List of mayors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin

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Oshkosh city hall in 2006

This is a list of mayors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA.[1] Oshkosh was originally incorporated as a city in 1853 with a mayor-council form of government. Executive functions were transferred to a city manager in 1956 and the office of mayor was abolished. The office of mayor was re-established in 1979 as a replacement for the city council president, elected by the city council, with additional ceremonial duties. The office of mayor was then modified again in 2004, to allow voters to directly elect the mayor and grant the mayor veto power over the city council. The city manager, however, remains the chief executive of the city.[2]

Edward Eastman, 1st mayor of Oshkosh, from a visiting card circa 1867
Samuel M. Hay, 5th mayor of Oshkosh, portrait from Notable Men of Wisconsin (1902)
Philetus Sawyer, 9th mayor of Oshkosh
OrderMayorTerm startTerm endNotes
1Edward Eastman18531854[1]
2Joseph Jackson18541856[1]
3Thomas A. Follett18561857[1]
4Joseph Jackson18571858[1]
5Samuel M. Hay18581860[1]
6Benjamin S. Henning18601861[1]
7John Fitzgerald18611862[1]
8Henry C. Jewell18621863[1]
9Philetus Sawyer18631865Elected 1863. Re-elected 1864.[1]
Elected U.S. representative 1864.
Elected U.S. senator 1881.
10Carlton Foster18651867[1]
11Joseph H. Porter18671868[1]
12Charles W. Davis18681869[1]
13Joseph H. Porter18691870[1]
14Joseph Stringham18701871[1]
15James V. Jones18711872[1]
16James Jenkins18721873[1]
17James V. Jones18731875[1]
18Joseph Stringham18751876[1]
19Andrew Haben18761878[1]
20Sanford Beckwith18781879[1]
21Harvey B. Dale18791880[1]
22Joseph Stringham18811882
23George White Pratt18821885
24Andrew Haben18851886
25Carlton Foster18861887
26Harvey B. Dale18871889
27Ephraim E. Stevens18891890
28George White Pratt18901891
29William Dichmann18911893
30Charles Oellerich18931895
31Arthur Kellogg18951897
32Alison B. Ideson18971899
33James H. Merrill18991901[3]
34John Mulva19011905[3]
35John Banderob19051909[3]
36John C. Voss19091911[3]
37John Banderob19111912[3]
38John Mulva19121918[3]
39A. C. McHenry19181924[3]
40Henry F. Kitz19241930[3]
41Taylor G. Brown19301933[3]
42George F. Oaks19331935[3]
43Charles A. Wiechering19351939[3]
44George F. Oaks19391947[3]
45Ernest R. Siewert19471953[3]
46John C. Voss19531955[3]
47Ernest R. Siewert19551957[3]

City manager (1957–present)

In November 1956, Oshkosh voters agreed to a referendum which abolished the office of mayor and entrusted executive functions to a city manager to be hired by the city council.[4] To this day, the Oshkosh city manager is the chief executive in the city, despite the re-creation of the office of mayor.[2]

OrderManagerTerm startTerm endNotes
1Hans S. Thorgrimsen19571960
2Raymond E. Harbaugh19601966
3Angus Crawford19661970
ActingJack Schneiuder19701970
4Gordon Jaeger19701976
ActingDavid Wendtland19761976
5William D. Frueh19761996Resigned 1996.[5]
ActingGerald Konrad19961996
6Richard Wollangk19962007Elected by city council 1996.[6] Resigned 2007.
ActingJohn Fitzpatrick20072008[7]
7Mark Rohloff2008presentElected by city council 2008.[8][9]

Hybrid mayor-council president (1979–2005)

In 1979, the Oshkosh city council voted to re-establish the office of "mayor". The new mayoral office replaced the office of city council president with slightly expanded powers to make appointments to city boards and commissions, and to serve as the ceremonial leader of the city. The mayor was not directly elected, but was chosen by a vote of the city council each April at the start of the city council session for a one-year term. All city councilmembers were at that time elected at-large.[10]

OrderMayorTerm startTerm endNotes
48Kenneth Schiefelbein19791980[11][12]
49Donald Kutchera19801982
50Robert Pung19821984Defeated Kutchera in April 1982 city council vote (4–3)[13]
51Kathleen Propp19841986First woman as mayor, elected by council 1984.[14] Re-elected by council 1985.
52Floyd Chapin19861988Elected by council 1986.[15] Re-elected by council 1987.
53James Mather19881990Elected by council 1988.[16] Re-elected by council 1989.
54Thomas Binner19901992Elected by council 1990.[17] Re-elected by council 1991.
55Robert Jungwirth19921993Elected by council 1992.[18] Gambling scandal.
56Richard Wollangk19931996Defeated Jungwirth in April 1993 city council vote (5–2)[19]
Re-elected by council 1994.
Re-elected by council 1995.
57William Castle19961998Elected by council 1996.[20] Re-elected by council 1997.
58Melanie Bloechl19982000Elected by council 1998.[21] Re-elected by council 1999.
59Jon Dell'Antonia20002002Elected by council 2000.[22] Re-elected by council 2001.
60Stephen Hintz20022004Elected by council 2002.[23] Re-elected by council 2003.
61Mark Harris20042005Elected by council 2004.[24] Elected county executive 2005.

Mayors (2005–present)

In November 2004, Oshkosh voters agreed to a referendum which restored the mayor as a directly elected officer with veto power over the city council. Mayors are elected to two-year terms.[25]

OrderMayorTerm startTerm endNotes
62William Castle20052007Elected 2005.[26]
63Frank Tower20072009Elected 2007.[27]
64Paul J. Esslinger20092011Defeated Tower in 2007 election.[28][29]
65Burk Tower20112015Elected 2011.[30] Re-elected 2013.
66Steve Cummings20152019Elected 2015.[31][29]
67Lori Palmeri20192023First woman popularly elected as mayor.
Defeated Cummings in 2019 election.[32]
Re-elected 2021.[33]
Elected state representative 2022.
68Matt Mugerauer2023presentElected 2023.[34][35]

See also

References

Further reading

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