List of mayors of Saginaw - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

City of East Saginaw 1859-1889

The City of East Saginaw was incorporated in 1859 and existed until it was consolidated with the City of Saginaw in 1889 (effective 1890). The City Charter was granted by the legislature. Mayors were elected for one-year terms.

Mayor	Start of Term	End of Term	Notes
William L. P. Little	1859	1859
William J. Bartlow	1860	1860
Charles B. Mott	1861	1862
William F. Glasby	1863	1863
James F. Brown	1864	1864
Samuel W. Yawkey	1865	1865
Dwight G. Holland	1866	1866
Wellington R. Burt Wellington R. Burt Wellington R. Burt was a wealthy industrial baron from Saginaw, Michigan. At the time of his death, his wealth was estimated to be between $40 and $90 million. For a time in the early 1900s, Burt ranked as one of the eight wealthiest men in America...	1867	1867
James L. Ketcham	1868	1869
John G. Owen	1870	1870
Leander Siomoneau	1871	1871
Charles L. Ortman	1872	1872
William L. Webber	1873	1873
Herbert H. Hoyt	1874	1874
Chauncey W. Wisner	1875	1876
Bradley M. Thompson	1877	1878
John Welch	1879	1881
Leander Simoneau	1882	1882
Frank Lawrence	1883	1883
John S. Estabrook	1884	1885
Henry M. Youmans Henry M. Youmans Henry Melville Youmans was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Youmans was born in Otego, New York and attended the common schools. He was in the employ of the York & Erie Railroad Co. on the Susquehanna division for ten years. He moved to East Saginaw, Michigan in 1862 and engaged in...	1886	1887
William B. Baum	1888	1889	Last mayor of the City of East Saginaw. Later served as mayor of the (consolidated) City of Saginaw under the 1889 City Charter.

City Charter of 1889

The City of East Saginaw and the City of Saginaw were consolidated by an act of the Legislature of the State of Michigan in 1889 and was given the same name as the former City of Saginaw. The City Charter was granted by legislative act and provided for an elected executive Mayor and a City Council consisting of 21 Aldermen elected from several wards in the City.

Mayor	Start of Term	End of Term	Notes
George W. Weadock	1890	1892	First Mayor of the consolidated City of Saginaw under the 1889 City Charter
William S. Linton William S. Linton William Seelye Linton was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Linton was born in St. Clair, Michigan and moved with his parents to Saginaw in 1859, where he attended the public schools. He engaged as clerk in a store at Farwell and became engaged in various activities connected with the...	1892	1894
William B. Mershon	1895	1896
William B. Baum	1896	1904
Henry E. Lee	1904	1906
William B. Baum	1906	1908
George W. Stewart, M.D.	1908	1912
Albert William Tausend	1912	1914	Last mayor under the 1889 Charter

City Charter of 1913

The Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

of the State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

enacted the Home Rule

Home rule

Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....

Cities Act in 1909 that permitted cities to frame and adopt their own Charters. In 1913 the electors of the City of Saginaw adopted a Charter following the Commission form of government

City commission government

City commission government is a form of municipal government which once was common in the United States, but many cities which were formerly governed by commission have since switched to the council-manager form of government...

. It became effective January 1, 1914 at which time the mayor and commissioners took office.

Mayor	Start of Term	End of Term	Notes
Ard E. Richardson	January 1, 1914	April 11, 1915
Hilem F. Paddock	April 11, 1915	1916

City Charter of 1936

Under the current city charter, effective January 6, 1936, the mayoral term in Saginaw is two years. The Mayor is chosen by the City Council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

from among its own members at the first meeting following a regular municipal election which takes place in November of odd-numbered years. The first City Council under the current Charter took office on January 6, 1936 and chose a Mayor at that time to serve until after the 1937 municipal election. Elections were held in April from 1937 through 1971, at which time it was changed to November.

Mayor	Start of Term	End of Term	Notes
Frank Marxer	January 6, 1936	April 12, 1937	First Mayor under Council-Manager form of government (City Charter of 1936)
Francis J. McDonald	April 12, 1937	April 10, 1939
John W. Symons, Jr.	April 10, 1939	April 14, 1941
William J. Brydges	April 14, 1941	April 12, 1943
Eric F. Wieneke	April 12, 1943	April 9, 1945
Harold J. Stenglein	April 9, 1945	April 11, 1949	Two terms served as Mayor. First Mayor to serve more than one term.
Edwin W. Koepke	April 11, 1949	April 9, 1951
William R. Hart	April 9, 1951	April 13, 1953
George H. Fischer	April 13, 1953	April 11, 1955
Maurice E. Brown	April 11, 1955	April 8, 1957
R. James Harvey	April 8, 1957	April 13, 1959
R. Dewey Stearns	April 13, 1959	April 10, 1961
G. Stewart Francke	April 10, 1961	April 12, 1965	Two terms served as Mayor.
James W. Stenglein	April 12, 1965	April 10, 1967
Henry G. Marsh	April 10, 1967	April 14, 1969	First African-American to serve as Mayor
Warren C. Light	April 14, 1969	April 12, 1971
Paul H. Wendler	April 12, 1971	November 13, 1973	Served an extended length term because elections were moved to November from April during his term.
William F. Nelson, Jr.	November 13, 1973	November 10, 1975
Raymond M. Tortora	November 10, 1975	November 14, 1977
Joe Stephens	November 14, 1977	November 12, 1979
Vacant	November 12, 1979	December 10, 1979	The Council was deadlocked for nearly one month in selecting a Mayor.
Paul P. Prudhomme	December 10, 1979	November 9, 1981
Ronald M. Bushey	November 9, 1981	November 14, 1983
Lawrence D. Crawford	November 14, 1983	November 9, 1987	Two terms as Mayor.
Delbert J. Schrems	November 9, 1987	November 13, 1989
Henry H. Nickelberry	November 13, 1989	November 8, 1993	Two terms as Mayor.
Gary L. Loster	November 8, 1993	November 12, 2001	Four terms as Mayor. (Only Mayor under 1936 Charter to serve more than two terms.)
Wilmer Jones Ham	November 12, 2001	November 14, 2005	Two terms as Mayor. First female to serve as Mayor. Her son, Darvin Ham Darvin Ham Darvin Ham is an American former professional basketball player. He played eight seasons in the NBA from 1996 to 2005 and later for the Philippine Basketball Association and NBA Development League until 2008.- Basketball career :... , played in the NBA.
Carol B. Cottrell	November 14, 2005	November 12, 2007
Joyce J. Seals	November 12, 2007	November 9, 2009
Gregory L. Branch	November 9, 2009	incumbent (term ends November 11, 2013)	Two terms as mayor.

City of East Saginaw 1859-1889

City Charter of 1889

City Charter of 1913

City Charter of 1936

See also: