Mayor of Lakeland, Florida explained

The following is a list of mayors of the city of Lakeland, Florida, United States.The City of Lakeland was incorporated on January 1, 1885. The mayor is one of seven members of the City Commission, acting as the board chair and performing mostly ceremonial and procedural duties beyond the powers of the other six. Prior to 1988, Lakeland's mayor was selected by the City Commission among its members. Mayors can be on the board for up to 12 years in a lifetime, or 16 years in combination with holding a regular commission position. Since 1988 the mayor is elected by the citizens of the city.

The first female mayor was Lois Q. Searl, who served in 1965. Carrie R. Oldham was the first female African American mayor.

List of Mayors

• John W. Trammell, 1885
• John D. Torrence, 1885
• Eppes C. Tucker, Sr., 1886, 1887, 1888
• Napoleon B. Bowyer, 1889, 1890
• Herbert J. Drane, 1888-1892^[1]
• J. T. Park, 1894
• Clarence A. Boswell, 1894-1896
• James p. Thompson, 1897, 1899
• Samuel L.A. Clonts, 1898, 1903, 1904, 1912
• C. M. Marsh, 1898
• Park Trammell, 1900-1902
• John F. Cox, 1905-1907, 1911, 1916, 1917
• John S. Edwards, 1909
• Jackson, William K., 1910
• Oscar M. Eaton, 1913-1915
• Edwin C. Flanagan, 1918, 1919
• Frank H. Thompson, 1920
• Hubert C. Petteway, 1921
• J.T. Hodges, 1922,1923^[2]
• Daniel C. Boswell, 1924
• John W. Buchanan, Jr., 1925
• J. Bunyan Smith, 1926
• Jesse F. Council, 1927, 1928
• William S. Rodgers, 1927
• William F. Reid, 1928, 1931
• Charles I. Dwiggins, 1929
• H. Dean Grady, 1930, 1931
• Benjamin M. Pulliam, 1932
• Elijah A. Godwin, 1933, 1935
• Edward L. Mack, 1934
• George W. Mershon, 1936
• H. Clay Haynes, 1937
• Lutie M. Koons, 1938
• Thomas D. Conter, 1939
• Ira C. Hopper, 1940
• George J. Tolson, 1941, 1944, 1947
• Elmer E. Kelly, Jr., 1942
• Horace W. Gibson, 1943
• William Cade, 1945, 1948
• Edwin C. Flanagan, Jr., 1946
• Clinton V. McClurg, 1948
• Ernest B. Sutton, 1949
• Guerry L. Dobbins, 1950
• Clayton Logan, 1951
• James J. Musso, 1952, 1958
• Norman T. Kent, 1953
• Wilbur Y. Wooten, 1954
• S. Scott Kelly, 1955
• Mac H. Cunningham, 1956
• Earl W. Bowen, 1957
• William M. Hollis, 1958
• R. Tom Joyner, Jr., circa 1959
• William G. Cooper, Jr., 1960
• Reuben H. Gibson, 1961
• Morris J. Pritchard, 1962
• William H. Lofton, 1963
• R. Harold Grizzard, 1964
• James R. West, 1965
• Lois Q. Searl, 1965^[3]
• John H. Woodall, Jr., 1966
• W. Jack Day, 1967
• George W. Trask, 1968, 1969, 1974
• Marvin H. Henderson, Jr., 1970
• Joe P. Ruthven, 1971, founded warehouse and distribution company Ruthvens and was the brother-in-law of Lawton Chiles
• Charles E. Whitten, 1972
• John S. Jackson, 1972, 1973, a surgeon and city commissioner, he was the city's first African American mayor
• W. Carl Dicks, 1975
• Peggy C. Brown, 1976, 1984
• Charles A. Coleman, 1977, second African American mayor, a community center is named for him
• John Tolson, 1977
• Curtis I. Walker, 1978
• George R. Burt, 1979
• Carrie R. Oldham, 1980
• R. Larry Turnipseed, 1981
• J. Larry Durrence, 1982, 1986, college professor at Florida Southern College and president of Polk State College
• Frank J. O'Reilly, 1983, 1987, 1989-1993, an accountant and city commissioner
• Thomas R. Shaw, 1985, former owner of owned Shaw House Bed & Breakfast
• Willie J. Williams, 1988, pastor
• Ralph "Buddy" Fletcher, 1993-2009
• Gow Fields, 2010-2013, first African American elected mayor^[4]
• R. Howard Wiggs, 2014-2018^[5]
• Bill Mutz 2018-present^{[6] [7]}

See also

• Timeline of Lakeland, Florida

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mayors of Lakeland, Florida . . . April 21, 2017 .
2. Book: Lakeland and Polk County Directory . . 1923 . City Government . https://archive.org/stream/polkslakelandpol1923rlpo#page/30/mode/2up . .
3. Web site: LOIS SEARL Obituary (2015) - Lakeland, FL - The Ledger. Legacy.com.
4. Web site: Former Mayor of Lakeland Gow Fields joins Don Burns for a great conversation. #iamlakeland. August 6, 2023. YouTube.
5. Web site: An interview with Mayor Howard Wiggs. Adam. Spafford. July 16, 2014. The Lakelander.
6. Web site: Mayor Bill Mutz. City of Lakeland.
7. Web site: A 50-year snapshot of Lakeland, FL's mayors. November 1, 2021. LALtoday.