List of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee

This is a list of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tim Kelly has been the incumbent mayor of Chattanooga since his inauguration on April 19, 2021 at the Tivoli Theatre.^[1]

City aldermen system (1840-1911)

#	Term in office	Terms	Name^[2]
1	1840^[a]	1	James Enfield Berry
2	1841	1	Dr. Beriah Frazier
3	1842–1843	2	Dr. Milo Smith (1st term)
4	1844–1845	2	Dr. Joseph Strong Gillespie
5	1846–1848	3	Henry White Massengale (1st, 2nd & 3rd terms)
6	1849	1	Thomas Crutchfield Sr.
7	1850–1852	3	Dr. Milo Smith (3rd, 4th & 5th terms)
8	1853	1	Henry White Massengale (4th term)
9	1854	1	William Williams
10	1854	1	William F. Ragsdale
11	1855	1	Eldridge Gerry Pearl
12	1856	1	David Claiborne McMillin
13	1857	1	William D. Fulton
14	1858	1	Dr. William Samuel Bell
15	1859	1	Thomas Crutchfield Jr.
16	1860	1	Charles Erskine Grenville
17	1861	1	James Cartwright Warner
18	1862–1863	2	Dr. Milo Smith (6th & 7th terms)
Under direct control of the United States Army for duration of Civil War from 1863–1865
19	1865	1	Richard Henderson
20	1866	1	Charles E. Lewis	Republican
21	1867–1868	2	Dudley C. Carr
22	1869	1	Alonzo G. Sharpe (1st term)	Republican
23	1870–1871	2	William P. Rathburn
24	1871–1872	2	Gen. John T. Wilder	Republican
25	1872	1	Josiah Jackson Bryan
26	1873	1	Dr. Eli M. Wight (1st term)	Republican
27	1874	1	Dr. Philander D. Sims	Democratic
28	1875	1	John W. James	Republican
29	1876	1	Col. Tomlinson Fort, Jr.	Democratic
30	1877	1	Dr. Eli M. Wight (2nd term)	Republican
31	1878	1	Thomas J. Carlisle
32	1878		Andrew Jackson Gahagan (Acting)
33	1879	1	Jesse Thomas Hill
34	1880	1	Henry Frederick Temple
35	1881	1	John A. Hart (1st term)	Republican
36	1882–1883	2	Henry Clay Evans	Republican
37	1883–1885^[b]	1	Hugh Whiteside	Democratic
38	1885–1887	1	Alonzo G. Sharpe (2nd term)	Republican
39	1887–1889	1	John B. Nicklin	Democratic
40	1889–1891	1/2	John A. Hart (2nd term)	Republican
41	1891		Isaac B. Merriman (Acting)
42	1891–1893	1	Garnet Andrews	Democratic
43	1893–1897	2	George W. Ochs	Democratic
44	1897–1899	1	Edmund Watkins	Democratic
45	1899–1901	1	Joseph Wassman	Republican
–	1901–1905	2	Alexander W. Chambliss (1st term)	Democratic
46	1905–1907	1	William Little Frierson	Democratic
47	1907–1909	1	William Riley Crabtree	Democratic
48	1909–1911^[c]	1	Thomas C. Thompson	Democratic

City commission system (1911-1990)

#	Term in office	Terms	Name^[3]
–	1911–1915^[c]	1	Thomas C. Thompson	none
49	1915–1919	1	Jesse M. Littleton	none
50	1919–1923	3	Alexander Wilds Chambliss (2nd Term)	none
51	1923–1927	1	Richard Hardy	none
52	1927–1947	5	Edward Davis "E.D." Bass	Democratic
53	1947	1⁄2	Elijah Radford Betterton (Acting)	none
54	1947–1951	1	Hugh Wasson	none
55	1951–1963	3	Peter Rudolph "Rudy" Olgiati	none
56	1963–1969	2	Ralph H. Kelley	none
57	1969–1971	1⁄2	Austin Letheridge "Chunk" Bender (Acting)	Democratic
58	1971	1⁄2	S. Dean Peterson (Acting)	none
59	1971–1975	1	Robert Kirk Walker	none
60	1975–1983	2	Charles A. “Pat” Rose	none
61	1983–1990	4	Gene Roberts	none

City council system (Since 1990)

#	Term in office	Terms	Name^[4]
–	1990–1997	4	Gene Roberts	none
62	1997–2001	1	Jon Kinsey	Democratic
63	2001–2005	1	Bob Corker	Republican
64	2005–2013	2	Ron Littlefield	Independent
65	2013–2021	2	Andy Berke	Democratic
66	2021–present	1	Tim Kelly	Independent

Notes
[a] From 1840–1882, all mayors served one year terms, with several mayors elected to successive terms.
[b] From 1883–1911, all mayors served two year terms, with several mayors elected to successive terms.
[c] From 1911 to the present, most mayors have served four year terms, with several mayors elected to successive terms.

Notes

^ "Chattanooga Mayor-Elect and City Council Members to be Sworn in on April 19 at the Tivoli Theatre". 15 April 2021.
^ "History of Mayors".
^ "History of Mayors".
^ "History of Mayors".

List of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee

City aldermen system (1840-1911)

City commission system (1911-1990)

City council system (Since 1990)

See also

Notes

Further reading