Home Rule Charter established a two-term limit for Philadelphia mayors. The term limit is consecutive, not lifetime. The mayor of Philadelphia has been held by Democrats for over seven decades, since 1952. The only Republican who has been competitive in the general election for mayor since then was

Sam Katz Samuel Michael Katz (born August 20, 1951) is a Canadian businessman and former politician who was the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 2004 to 2014. He is the owner of the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association, as well as the ...

, who came within half a percentage point of being the first Republican mayor of Philadelphia elected in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

List of Mayors

; Parties

Colonial mayors elected by the Common Council

Post-independence mayors elected by the common council

Mayors chosen by popular election

Mayors elected following the Act of Consolidation

Mayors elected under the Home Rule Charter of 1951

Notes

References

Sources

Books * Websites * Official Philadelphia Government list

External links

Office of the Mayor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayors Of Philadelphia, List Of 1691 establishments in Pennsylvania Philadelphia-related lists