List of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee

See also: Mayoral elections in Chattanooga, Tennessee

This is a list of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tim Kelly has been the incumbent mayor of Chattanooga since his inauguration on April 19, 2021 at the Tivoli Theatre.

City aldermen system (1840-1911)

#	Portrait	Term in office	Terms	Name	Party affiliation
1		1840[a]	1	James Enfield Berry
2		1841	1	Dr. Beriah Frazier
3		1842–1843	2	Dr. Milo Smith (1st term)
4		1844–1845	2	Dr. Joseph Strong Gillespie
5		1846–1848	3	Henry White Massengale (1st, 2nd & 3rd terms)
6		1849	1	Thomas Crutchfield Sr.
7		1850–1852	3	Dr. Milo Smith (3rd, 4th & 5th terms)
8		1853	1	Henry White Massengale (4th term)
9		1854	1	William Williams
10		1854	1	William F. Ragsdale
11		1855	1	Eldridge Gerry Pearl
12		1856	1	David Claiborne McMillin
13		1857	1	William D. Fulton
14		1858	1	Dr. William Samuel Bell
15		1859	1	Thomas Crutchfield Jr.
16		1860	1	Charles Erskine Grenville
17		1861	1	James Cartwright Warner
18		1862–1863	2	Dr. Milo Smith (6th & 7th terms)
Under direct control of the United States Army for duration of Civil War from 1863–1865
19		1865	1	Richard Henderson
20		1866	1	Charles E. Lewis		Republican
21		1867–1868	2	Dudley C. Carr
22		1869	1	Alonzo G. Sharpe (1st term)		Republican
23		1870–1871	2	William P. Rathburn
24		1871–1872	2	Gen. John T. Wilder		Republican
25		1872	1	Josiah Jackson Bryan
26		1873	1	Dr. Eli M. Wight (1st term)		Republican
27		1874	1	Dr. Philander D. Sims		Democratic
28		1875	1	John W. James		Republican
29		1876	1	Col. Tomlinson Fort, Jr.		Democratic
30		1877	1	Dr. Eli M. Wight (2nd term)		Republican
31		1878	1	Thomas J. Carlisle
32		1878		Andrew Jackson Gahagan (Acting)
33		1879	1	Jesse Thomas Hill
34		1880	1	Henry Frederick Temple
35		1881	1	John A. Hart (1st term)		Republican
36		1882–1883	2	Henry Clay Evans		Republican
37		1883–1885[b]	1	Hugh Whiteside		Democratic
38		1885–1887	1	Alonzo G. Sharpe (2nd term)		Republican
39		1887–1889	1	John B. Nicklin		Democratic
40		1889–1891	1/2	John A. Hart (2nd term)		Republican
41		1891		Isaac B. Merriman (Acting)
42		1891–1893	1	Garnet Andrews		Democratic
43		1893–1897	2	George W. Ochs		Democratic
44		1897–1899	1	Edmund Watkins		Democratic
45		1899–1901	1	Joseph Wassman		Republican
–		1901–1905	2	Alexander W. Chambliss (1st term)		Democratic
46		1905–1907	1	William Little Frierson		Democratic
47		1907–1909	1	William Riley Crabtree		Democratic
48		1909–1911[c]	1	Thomas C. Thompson		Democratic

City commission system (1911-1990)

#	Portrait	Term in office	Terms	Name	Party affiliation
–		1911–1915[c]	1	Thomas C. Thompson		none
49		1915–1919	1	Jesse M. Littleton		none
50		1919–1923	3	Alexander Wilds Chambliss (2nd Term)		none
51		1923–1927	1	Richard Hardy		none
52		1927–1947	5	Edward Davis "E.D." Bass		Democratic
53		1947	1⁄2	Elijah Radford Betterton (Acting)		none
54		1947–1951	1	Hugh Wasson		none
55		1951–1963	3	Peter Rudolph "Rudy" Olgiati		none
56		1963–1969	2	Ralph H. Kelley		none
57		1969–1971	1⁄2	Austin Letheridge "Chunk" Bender (Acting)		Democratic
58		1971	1⁄2	S. Dean Peterson (Acting)		none
59		1971–1975	1	Robert Kirk Walker		none
60		1975–1983	2	Charles A. “Pat” Rose		none
61		1983–1990	4	Gene Roberts		none

City council system (Since 1990)

#	Portrait	Term in office	Terms	Name	Party affiliation
–		1990–1997	4	Gene Roberts		none
62		1997–2001	1	Jon Kinsey		Democratic
63		2001–2005	1	Bob Corker		Republican
64		2005–2013	2	Ron Littlefield		Independent
65		2013–2021	2	Andy Berke		Democratic
66		2021–present	1	Tim Kelly		Independent

Notes
[a] From 1840–1882, all mayors served one year terms, with several mayors elected to successive terms.
[b] From 1883–1911, all mayors served two year terms, with several mayors elected to successive terms.
[c] From 1911 to the present, most mayors have served four year terms, with several mayors elected to successive terms.

See also

• Timeline of Chattanooga, Tennessee

Further reading

• "Mayor's Office: History of Mayors" — City of Chattanooga