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List of city managers of Janesville, Wisconsin

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Janesville City Hall

This is a list of city managers and mayors of Janesville, Wisconsin, USA. Janesville was originally incorporated as a city in 1853, utilizing the mayor-council form of government. In 1923, Janesville adopted the council-manager form of government, and has retained that form of government ever since.

The first mayor of Janesville was A. Hyatt Smith, a pioneer lawyer who was Wisconsin's second U.S. attorney. The first city manager was Henry Traxler, a civil engineer who had previously served as the city manager of Clarinda, Iowa;[1] Traxler was also the longest-serving city manager, serving nearly 28 years.[2] The current city manager is Kevin Lahner, since 2023; he previously served as city administrator of Waukesha, Wisconsin.[3]

Mayors (1853–1923)

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Dr. Henry Palmer, 12th mayor of Janesville and later surgeon general of Wisconsin.
Pliny Norcross, 20th mayor of Janesville.
John Winans, 25th mayor of Janesville, earlier a U.S. representative.
Order Mayor Term start Term end Notes
1 A. Hyatt Smith 1853 1854
2 J. Bodwell Doe 1854 1855
3 Edward L. Dimock 1855 1856
4 John J. R. Pease 1856 1857
5 A. Hyatt Smith 1857 1858 First mayor to serve two terms.
6 William A. Lawrence 1858 1859
7 Sanford Amos Hudson 1859 1860
8 Robert Byron Treat 1860 1861
9 J. Bodwell Doe 1861 1863 First mayor to serve three terms.
10 Robert Byron Treat 1863 1864
11 John Mitchell 1864 1866
12 Henry Palmer 1866 1868
13 Alfred Augustus Jackson 1868 1869
14 R. A. Loveland 1869 1870
15 J. Bodwell Doe 1870 1871 First mayor to serve four terms.
16 Anson Rogers 1871 1872
17 James Sutherland 1872 1874
18 Hiram Merrill 1874 1875
19 James W. St. John 1875 1877
20 Pliny Norcross 1877 1879
21 Samuel C. Cobb 1879 1881
22 A. P. Lovejoy 1881 1883
23 James W. St. John 1883 1884
24 Alexander Richardson 1884 1885
25 John Winans 1885 1889 Resigned May 1887 then withdrew resignation.[4][5]
26 James W. St. John 1889 1892
27 Oscar D. Rowe 1892 1893
28 John Thoroughgood 1893 1895
29 Frank S. Baines 1895 1897
30 John Thoroughgood 1897 1899
31 Victor Pease Richardson 1899 1903
32 Agesilaus Wilson 1903 1904 Died April 28, 1904.
33 James F. Hutchinson 1904 1907 Won May 1904 special election.
34 Stewart B. Heddles 1907 1909
35 Wilbur F. Carle 1909 1911
36 John C. Nichols 1911 1912
37 James A. Fathers 1912 1918 First mayor to serve six terms.
38 Charles L. Valentine 1918 1919
39 Thomas E. Welsh 1919 1923 Last mayor.

City managers (1923–present)

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Janesville voted in a 1922 city referendum to change their form of government to adopt the council-manager form of government, abolishing the office of mayor.[6]

Order Manager Term start Term end Notes
1 Henry Traxler 1923 1951 Selected by city council August 1923.[1]
Resigned May 1, 1951.
Longest-serving city manager.
- Joseph Lustig 1951 1951 Interim manager.
2 Warren C. Hyde 1951 1955 Selected by city council July 1951.[7]
Resigned May 1, 1955.
- Joseph Lustig 1955 1955 Interim manager.
3 George J. Forster 1955 1957 Selected by city council August 1955.[8]
Resigned January 1, 1957.
4 Joseph Lustig 1957 1967 Interim manager until selected by city council April 1957.[9]
Retired March 1, 1967.
5 Karl A. Samek 1967 1970 Interim manager until selected by city council September 1967.[10]
Asked to be replaced then continued as assistant city manager after 1970.
6 Robert O. Bailey 1970 1975 Selected by city council December 1970.[11]
Resigned October 1975.
- Karl A. Samek 1975 1976 Interim manager.
7 Philip Deaton 1976 1986 Selected by city council January 1976.[12]
Resigned October 1986.
- Jerold P. Franke 1986 1987 Interim manager.
8 Steven E.Sheiffer 1987 2008 Selected by city council March 1987.[13]
Resigned September 2008.
- Jacob J. Winzenz 2008 2008 Interim manager.
9 Eric Levitt 2008 2013 Selected by city council October 2008.[14]
Resigned May 2013.
- Jacob J. Winzenz 2013 2013 Interim manager.
10 Mark Freitag 2013 2022 Selected by city council December 2013.[15]
- David J. Moore 2022 2023 Interim manager.
11 Kevin Lahner 2023 present Selected by city council March 2023.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Henry Traxler to be First Janesville City Manager". Janesville Daily Gazette. August 15, 1923. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "City Manager History". City of Janesville. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Lahner, Kevin". City of Janesville. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "Wisconsin Folks". Oshkosh Northwestern. May 18, 1887. p. 2. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "State News". Oshkosh Northwestern. May 24, 1887. p. 3. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "City Manager Plan Wins by 711". Janesville Daily Gazette. April 5, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Council Selects New City Manager". Janesville Daily Gazette. July 10, 1951. p. 6. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Madison Mayor New City Manager Here". Janesville Daily Gazette. August 18, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Joseph Lustig City Manager". Janesville Daily Gazette. May 1, 1957. p. 28. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Kuehn, Roland (September 22, 1967). "No Qualms on Council Split Says New Manager Samek". Janesville Daily Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Name Manager at Janesville". The Capital Times. December 15, 1970. p. 4. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "City Manager Appointed". Fond du Lac Reporter. January 23, 1976. p. 15. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Janesville names city manager". March 2, 1987. p. 12. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Eric Levitt - Janesville City Manager". Wisconsin State Journal. December 28, 2008. p. 9. Retrieved September 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Our Views: 'Thank you' and farewell to Janesville City Manager Mark Freitag". Janesville Gazette. October 20, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
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