Mayor of Portland, Maine


The Mayor of Portland is the official head of the city of Portland, Maine, United States, as stipulated in the Charter of the City of Portland. This article is a listing of past Mayors of Portland.

History of the office

Before 1923, the city's leader was known as the Mayor. From 1923 to 1969, the position was named "Chairman of the City Council." In 1969, the "Mayor" title was reinstated, but the office continued to be held by the leader of the city council, chosen by a vote of its members.
In 2011, the city returned to the practice of popularly electing a mayor for the first time since 1923. Subsequent elections were held in 2015 and 2019.

Mayors of Portland

This is a list of mayors of Portland, Maine. This information is obtained from the of the city council.
#MayorPartyTermNotes
1Andrew L. Emerson1832
2Jonathan Dow1832
3John AndersonDemocrat1833
4Levi Cutter1834–1840
5James C. Churchill1841
6John AndersonDemocrat1842
7Eliphalet GreeleyWhig1843–1848
8James B. CahoonWhig1849–1850
9Neal DowWhig1851–1852
10Albion K. ParrisDemocrat1852–1853
11James B. CalhoonDemocrat1853–1854
12Neal DowRepublican1855–1856
13James T. McCobb1856
14William WillisRepublican1857Previously served in the Maine Senate.
15Jedediah Jewett1858–1859
16Joseph Howard1860Previously a Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from 1848 to 1855 and future Democratic nominee for Governor in 1865.
17William W. Thomas1861–1862
18Jacob McLellan1863–65
19Augustus E. Stevens1866–1867
20Jacob McLellan1868
21William Lebaron PutnamDemocrat1869–1870Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1892-1917.
22Benjamin Kingsbury, Jr.1870–1872
23George P. Wescott1873–1874
24Roswell M. Richardson1875
25Francis FessendenRepublican1876Major general in the 25th and 30th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiments during the Civil War.
26Moses M. Butler1877–1878
27George Walker1879
28William Senter1880–1881
29Charles F. Libby1882
31John W. DeeringDemocrat1883Formerly a Republican. Commissioner of the Port of Portland under President Grover Cleveland.
32Marquis F. King1884
33John W. DeeringDemocrat1885Formerly a Republican. Commissioner of the Port of Portland under President Grover Cleveland.
34Charles J. Chapman1886–1888
35Holman S. MelcherRepublican1889–1890Captain in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.
36George W. True1891
37Darius H. Ingraham1892
38James Phinney BaxterRepublican1893–1896
39Charles H. Randall1897–1898
40Frank W. Robinson1899–1900Previously Cumberland County District Attorney and judge of the Portland Municipal Court from 1893-1899.
41Frederic E. BoothbyRepublican1901–1903
42James Phinney BaxterRepublican1904–1905
43Nathan CliffordDemocrat1906–1907
44Adam P. Leighton, Sr.Republican1908–1909
45Charles A. StroutRepublican1910
46Oakley C. CurtisDemocrat1911–1914Governor of Maine from 1915-1917.
47William Moulton IngrahamDemocrat1915
48Wilford G. ChapmanRepublican1916–1917
49Charles B. ClarkeRepublican1918–1921
50Carroll S. ChaplinRepublican1922–1923
51Philip J. DeeringDemocrat1924
52Neal W. Allen1925–1926
53Philip J. DeeringDemocrat1927
54Lester F. Wallace1928–1929
55Ralph D. Brooks1930
56Arthur W. Jordan1931
57Ralph D. Brooks1932
58Arthur E. Craig1933
59Philip J. DeeringDemocrat1934–1935
60Edward C. Berry1936
61Adam P. Leighton, Jr.1937
62Edward C. Berry1938
63Arthur E. Craig1939
64Harry E. Martin1940
65Edward C. Berry1941
66Adam P. Leighton, Jr.1942
67Herman B. Libby1943
68George A. Harrison1944
69Harry C. Libby1945
70Helen C. Frost1946
71Herman B. Libby1947
72Robert L. Getchell1948–1949
73Edward T. Colley1950
74Helen C. Frost1952
75H. Merrill Luthe1953
76Edward T. Colley1954
77Ben B. Wilson1955
78H. Merrill Luthe1956
79Carleton G. Lane1957
80Perley J. Lessard1958
81Sumner S. Clark1959
82Mitchell Cope1960
83Harold E. Frank1961
84Daniel B. Felix1962
85Ralph Amerigan1963
86J. Weston Walch1964–1965
87Charles W. Allen1966
88Harold E. Loring1967
89Donald Slipp1969-1970
90Dr. William L. MacVaneDemocrat1970–1971
91Gerard P. Conley, Sr.Democrat1971–1972
92Edward I. BernsteinRepublican1973
93William B. TroubhDemocrat1974–1975
94Harold Loring1975–1976
95Matthew I. Barron1976–1978
96Bruce Taliento1978
97Edward I. BernsteinRepublican1978–1979
98Llewellyn Smith1979–1980
99John O'LearyDemocrat1980–1981
100Pamela P. Plumb1981–1982
101Linda AbromsonDemocrat1982–1983
102William B. TroubhDemocrat1983–1984
103David H. BrenermanDemocrat1984–1985
104Joseph D. CasaleDemocrat1985–1986
105Philip J. Dawson1986–1987
106Ronald J. Dorler1987–1988
107Cheryl A. LeemanRepublican1988–1989
108Esther ClenottDemocrat1989–1990
109Peter O'DonnellDemocrat1990–1991
110Thomas H. AllenDemocrat1991–1992
111Charles HarlowDemocrat1992–1993
112Anne B. PringleDemocrat1993–1994
113Richard W. "Dick" Paulson, Jr.Democrat1994–1995
114Philip "Jack" DawsonDemocrat1995–1996
115John F. McDonoughDemocrat1996–1997
116George N. Campbell1997–1998
117Thomas V. KaneDemocrat1998–1999
118Nicholas "Nick" Mavodones, Jr.Democrat1999–2000
119Cheryl A. LeemanRepublican2000–2001
120Karen GeraghtyDemocrat2001–2002
121James F. "Jim" CloutierDemocrat2002–2003
122Nathan SmithDemocrat2003–2004
123Jill DusonDemocrat2004–2005
124James I. CohenDemocrat2005–2006
125Nicholas "Nick" Mavodones, Jr.Democrat2006–2007
126Edward SuslovicDemocrat2007–2008
127Jill DusonDemocrat2008–2010
128Nicholas "Nick" Mavodones, Jr.Democrat2010–2011
129Michael F. BrennanDemocrat2011–2015First popularly elected Mayor of Portland since 1923. Previously served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1992 to 2000 and in the Maine Senate from 2002 to 2006.
130Ethan StrimlingDemocrat2015–2019
131Kate SnyderDemocrat2019–Incumbent