List of mayors of Traverse City, Michigan

Traverse City, Michigan is a home rule, charter city under the Home Rule Cities Act, incorporated on May 18, 1895. The city is governed by six commissioners and a mayor, elected at-large. Together they comprise a seven-member legislative body. The commission appoints a city manager who serves as chief executive for city operations. Below is a list of mayors and village presidents in Traverse City, Michigan.[1] The current mayor of Traverse City, Michigan is Richard Lewis.[2]

Mayor of the City of Traverse City
Incumbent
Richard I. Lewis
since November 8, 2021
StyleMr. Mayor
Term lengthTwo years; renewable
Inaugural holderPerry Hannah
Formation1895

Village presidents (1881–1895)
Number Name Years Notes
1 Perry Hannah 1881–1885 This was his first term. Perry Hannah was the first village president of Traverse City.
2 Benjamin D. Ashton 1886
3 Perry Hannah 1887–1894 This was his second term.

First city charter (1895–1940)

Traverse City has been a city since 1895. The following are the first 24 mayors under the first city charter:[3]

Number Name Year(s) Notes
1 Perry Hannah 1895 Perry Hannah was the first Mayor of Traverse City, Michigan. He previously served as village president prior to the changeover to a mayoral system. Owner of Perry Hannah House and namesake of Hannah Avenue and Park
2 Harry C. Davis 1896 Namesake of Davis Street
3 William W. Smith 1897–1898
4 Frank Hamilton 1899 Namesake of Hamilton Street
5 Alfred V. Friedrich 1900
6 John Patchin 1901
7 Oscar P. Carver 1902 Namesake of Carver Street
8 John R. Santo 1903 Namesake of Santo Street
9 Elisha J. Fulghum 1904
10 A.V. Friedrich 1905–1907
11 William D.C. Germaine 1908–1909 This was his first term. He was the owner, editor, and publisher of the weekly newspaper, the Traverse City Transcript. He was born on October 17, 1866, in Traverse City to Cuyler Germaine and Anna Kratochvil. He married Ola W. Hull on July 27, 1895. He died on January 3, 1943, in Traverse City.[4]
12 Emanuel Wilhelm 1910–1911
13 William D.C. Germaine 1912 This was his second term.
14 John G. Straub 1913
15 C.L. Greilick 1914–1915 Namesake of Camp Greilick in East Bay Township
16 Edward Lautner 1916–1917
17 Lafayette Swanton 1918–1922
18 James T. Milliken 1923–1928 Father of future governor William Milliken
19 George W. Lardie 1929–1930
20 Charles C. Wells 1931–1932
21 E.L. Thirlby 1933–1934 Namesake of Thirlby Field
22 Moses Orville Champney 1935–1936 He was born on March 14, 1887, in Birmingham, Ohio. He died on July 12, 1952, in Traverse City.
23 Conrad H. Foster 1937–1938 He was the founder of the Clinch Park Zoo, and also founder and namesake of the Con Foster Museum in Traverse City.[5] The zoo closed in 2006 and the museum prior to that.[6] He died of a heart attack in Traverse City on April 3, 1940.[7]

City commission elections (1941–2000)

In 1940, a new city charter amendment was passed, allowing for mayors to be voted for directly by the city commission of Traverse City.

Number Name Years Notes
24 Adolph LaFranier 1939–1940 Namesake of LaFranier Road
25 Orr E. Mead 1941
26 Delmer R. Zimmerman 1942
27 J.E. Ehrenberger 1943
28 Carl Anderson 1944
29 Ben H. Koenig 1945
30 F.G. Swartz 1946–1947
31 Hugh J. Johnson 1948
32 Peter Clancy 1949
33 Wilbur G. Watson 1950
34 Julius C. Sleder 1951
35 Jack D. Nelson 1952
36 J. Kent Wright 1953
37 Charles H. Round 1954
38 Frank H. Power 1955–1956
39 A.R. Jacobs 1957
40 J.H. Stevens 1958
41 Fritz Coppens 1959
42 H.R. Murchie 1960 Namesake of Murchie Bridge
43 Frank L. Stulen 1961 Namesake of Parsons-Stulen Building
44 Larry Hardy 1962
45 Robert H. Chase 1963
46 Ralph Puclipher 1964
47 Kenneth Lindsay 1965
48 Carter B. Strong 1966
49 Vincent Fochtman 1967
50 Royce Kephart 1968
51 Nick Rajkovich 1969
52 William K. Lynch 1970
53 John Rokos 1971
54 Richard Purvis 1972
55 John W. Rennie 1973
56 Carl Huffman 1974
57 Diane C. Gilbo 1975
58 Raymond L. Sutton 1976
59 Howard A. Bartling 1977
60 Peter C. Dendrinos 1978 Namesake of Dendrinos Center and Dendrinos Drive
61 Calvin G. Martin 1979
62 Norman A. Kline 1980
63 Lawrence A. Muzzarelli 1981–1982
64 Carol J. Hale 1983
65 Frederick D. Nelson 1984
66 Phillip E. Orth 1985
67 Gerald M. Williams 1986
68 Geraldine D. Greene 1987
69 Bryan J. Crough 1988
70 Phillip E. Rodgers Jr. 1989
71 Al Ritchie 1990
72 Jim F. Tompkins Jr. 1991
73 Peter T. Taylor 1992
74 Linda M. Johnson 1993
75 Jack E. Boynton 1994
76 Jim F. Tompkins Jr. 1995
77 Peter T. Taylor 1996
78 Shelley A. Kester 1996
79 Phillip E. Orth 1997
80 Larry Hardy 1998
81 Jim F. Tompkins Jr. 1999
82 Linda Smyka 2000
83 Larry Hardy 2001

City voter elections (2000–present)

In 2000, a new city charter amendment allowed for the citizens of Traverse City to vote directly for mayor. Mayors now could hold unlimited terms of two years.

Number Name Years Notes
84 Margaret B. Dodd 2001–2003
85 Linda Smyka 2003–2005
86 Michael Estes 2005–2007 One term, first time in office.
87 Chris M. Bzdok 2009–2011
88 Michael Estes 2011–2015 Two terms, second time in office.
89 Jim Carruthers 2015–2021 Served three consecutive terms, and was Traverse City's first openly gay mayor
90 Richard Lewis 2021– Current mayor of Traverse City, originally a city council member[8]

References
  1. "Mayors of Traverse City, Michigan". Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  2. "Meet Your Commissioners". City of Traverse City. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  3. "List of Mayors of Traverse City" (PDF).
  4. Perry F. Powers, Harry Gardner Cutler (1912). "Honorable William D.C. Germaine". A History of Northern Michigan and Its People. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 1078.
  5. "Who Was Con Foster?". theTicker. November 23, 2013.
  6. Jeff Frost. "Maybe the last year for "The Spirit of Traverse City"". Railway Preservation News.
  7. "Who Was Con Foster?". theTicker. November 23, 2013.
  8. "Richard Lewis Ready to Take Over as Traverse City Mayor". 9 & 10 News. November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
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