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The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is
Jim Kenney James Francis Kenney (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who is the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia. Kenney was first elected on November 3, 2015, defeating his Republican rival Melissa Murray Bailey after winning the crowded Democratic ...
.


History

The first
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of Philadelphia,
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. He was ancestor of the singer, actor, and political activist Paul Robeson. Politica ...
, was appointed by the city’s founder,
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
. Subsequently,
Edward Shippen Edward Shippen (1639, Methley, West Yorkshire, England – October 2, 1712, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was the second mayor of Philadelphia, although under William Penn's charter of 1701, he was considered the first. Early life Edward was bor ...
was appointed by Penn as the first mayor under the charter of 1701 and second mayor overall, and then was elected to a second term by the
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
. Subsequent mayors, who held office for one year, were elected by the city council from among their number. No monetary compensation was paid to the earliest office-holders, and candidates often objected strongly to their being selected, sometimes choosing even to pay a fine rather than serve. In 1704
Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
Griffith Jones was elected but declined to serve, for which he was fined twenty pounds. In 1706, Alderman Thomas Story was similarly fined for refusing office. In 1745, Alderman Abraham Taylor was fined thirty pounds for refusing the mayoralty; 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), Isaac Norris (1722), John Mifflin and Alexander Stedman, while 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, amid serving for 14 one-year terms, making him the most-often-elected (16 times, including refusals) and longest-serving (14 years) mayor of Philadelphia.Committee of Seventy's Historical List of Philadelphia Mayors
In 1747, at the request of retiring Mayor William Attwood, Council resolved to institute an annual salary of 100 pounds for the office. Nevertheless, that 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 to the mayoralty. When after three days he could not be located, a new election had to be arranged, and Attwood was re-elected to a second term. Beginning in 1826, Council could elect any citizen of Philadelphia to the mayoralty. From 1839, mayors were elected by popular vote. If no candidate won a majority of the popular vote, then the joint Councils (Select and Common) would decide between the two leading candidates. John Swift was the first mayor to be elected directly by the people in the 1840 election. The length of the term of office was extended to two years in 1854, to three years in 1861, and to four years in 1885. Further, The Act of 1885 prohibited mayors from succeeding themselves. The restriction was lifted in the 1940s allowing Bernard Samuel to run for re-election. In 1951, the city's Home Rule Charter established a two-term limit for mayors. The term limit is consecutive, not lifetime. The mayorship of Philadelphia has been held by Democrats since 1952, with the only Republican in recent memory coming close to winning the position being
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 and a member of the Order of Manitoba. He wa ...
, who in 1999 was less than half a percentage point away from being the first Republican mayor of Philadelphia elected in over 45 years.


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


See also

*
History of Philadelphia The city of Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn in the English Crown Province of Pennsylvania between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. Before then, the area was inhabited by the Lenape people. Philadelphia quickly grew into an imp ...
*
Timeline of Philadelphia The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 17th-18th centuries * 1682 – Philadelphia founded as capital of the English Crown Province of Pennsylvania by William Penn. * 1689 – William Penn Charter ...


Notes


References


Sources

Books * Websites * Official Philadelphia Government list


External links

*
Office of the Mayor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia, List Of Mayors Of Lists of mayors of places in Pennsylvania * Mayors 1691 establishments in Pennsylvania