List of mayors of Fort Wayne, Indiana

This is a list of mayors of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Elected as chief executive of the city, he or she is charged with overseeing the operation of all local government departments. Mayoral terms are four years, with no limit on the number of terms an individual may be elected to.

Mayor of the City of Fort Wayne
Flag of Fort Wayne, Indiana
Incumbent Tom Henry since January 1, 2008
Term length	Four years, no limit
Inaugural holder	George W. Wood
Formation	1840
Website	Office of the Mayor

List

George W. Wood, first mayor of Fort Wayne.

William J. Hosey is Fort Wayne's longest-serving mayor, elected to four non-consecutive terms.

#	Portrait	Mayor	Term start	Term end		Party
1		George W. Wood (1808–1871; aged 63)	May 1, 1840	July 5, 1841		Whig
2		Joseph Morgan	1841	1843		Whig
3		Henry Lotz (1797–1845; aged 48)	1843	1844		Whig
4		John M. Wallace	1844	1845		Whig
5		Merchant W. Huxford (1798–1877; aged 79)	1846	1849		Democratic
6		William Stewart (1st)	1849	1852		Democratic
7		Philip G. Jones	1852	1853		Know Nothing
8		Charles Whitmore (1819–1892; aged 73)	1853	1855		Democratic
9		William Stewart (2nd)	1855	1857		Democratic
10		Samuel S. Morss (1811–1862; aged 51)	1857	1859		Know Nothing
11		Franklin P. Randall (1st) (1812–1892; aged 79)	1859	1865		Democratic
12		James L. Worden (1819–1884; aged 65)	1865	1866		Democratic
13		Benjamin Saunders	1866	1867		Democratic
14		Henry Sharp (1809–1900; aged 91)	1867	1869		Republican
15		Franklin P. Randall (2nd)	1869	1873		Democratic
16		Charles A. Zollinger (1st) (1838–1893; aged 55)	1873	1885		Democratic
17		Charles F. Muhler (1841–1899; aged 58)	1885	1889		Republican
18		Daniel L. Harding	1889	1893		Republican
19		Charles Zollinger (2nd)	1885	December 28, 1893		Democratic
20		Henry P. Scherer (1st) (1884–1917; aged 32)	1894	1894		Republican
21		Chauncey B. Oakley (1833–1903; aged 69)	1894	1896		Republican
22		Henry P. Scherer (2nd)	1896	1901		Democratic
23		Henry C. Berghoff (1856–1925; aged 69)	1901	1906		Democratic
24		William J. Hosey (1st) (1854–1937; aged 83)	1906	1910		Democratic
25		Jesse Grice (1852–1915; aged 63)	1910	1914		Republican
26		William J. Hosey (2nd)	1914	1918		Democratic
27		W. Sherman Cutshall (1868–1939; aged 71)	1918	1922		Republican
28		William J. Hosey (3rd)	1922	1926		Democratic
29		William C. Geake	January 4, 1926	1930		Republican
30		William J. Hosey (4th)	1930	1934		Democratic
31		Harry W. Baals (1st) (1886–1954; aged 67)	1934	1948		Republican
32		Henry E. Branning, Jr. (1890–1970; aged 80)	1948	1952		Democratic
33		Harry W. Baals (2nd)^[a]	1952	May 9, 1954		Republican
34		Robert Meyers (1913–2007; aged 93)	1954	December 31, 1959		Republican
35		Paul Mike Burns (1932–2006; aged 74)	January 1, 1960	December 31, 1963		Democratic
36		Harold S. Zeis (1912–1975; aged 63)	January 1, 1964	December 31, 1971		Republican
37		Ivan A. Lebamoff (1932–2006; aged 74)	January 1, 1972	December 31, 1975		Democratic
38		Robert E. Armstrong (1925–2008; aged 82)	January 1, 1976	December 31, 1979		Republican
39		Winfield Moses (1st)^[b] (born in 1943; age 77)	January 1, 1980	July 8, 1985		Democratic
40		Cosette Simon^[c] (born in 1953; age 67)	July 8, 1985	July 19, 1985		Democratic
41		Winfield Moses (2nd)^[d]	July 20, 1985	December 31, 1987		Democratic
42		Paul Helmke (born in 1948; age 72)	January 1, 1988	December 31, 1999		Republican
43		Graham Richard (born in 1947; age 74)	January 1, 2000	December 31, 2007		Democratic
44		Tom Henry (born in 1951; age 69)	January 1, 2008	incumbent		Democratic

Other offices held

The following is a list of elected offices held by mayors, before or after their term(s).

Mayor	Mayoral term	Other offices held	References
Paul Mike Burns	1960–1964	Fort Wayne City Councilman (1948–1952, 1972–1992)
Robert E. Armstrong	1976–1980	Allen County Councilman (1990–2002)
Winfield Moses	1980–1985, 1985–1987	Fort Wayne City Councilman (1972–1979) Indiana State Representative (1992–2012)
Graham Richard	2000–2007	Indiana State Senator (1974–1978)
Tom Henry	2008–present	Fort Wayne City Councilman (1984–2004)

Living former mayors

As of April 2015, four former mayors are alive, the oldest being Winfield Moses (1980–1985, 1985–1987; born 1943). The most recent mayor to die is Paul Mike Burns (1960–1964; born 1917), on January 7, 2011.

Mayor	Mayoral term	Date of birth
Winfield Moses	1980–1985, 1985–1987	February 20, 1943 (age 77)
Cosette Simon	1985	June 18, 1953 (age 67)
Paul Helmke	1988–1999	November 24, 1948 (age 72)
Graham Richard	2000–2007	September 8, 1944 (age 76)

Notes

• ^a Baals died of a kidney infection during his fourth term as mayor.[1]
• ^b Moses resigned from office after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor violations of campaign finance laws.[2]
• ^c City Controller Cosette Simon was appointed acting mayor for eleven days following Moses' resignation. She was Fort Wayne's first female mayor.
• ^d With 86 of 99 Allen County Democratic precinct committee members voting in a special caucus for his reinstatement, Moses was elected to complete his second term as mayor.[3]

References

1. Leininger, Kevin (February 12, 2011). "Jokes aside, Harry Baals worth honoring". The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 28, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
2. Ogintz, Eileen (July 9, 1985). "Mayor of Ft. Wayne resigns in plea deal, but plans return". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
3. Shipp, E. R. (July 20, 1985). "Fort Wayne mayor is out, then in". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2015.

External links

• City of Fort Wayne Mayor's Office