List of mayors of Chico, California
The Mayor of Chico, California is the chair of the City Council of Chico, California. The city of Chico has a council–manager form of local government. The city council holds its first meeting after the election of new and re-elected council members on the first Tuesday in December of even-numbered years. At this meeting, the mayor is chosen by and from among the members of the Chico City Council. The mayor serves for a term of two years. The office of mayor is a nonpartisan office. In the absence of both the Mayor and Vice Mayor, the Council may choose one of its members to act as Mayor Pro Tempore.[1] The current mayor of Chico, is Scott Gruendl.
Presidents of the Board of Trustees (1872–1923)
The city became incorporated on January 8, 1872.[2] In that year, the first Chico Board of Trustees was established.[2] This body was the predecessor of the modern Chico City Council, and its president acted as mayor. The first municipal election was February 5, 1872 with 217 votes cast for trustees elected at-large.[2] Municipal elections were annual and the term for a trustee was two years. However, the first trustees had to draw lots to determine who would serve for a one, two or three year term.[2] This was to provide that there would only be either two or three seats up for election in any given year henceforth. The chair of the board was chosen by and from among the board's members and titled its President.
On April 12, 1897, the city had its first election under the ward system. Beginning in 1899, municipal elections would be only held every two years
| Name | Beginning of term | End of term |
| George W. Dorn [2][3] | 1872 | 1873 |
| Hiram Batchelder [3] | 1873 | 1876 |
| Charles Ball [3] | 1876 | 1879 |
| Newman Johnson [3] | 1879 | 1882 |
| Charles Ball [3] | 1882 | 1885 |
| George Snook [3] | 1885 | 1886 |
| James Davison [3] | 1886 | 1888 |
| Michael Mery [3] | 1888 | 1889 |
| John Wayland [3] | 1889 | 1890 |
| Michael Mery [3] | 1890 | 1891 |
| Jonas Hoyl [3] | 1891 | 1892 |
| George Snook [3] | 1892 | 1894 |
| Frederick C. Williams [3] | 1895 | 1897 |
| J. Ellis Rodley [3][a] | 1897 | 1899 |
| Oliver Lovell Clark [3] | 1899 | 1907 |
| William Robbie [3] | 1907 | 1919 |
| Sherman Reynolds [3] | 1919 | 1923 |
Mayors from 1923 to 1996
On June 4, 1921, an election was held to choose a Board of Freeholders charged with framing a City Charter. On April 16, 1923, at-large elections were reinstated under the charter. Under the charter, the board of trustees was renamed the Chico City Council, and its chair was titled the Mayor.
| Name | Beginning of term | End of term |
| Clarence Colin Richardson[3] | 1923 | 1927 |
| Archie Robert Waters[3] | 1927 | 1929 |
| Stephen Levi Bainbridge[3] | 1929 | 1933 |
| Othel Kilpatric[3] | 1933 | 1935 |
| John Vaughan[3] | 1935 | 1937 |
| Stephen Levi Bainbridge[3] | 1937 | 1938 |
| Thomas Richards[3] | 1938 | 1939 |
| Frank William Seydel[3] | 1939 | 1941 |
| E.L. Meyers[3] | 1941 | 1943 |
| Earl Bevins[3] | 1943 | 1949 |
| Ted Meriam[3] | 1949 | 1957 |
| Ross Lawler[3] | 1961 | 1963 |
| Harry McGowan[3] | 1963 | 1967 |
| Gordon Casamajor[3] | 1967 | 1971 |
| William Nichols[3] | 1971 | 1973 |
| Eugene Ringel[3] | 1973 | 1975 |
| Ronald Stewart[3] | 1975 | 1977 |
| James Evans[3] | 1979 | 1981 |
| Margaret Worley[3] | 1981 | 1983 |
| Karl Ory[3] | 1983 | 1985 |
| Georgie Willis[3] | 1985 | 1986 |
| Charles Nelson[3] | 1986 | 1988 |
| Shelton Enochs[3] | 1988 | 1990 |
| Mary Andrews[3] | 1990 | 1992 |
| James Owens[3] | 1992 | 1994 |
| Michael McGinnis[3] | 1994 | 1996 |
Mayors Pro Tempore (1996–1997)
In 1996, the recently re-elected council member and Vice Mayor Ted Hubert died prior to being re-sworn in, and more significantly, before the selection of mayor had occurred. The evenly, and deeply divided council stalemated on the selection. At its first meeting on the first Tuesday in December, they named Ted Hubert as honorary mayor. However, the stalemate resulted in a rotating Mayor Pro Tempore system for about six months. The remaining six council members each took turns serving as meeting chair until they appointed Bill Johnston to fill the council vacancy, and Rick Keene mayor. During that period, the following council members served as Mayor Pro Tempore for about two weeks each:
| Name |
| Rick Keene |
| David Guzzetti |
| Kimberly King |
| Steve Bertagna |
| Coleen Jarvis |
| Mary Andrews |
| Rick Keene |
| David Guzzetti |
| Kimberly King |
| Steve Bertagna |
| Coleen Jarvis |
| Mary Andrews |
| David Guzzetti |
| Rick Keene |
| David Guzzetti |
Mayors from 1997 to the present
| Name | Beginning of term | End of term |
| Rick Keene | 1997 | 1998 |
| Steve Bertagna | 1998 | 2000 |
| Dan Herbert | 2000 | 2002 |
| Maureen Kirk | 2002 | 2004 |
| Scott Gruendl | 2004 | 2006 |
| Andrew Holcombe | 2006 | 2008 |
| Ann Schwab | 2008 | 2010 |
| Ann Schwab | 2010 | 2012 |
| Mary Goloff | 2012 | August 6, 2013 |
| Scott Gruendl | August 6, 2013 | December 2014 |
| Mark Sorensen | December 2014 | Present |
See also
Notes
- a In 1899, Mayor J. Ellis Rodley, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of perjury in the witnessing of a forged will offered for probate. He was granted parole in 1906.[4]
References
- ↑ Chico City Charter, Section 603
- 1 2 3 4 5 Debra Moon, Chico: Life and Times of a City of Fortune
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 City Clerk's Office, City of Chico; Roster of City Council Members
- ↑ "Rodley Released From State Prison," San Francisco Chronicle, February 11, 1906, page 37
Library card required