List of mayors of Fort Wayne, Indiana

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

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.

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.

#	Mayor	Term start	Term end		Party
1	Wood, George W.George W. Wood	May 1, 1840	July 5, 1841		Whig
2	Joseph Morgan	1841	1843		Whig
3	Henry Lotz	1843	1844		Whig
4	John M. Wallace	1844	1845		Whig
5	Huxford, Merchant W.Merchant W. Huxford	1846	1849		Democratic
6	William Stewart	1849	1852		Democratic
7	Philip G. Jones	1852	1853		Know Nothing
8	Charles Whitmore	1853	1855		Democratic
9	William Stewart	1855	1857		Democratic
10	Samuel S. Morss	1857	1859		Know Nothing
11	Franklin P. Randall	1859	1865		Democratic
12	James L. Worden	1865	1866		Democratic
13	Benjamin Saunders	1866	1867		Democratic
14	Henry Sharp	1867	1869		Republican
15	Franklin P. Randall	1869	1873		Democratic
16	Zollinger, Charles A.Charles A. Zollinger	1873	1885		Democratic
17	Charles F. Muhler	1885	1889		Republican
18	Daniel L. Harding	1889	1893		Republican
19	Charles Zollinger	1885	December 28, 1893		Democratic
20	Henry P. Scherer	1894	1894		Republican
21	Chauncey B. Oakley	1894	1896		Republican
22	Henry P. Scherer	1896	1901		Democratic
23	Henry C. Berghoff	1901	1906		Democratic
24	Hosey, William J.William J. Hosey	1906	1910		Democratic
25	Jesse Grice	1910	1914		Republican
26	William J. Hosey	1914	1918		Democratic
27	W. Sherman Cutshall	1918	1922		Republican
28	William J. Hosey	1922	1926		Democratic
29	William C. Geake	1926	1930		Republican
30	Hosey, William J.William J. Hosey	1930	1934		Democratic
31	Baals, Harry W.Harry W. Baals	1934	1948		Republican
32	Henry E. Branning, Jr.	1948	1952		Democratic
33	Harry W. Baals^[a]	1952	May 9, 1954		Republican
34	Meyers, RobertRobert Meyers	1954	1960		Republican
35	Paul Mike Burns	1960	1964		Democratic
36	Harold S. Zeis	1964	1972		Republican
37	Ivan A. Lebamoff	1972	1976		Democratic
38	Armstrong, Robert E.Robert E. Armstrong	1976	1980		Republican
39	Moses, WinfieldWinfield Moses^[b]	1980	July 8, 1985		Democratic
40	Simon, CosetteCosette Simon^[c]	July 8, 1985	July 19, 1985		Democratic
41	Winfield Moses^[d]	July 20, 1985	December 31, 1987		Democratic
42	Helmke, PaulPaul Helmke	January 1, 1988	December 31, 1999		Republican
43	Richard, GrahamGraham Richard	January 1, 2000	December 31, 2007		Democratic
44	Henry, TomTom Henry	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)
Armstrong, Robert E.Robert E. Armstrong	1976–1980	Allen County Councilman (1990–2002)
Moses, WinfieldWinfield Moses	1980–1985, 1985–1987	Fort Wayne City Councilman (1972–1979) Indiana State Representative (1992–2012)
Richard, GrahamGraham Richard	2000–2007	Indiana State Senator (1974–1978)
Henry, TomTom 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
Moses, WinfieldWinfield Moses	1980–1985, 1985–1987	February 20, 1943 (age 72)
Simon, CosetteCosette Simon	1985	June 18, 1953 (age 62)
Helmke, PaulPaul Helmke	1988–1999	November 24, 1948 (age 67)
Richard, GrahamGraham Richard	2000–2007	September 8, 1944 (age 71)

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. 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