Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut


The mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, United States, is the city's chief executive.

History of the mayoralty

Before 1945, the city charter of the City of Stamford divided the city into two separate political jurisdictions: a central city with a "strong mayor" form of government and a town which employed the traditional town meeting form of government. From the 1930s, reformers began seeking to change this system on the grounds that it accorded too much power to the mayor and that the separation of the town and city for some purposes but not others "was an outmoded and inefficient way to govern a modern city."
In 1946, the Charter Consolidation Inquiry Commission, created by the Connecticut General Assembly, issued recommendations for Stamford government to unify under a single jurisdiction led by a strong mayor, and with a city council of forty members, with two elected from twenty districts. These recommendations were approved by Stamford voters and the new system took effect on April 15, 1949.
Stamford retains its strong-mayor form of government today. The mayor appoints the departments heads, acts as chief executive officer of the city, and is responsible for presenting the budget to the board of finance, city council, and planning board. The city council approves the budget and passes ordinances and resolutions. Both the mayor and the city council serve four-year terms, and there are no term limits.

List of mayors of Stamford

The following table lists the mayors of Stamford, as well as their dates in office, their dates of birth, and their dates of death.
NameServedPartyDate of birthDate of deathNotes-
Charles H. Leeds1894-1895January 9, 1834November 6, 1914-
Edwin L. Scofield1895-1897June 18, 1852January 14, 1918-
William J. H. Bohannan1897-1899March 9, 1865August 29, 1947-
Edward J. Tupper1899-1900September 19, 1853October 2, 1922-
Homer Stille Cummings1900-1902DemocratApril 30, 1870September 10, 1956-
Charles H. Leeds1902-1904January 6, 1873February 7, 1967-
Homer Stille Cummings1904-1906DemocratApril 30, 1870September 10, 1956Subsequently Attorney General of the United States -
Edward J. Tupper1906-1910September 19, 1853October 2, 1922-
Charles E. Rowell1911-1913May 3, 1849March 29, 1914-
Walter G. Austin1913-1915December 9, 1853January 14, 1937-
John M. Brown1915-1915November 7, 1856December 10, 1915-
John J. Treat1916-1922June 10, 1873February 7, 1928-
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr.1923-1924DemocratApril 23, 1894January 18, 1970-
John F. Keating1924-1926September 8, 1876September 15, 1946-
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr.1927-1928DemocratApril 23, 1894January 18, 1970-
William W. Graves1928-1930October 28, 1868December 26, 1965-
John F. Keating1934-1935September 8, 1876September 15, 1946-
Joseph P. Boyle1930-19341883May 25, 1948-
Alfred N. Phillips, Jr.1935-1936DemocratApril 23, 1894January 18, 1970Subsequently representative from Connecticut's 4th congressional district-
Edward A. Gonnoud1936-1938DemocratSeptember 12, 1892June 26, 1951-
Charles E. Moore1938-1940RepublicanJune 29, 1884June 22, 1967-
Edward A. Gonnoud1940-1942DemocratSeptember 12, 1892June 26, 1951-
Charles E. Moore1942-1949RepublicanJune 29, 1884June 22, 1967-
George T. Barrett1949-1951RepublicanNovember 29, 1884October 11, 1954-
Thomas F. J. Quigley1951-1957DemocratApril 19, 1903November 9, 1996-
Webster C. Givens1957-1959RepublicanDecember 23, 1898September 7, 1968-
James Walter Kennedy1959-1963DemocratJune 8, 1912June 26, 1977Subsequently Commissioner of the NBA -
William F. Hickey Jr.1963-1963DemocratMay 28, 1929July 21, 2016-
Thomas C. Mayers1963-1967RepublicanMarch 21, 1909December 20, 1997-
Bruno E. Giordano1967-1969DemocratJuly 29, 1929May 27, 2016-
Julius Morris Wilensky1969-1973RepublicanOctober 10, 1916October 25, 2004-
Frederick P. Lenz, Jr.1973-1975Democrat-
Louis A. Clapes1975-1983RepublicanApril 10, 1917November 20, 1990-
Thom Serrani1983-1991Democrat1948Elementary school redistricting plan sent South Field Village Housing Projects children to Cove Schools-
Stanley J. Esposito1991-1995Republican-
Dannel Patrick "Dan" Malloy1995-2009DemocratJuly 21, 1955Subsequently governor of Connecticut-
Michael Pavia2009-2013Republican-
David R. Martin2013–2021DemocratFebruary 23, 1953-
Caroline Simmons2021–PresentDemocratFebruary 10, 1986First female mayor in Stamford history