The Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida is a nonpartisan office that is the head of the executive branch of West Palm Beach's government. The type of government is Mayor-Commission. Powers and duties of the mayor include approving the agenda of and presiding over the meetings of the city commission, the ability to veto the city commission votes, including line-item vetoes in regards to the city budget, but vetoes can be overrode with a 4-1 vote. The mayor and city manager both have supervisory powers over the city's departments. Additionally, the mayor may initiate investigations involving the city of West Palm Beach. Since 1991, mayors have been popularly elected to four-year terms. City Hall is located at 401 Clematis Street, with the mayor's office on the second floor.

On November 6, 1894, the day after West Palm Beach was incorporated, voters elected John S. Earman as the first mayor. Beginning in 1919, the city operated under a council–manager form of government, with the mayor elected to the city commission and selected by other members of that body to serve a one-year term. The mayor served as a chairperson of the commission and had far less power than the city manager. A referendum in March 1991 resulted in a transition to a directly elected strong mayor. The first modern election for mayor occurred in November 1991, resulting in Nancy M. Graham becoming the city's first strong mayor. The current mayor is Keith James, who was elected on March 12, 2019.

Early mayors (1894–1919) NameStart of termEnd of termNotes John S. Earman18941896 J. F. Lamond18961897 Marion Eugene "M. E." Gruber18971898 Wilmon Whilldin18981899 Richard J. Chillingworth18991901Grandfather of Curtis Chillingworth, who was murdered in 1955 while serving as state judge Louis W. Burkhardt 19011901 George G. Currie19011904 William I. Metcalf19041905 George B. Baker 1905 1907 J. T. DeBerry 1907 1909 George W. Potter 1909 1910 James B. McGinley 1910 1912 C. S. Anderson 1912 1914 Murray D. Carmichael 1914 1916 Later served in the Florida House of Representatives W. A. Dutch 1916 September 22, 1919

Council-manager government mayors (1919–1991) Image Name Start of term End of term Notes David F. Dunkle September 22, 1919 September 8, 1921 Murray D. Carmichael September 8, 1921 1922 Later served in Florida House of Representatives L. Garland Biggers 1922 1923 Joseph Mandel 1923 1924 First Jewish mayor Henry Stephen Harvey 1924 1926 Spencer T. Lainhart 1926 1927 J. C. McCreary 1927 1928 Vincent Oaksmith 1928 1929 John R. Beacham 1930 1931 Later became President of the Florida Senate Elza B. Donnell 1931 1933 Charles B. Watkins 1933 1934 Paschal C. "Pat" Reese 1934 1935 F. Theodore "Ted" Brown 1935 1937 Sanford D. "Sam" Morris 1937 1939 Ernest Metcalf 1939 1940 Ronald V. Ware 1940 1941 Willis H. "Bill" Hitt 1941 1942 J. O. Bowen 1942 1943 Vincent Oaksmith 1943 1944 George H. McCampbell 1944 1945 Brother of S. Perry McCampbell Stanley Peeler 1945 1946 E. Tinsley Halter 1946 1947 Willis H. "Bill" Hitt 1947 1948 Lloyd C. Bell 1948 1949 William P. "Bill" Holland 1949 1950 L. Thomas Keating 1950 1951 Hustin V. McMillan 1951 1952 H. Elmo Robinson 1952 1953 S. Perry McCampbell 1953 1954 Brother of George H. McCampbell Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth 1954 1955 C. Harold Earnest 1955 1956 Maurice E. "Buster" Holley 1956 1957 Elias V. "Jack" Faircloth 1957 1958 Horace S. Miller 1958 1959 William P. "Bill" Holland 1959 1960 Percy I. Hopkins, Jr. 1960 1961 Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm 1961 1961 Served three days Percy I. Hopkins, Jr. 1961 1962 C. Ben Holleman 1962 1963 Robert "Bob" Hawkey 1963 1963 Served for about two weeks Ray G. "Uncle Bim" Behm 1963 1964 Fred O. Easley, Jr. 1964 1966 C. Harold Earnest 1966 1967 Reid Moore, Jr. 1967 1968 Served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1977–1978 and 1981–1982 David H. Brady 1968 1969 Eugene W. Potter 1969 1970 Fred O. Easley, Jr. 1970 1971 Francis H. Foster, Jr. 1971 1972 M. P. "Ham" Anthony 1972 1973 G. Ray Sparks, Jr. 1973 1974 Fred O. Easley, Jr. 1974 1975 Richard E. Linn 1975 1976 James M. Adams 1976 1977 M. P. "Ham" Anthony 1977 1978 Helen Wilkes 1978 1980 First woman to serve as mayor James M. Adams 1980 1981 Michael D. Hyman 1981 1982 Eva W. Mack 1982 1984 First African American mayor Dwight Baber 1984 1985 Carol Roberts 1985 1986 Served on the canvassing board for the 2000 Florida election recount and the Democratic Party nominee for Florida's 22nd congressional district in 2002 Samuel A. Thomas 1986 1987 Richard V. Reikenis 1987 1988 Pat Pepper Schwab 1988 1989 James O. Poole 1989 1991 John F. "Jeff" Koons 1991 1991 Served for eight months

Strong mayor (1991–present) Image Name Start of term End of term Notes Nancy M. GrahamNovember 1991March 25, 1999First strong mayor Joel T. Daves IIIMarch 25, 1999March 27, 2003Lost re-election Lois FrankelMarch 27, 2003March 31, 2011Served in the Florida House of Representatives (1987–2003) and the U.S. House of Representatives (2013–present) Jeri MuoioMarch 31, 2011April 4, 2019 Keith A. JamesApril 4, 2019Incumbent

See also History of West Palm Beach, Florida Timeline of West Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach County, Florida

References

External links Mayor's Page