List of mayors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Oshkosh city hall in 2006

This is a list of mayors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA.[1] Oshkosh was originally incorporated as a city in 1853 with a mayor-council form of government. Executive functions were transferred to a city manager in 1956 and the office of mayor was abolished. The office of mayor was re-established in 1979 as a replacement for the city council president, elected by the city council, with additional ceremonial duties. The office of mayor was then modified again in 2004, to allow voters to directly elect the mayor and grant the mayor veto power over the city council. The city manager, however, remains the chief executive of the city.[2]

Original mayor system (1853–1957)

Edward Eastman, 1st mayor of Oshkosh, from a visiting card circa 1867

Samuel M. Hay, 5th mayor of Oshkosh, portrait from Notable Men of Wisconsin (1902)

Philetus Sawyer, 9th mayor of Oshkosh

Order	Mayor	Term start	Term end	Notes
1	Edward Eastman	1853	1854	[1]
2	Joseph Jackson	1854	1856	[1]
3	Thomas A. Follett	1856	1857	[1]
4	Joseph Jackson	1857	1858	[1]
5	Samuel M. Hay	1858	1860	[1]
6	Benjamin S. Henning	1860	1861	[1]
7	John Fitzgerald	1861	1862	[1]
8	Henry C. Jewell	1862	1863	[1]
9	Philetus Sawyer	1863	1865	Elected 1863. Re-elected 1864.[1] Elected U.S. representative 1864. Elected U.S. senator 1881.
10	Carlton Foster	1865	1867	[1]
11	Joseph H. Porter	1867	1868	[1]
12	Charles W. Davis	1868	1869	[1]
13	Joseph H. Porter	1869	1870	[1]
14	Joseph Stringham	1870	1871	[1]
15	James V. Jones	1871	1872	[1]
16	James Jenkins	1872	1873	[1]
17	James V. Jones	1873	1875	[1]
18	Joseph Stringham	1875	1876	[1]
19	Andrew Haben	1876	1878	[1]
20	Sanford Beckwith	1878	1879	[1]
21	Harvey B. Dale	1879	1880	[1]
22	Joseph Stringham	1881	1882
23	George White Pratt	1882	1885
24	Andrew Haben	1885	1886
25	Carlton Foster	1886	1887
26	Harvey B. Dale	1887	1889
27	Ephraim E. Stevens	1889	1890
28	George White Pratt	1890	1891
29	William Dichmann	1891	1893
30	Charles Oellerich	1893	1895
31	Arthur Kellogg	1895	1897
32	Alison B. Ideson	1897	1899
33	James H. Merrill	1899	1901	[3]
34	John Mulva	1901	1905	[3]
35	John Banderob	1905	1909	[3]
36	John C. Voss	1909	1911	[3]
37	John Banderob	1911	1912	[3]
38	John Mulva	1912	1918	[3]
39	A. C. McHenry	1918	1924	[3]
40	Henry F. Kitz	1924	1930	[3]
41	Taylor G. Brown	1930	1933	[3]
42	George F. Oaks	1933	1935	[3]
43	Charles A. Wiechering	1935	1939	[3]
44	George F. Oaks	1939	1947	[3]
45	Ernest R. Siewert	1947	1953	[3]
46	John C. Voss	1953	1955	[3]
47	Ernest R. Siewert	1955	1957	[3]

City manager (1957–present)

In November 1956, Oshkosh voters agreed to a referendum which abolished the office of mayor and entrusted executive functions to a city manager to be hired by the city council.[4] To this day, the Oshkosh city manager is the chief executive in the city, despite the re-creation of the office of mayor.[2]

Order	Manager	Term start	Term end	Notes
1	Hans S. Thorgrimsen	1957	1960
2	Raymond E. Harbaugh	1960	1966
3	Angus Crawford	1966	1970
Acting	Jack Schneiuder	1970	1970
4	Gordon Jaeger	1970	1976
Acting	David Wendtland	1976	1976
5	William D. Frueh	1976	1996	Resigned 1996.[5]
Acting	Gerald Konrad	1996	1996
6	Richard Wollangk	1996	2007	Elected by city council 1996.[6] Resigned 2007.
Acting	John Fitzpatrick	2007	2008	[7]
7	Mark Rohloff	2008	present	Elected by city council 2008.[8][9]

