Following is a list of the

county executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

s of

Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...

Presiding Judge

From 1827 until 1972 Jackson County was headed by a three- member County Commission called a County Court, with a Presiding Judge as the county's chief executive. There was no requirement that a judge be a lawyer, and these "judges" had no judicial authority. The Court reflected the county's divided nature with one judge representing the then-rural eastern areas around the county seat of

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, while the western judge represented the more urban areas closer to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. The presiding judge was elected countywide. Courthouses were built in both cities. The most famous presiding judge was Harry S. Truman (later the 33rd U.S. President) who represented the Eastern District before later winning election as presiding judge. The last presiding judge,

George W. Lehr George W. Lehr (March 10, 1937 – March 21, 1988) was an American Democratic politician from Missouri who served as the state's auditor from 1975 to 1977. He was born in Kirksville, Missouri in 1937. After graduating from the University of Io ...

, later served as Missouri State Auditor from 1974 until 1977. *1827 - Richard Fristoe *1834 - Moses G. Wilson *1838 - John Davis (county executive) *1842 - James B. Yager *1846 - Alvin Brooking *1850 - Richard D. Stanley *1862 - Jacob Leader *1865 - M. T. Graham *1866 - Andrew G. Newgent *1867 - G. W. Gates *1869 - James B. Yager *1875 - Albert Gallatin Williams *1877 - Josiah Collins *1879 - James B. Yager *1883 - Robert L. Adkins *1887 - John A. McDonald *1891 - Daniel Murphy *1895 - John B. Stone *1899 - G.L. Chrisman *1907 - J. M. Patterson *1911 - H. C. Gilbert *1915 - Miles Bulger *1923 - Elihu W. Hayes *1927 -

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

*1935 - Eugene I. Purcell *1937 - David E. Long *1941 - George S. Montgomery *1947 - Harry M. Gambrel *1951 - Harry M. Fleming *1955 - Ray G. Cowan *1959 - John J. Kopp *1963 - Charles E. Curry *1971 -

County Executive

In 1970 a new county charter was approved effective January 1973 replaced the County Court with a stronger County Commission, with representatives elected from 11 districts. The 11 districts were reduced to 6 in 1987. A County Executive served as presiding officer. *1973 - George W. Lehr *1975 - Mike White *1979 - Dale Baumgardner *1983 - William F. Waris *1991 - Marsha Murphy *1995 -

Katheryn Shields Katheryn Shields (born Oct. 24, 1946) is a Kansas City, Missouri Democratic Party politician who has served as the Kansas City councilwoman for the 4th district at-large since 2015. She previously served as Jackson County, Missouri County Exec ...

*2007 - Mike Sanders *2016 -

Fred Arbanas Frederick Vincent Arbanas (January 14, 1939 – April 16, 2021) was an American football tight end. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Arbanas was drafted in the second round (22nd overall) in the 1961 NFL Draft by the ...

(Temporary)* *2016 - Frank White

References

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External links

Jackson County Executive
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