List of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee

See also: Mayoral elections in 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)

#	Portrait	Term in office	Terms	Name[2]	Party affiliation
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)

#	Portrait	Term in office	Terms	Name[3]	Party affiliation
–		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)

#	Portrait	Term in office	Terms	Name[4]	Party affiliation
–		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.

See also

• Timeline of Chattanooga, Tennessee

Notes

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

Further reading

• "Mayor's Office: History of Mayors" — City of Chattanooga