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List of mayors of Ashland, Kentucky

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Mayor of The City of Ashland, Kentucky
Incumbent
Matt Perkins
since January 4, 2021
Term length4 years
Formation1876

The Mayor of the City of Ashland, Kentucky is elected for a four-year term and is not term limited. The mayor presides over City Commission meetings, is a voting member of the City Commission and represents the city at major functions. The current mayor is Matt Perkins.

The City of Ashland operates under a City Manager form of Government. Under this form of government the people of Ashland elect a Mayor and four Commissioners, who together, make up the Board of Commissioners, which possesses the legislative and executive powers of the city. The Mayor, as a member of the board, presides over all meetings, calls special meetings, and executes all bonds, notes, contracts, and written obligations authorized by the board.

The Mayor and four commissioners are elected by the citizens to act as their representatives in all legislative matters. Their primary duties are to enact ordinances and make policies that are for the ultimate good of the community as a whole. The mayor is elected for a four-year term and the Commissioners are elected for two-year terms. In home rule class cities with the City Manager form of government non-partisan elections are mandatory.[1]

List of mayors

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  Democratic (6)   Republican (13)

Order Image Mayor Term Began Term Ended Political Party Birth and death Notes
1 Henry Bishop Brodess 1876 1881 Republican (1830 – October 20, 1881) Before being elected, he was a local judge, and published an outspoken anti-slavery newspaper called the American Union. In 1860, Brodess was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. IN 1861, Brodess became a member of the Ashland Home Guard, an organization formed for "the defense and protection of our families and homes" from guerrilla raiders. Starting around November 15, 1862, Brodess served as a first lieutenant in Company A of the Fourteenth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. He tendered his own resignation and was honorably discharged on November 17, 1862. During his third term, Brodess died in office and John Means was appointed to serve the remainder of his term.[2][full citation needed]
2 John Means 1881 1882 Republican (September 21, 1829 – February 14, 1910) He organized the Cincinnati and Big Sandy Packet Company and vice-president of Ashland National Bank.[2][full citation needed]
3 William Wirt Culbertson 1882 1883 Republican (September 22, 1835 – October 31, 1911) He also served as a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.[2][full citation needed]
4 William Henry Harrison Eba 1883 1883 Republican (November 5, 1831 – August 31, 1911) During the Civil War, Eba enlisted in Company I, Fifth West Virginia Regiment; was promoted to sergeant-major, March 1862; first lieutenant. He declined the post of adjutant after being acting adjutant two months. He was commissioned a month later by Governor Pierpont captain of Company F, same regiment. He was in various engagements, but none of the great battles of the war. Later, he became city truant officer.[3][2][full citation needed]
5 Thomas Russell 1883 1886 Before becoming mayor he was a street commissioner.[2][full citation needed]
6 William Worth Patterson 1886 1889 Republican (November 3, 1849 – March 28, 1921) He was a Freemason, an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias.[2][full citation needed]
7 Patrick Moriarty Jr. 1889 1889 (January 7, 1851 – October 25, 1928) Previously served on the City Council for a number of terms. Moriarty served as Park Commissionaire and was one of the charter members of the first Chamber of Commerce, then known as the Commercial Club of Ashland.[2][full citation needed]
8 David A. Fisher 1889 1892 (August 14, 1840 – January 19, 1911) He served in the American Civil War for the Union as a Private. During the War, Fisher was promoted to a full first sergeant.[2][full citation needed]
9 J. C. Whitten 1892 1894
10 Thomas S. Newman 1894 1897 (October 10, 1851 – October 3, 1930)
11 William Arthur Ginn 1897 1906
12 Joseph Oscar Mathewson 1906 1910 (February 4, 1871 - February 28, 1926)
13 Dr. Albert Harrison Moore 1910 1913 (1871 - September 26, 1913) A graduate of Jefferson Medical College in 1896, he was a member of the American Medical Association and the Kentucky State and Boyd County Medical Societies. He is recorded to have "died suddenly at his home, on September 22 [1913], aged 42 years."[4][full citation needed][2][full citation needed]
14 J. M. McCleary 1913 1913
15 William Arthur Ginn 1913 1914
16 Dr. William Monroe Salisbury 1914 1917
17 Henderson Richardson Dysard 1917 1921 Republican
18 Dr. William Monroe Salisbury 1921 1925
19 William M. Nicholson 1925 1926 A plumber by trade, later was appointed as plumbing inspector of Boyd County in 1930.[5][full citation needed][6]
20 William Boggs Whitt 1926 1926 Democratic (September 17, 1867 - December 19, 1926) Whitt was previously a member of the Kentucky Senate.[7][full citation needed] He committed suicide on December 19, 1926, by shooting himself through the heart. He had been in ill health.[8]
21 Ernest E. Ramey 1926 1927
22 Charles F. Weaver 1927 1928 Republican (1858 - October 21, 1932) In 1904, Weaver was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Kentucky.[2][full citation needed]
23 William C. Frailie 1928 1932 Republican
24 Edgar Browne Hager 1932 1935 Democratic
25 William C. Simpson 1936 1940 Republican
26 Henry D. Shanklin 1940 1943 Democratic
27 Clyde R. Levi 1944 1947 Republican
28 William C. Simpson 1948 1951 Republican
29 David Aronberg 1952 1955 Republican
30 Wilburn Caskey 1956 1959 Democratic
31 David Aronberg 1960 1964 Republican
32 Wilburn Caskey 1964 1968 Democratic
33 Charles Henry Gartrell 1968 1972 Democratic
34 James J. Webb 1972 1976
35 David O. Welch 1976 1980 Democratic [9][10]
36 Jack T. Thompson 1980 1984 Democratic [11]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "Welcome to Ashland, KY". www.ashlandky.gov. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j A History of Ashland, Kentucky 1786 - 1954
  3. ^ Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1953
  4. ^ Shrady, George Frederick; Stedman, Thomas Lathrop (December 4, 1913). "Medical Record". W. Wood. Retrieved December 4, 2020 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Domestic Engineering and the Journal of Mechanical Contracting". December 4, 1909. Retrieved December 4, 2020 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "The Portsmouth Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Johnson, E. Polk (December 4, 1912). "A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities". Lewis Publishing Company. Retrieved December 4, 2020 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Mayor Shoots Self". The Decatur Herald. December 20, 1926. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "Remembering David O. Welch". The Daily Independent. November 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Roe, Lindsey (2012). "DAVID WELCH, Running the Distance for Civil Rights" (PDF). Berea College Magazine.
  11. ^ "Former mayor of Ashland dies". Lexington Herald-Leader. April 15, 1987 – via NewspaperArchive.
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