The Mayor is the highest elected official in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
. Since its incorporation in 1856, the town has had 59 mayors. Tampa had no mayor from 1862 until 1866, during which time the city government was temporarily suspended during and immediately after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
Election process
In 1910, the
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
White Municipal Party The White Municipal Party was a white supremacist political organization established in Tampa, Florida to eliminate African American influence in municipal elections. The group limited local elections to white candidates for many years by excluding ...
was established in Tampa. It excluded African Americans from being members effectively excluding African American voters from having influence in the city's mayoral elections from 1910 until 1947.
Since 1953, Tampa's municipal elections (including those for mayor) have been
non-partisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers s ...
. All qualified candidates are entered into the
general election without a
primary election. Candidates are required to disclose a party affiliation. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a
runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters to decide the final outcome.
Terms and term limits
From the establishment of
Tampa's city charter of 1856 until 1896, Tampa's mayors served one year terms. The term was extended to two years in 1896 and to four years in 1924.
From 1856 until 1920, Tampa mayors could not serve consecutive terms but were permitted to run again after being out of office for one full term. This resulted in several mayors serving multiple non-consecutive terms, especially in the late 1800s. In 1920, term limits were abolished entirely.
Since 1983, Tampa mayors have been
limited to two consecutive terms, but they may run again after spending at least a full four-year term out of the office.
List
;
;Notes
† Deceased in office.
1 Following the lapse of the city charter on October 1869,
Hillsborough County took over responsibility for providing principal services. However, Tampa needed some form of municipal government to monitor the services being provided by the county and the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
. As a result, a municipal election was held on July 6, 1870 in which Henderson was elected mayor.''
John Henderson's mayor profile
See also
* Timeline of Tampa, Florida
References
External links
History of Tampa mayors
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Mayors Of Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
*
History of Tampa, Florida
Mayors