Hybrid mayor-council president (1979–2005)

In 1979, the Oshkosh city council voted to re-establish the office of "mayor". The new mayoral office replaced the office of city council president with slightly expanded powers to make appointments to city boards and commissions, and to serve as the ceremonial leader of the city. The mayor was not directly elected, but was chosen by a vote of the city council each April at the start of the city council session for a one-year term. All city councilmembers were at that time elected at-large.[10]

Order	Mayor	Term start	Term end	Notes
48	Kenneth Schiefelbein	1979	1980	[11][12]
49	Donald Kutchera	1980	1982
50	Robert Pung	1982	1984	Defeated Kutchera in April 1982 city council vote (4–3)[13]
51	Kathleen Propp	1984	1986	First woman as mayor, elected by council 1984.[14] Re-elected by council 1985.
52	Floyd Chapin	1986	1988	Elected by council 1986.[15] Re-elected by council 1987.
53	James Mather	1988	1990	Elected by council 1988.[16] Re-elected by council 1989.
54	Thomas Binner	1990	1992	Elected by council 1990.[17] Re-elected by council 1991.
55	Robert Jungwirth	1992	1993	Elected by council 1992.[18] Gambling scandal.
56	Richard Wollangk	1993	1996	Defeated Jungwirth in April 1993 city council vote (5–2)[19] Re-elected by council 1994. Re-elected by council 1995.
57	William Castle	1996	1998	Elected by council 1996.[20] Re-elected by council 1997.
58	Melanie Bloechl	1998	2000	Elected by council 1998.[21] Re-elected by council 1999.
59	Jon Dell'Antonia	2000	2002	Elected by council 2000.[22] Re-elected by council 2001.
60	Stephen Hintz	2002	2004	Elected by council 2002.[23] Re-elected by council 2003.
61	Mark Harris	2004	2005	Elected by council 2004.[24] Elected county executive 2005.

Mayors (2005–present)

In November 2004, Oshkosh voters agreed to a referendum which restored the mayor as a directly elected officer with veto power over the city council. Mayors are elected to two-year terms.[25]

Order	Mayor	Term start	Term end	Notes
62	William Castle	2005	2007	Elected 2005.[26]
63	Frank Tower	2007	2009	Elected 2007.[27]
64	Paul J. Esslinger	2009	2011	Defeated Tower in 2007 election.[28][29]
65	Burk Tower	2011	2015	Elected 2011.[30] Re-elected 2013.
66	Steve Cummings	2015	2019	Elected 2015.[31][29]
67	Lori Palmeri	2019	2023	First woman popularly elected as mayor. Defeated Cummings in 2019 election.[32] Re-elected 2021.[33] Elected state representative 2022.
68	Matt Mugerauer	2023	present	Elected 2023.[34][35]

See also

• Oshkosh history

References

1. Harney, Richard J. (1880). History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest. p. 183. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
2. "Form of Government". City of Oshkosh. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
3. Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.), "Mayors and Postmasters of Oshkosh, Wisconsin", Political Graveyard, retrieved 2024-07-06
4. "Oshkosh Voters Okay Shift to Council-Manager Setup". Oshkosh Northwestern. November 7, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Oshkosh United Way selects campaign heads". Oshkosh Northwestern. June 24, 1997. p. 27. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Wollangk named". Oshkosh Northwestern. November 27, 1996. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Rieckman, Stew (December 2, 2007). "Observations indicate acting city manager in control". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 14. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Oshkosh city manager named". Wisconsin State Journal. June 8, 2008. p. 24. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "City Manager". City of Oshkosh. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
10. "Oshkosh to be first with council, manager, mayor". The Post-Crescent. January 14, 1979. p. 29. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Schiefelbein mas mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 18, 1979. p. 6. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Schiefelbein will not run for re-election as mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 15, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Council picks Pung as new mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 20, 1982. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Honor passed on". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 18, 1984. p. 8. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Mayor's job is passed on". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 17, 1986. p. 10. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Council elects Mather mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 19, 1988. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Binner elected mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 18, 1990. p. 9. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Jungwirth elected mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 22, 1992. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Jungwirth out; Wollangk new mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 21, 1993. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
20. Haas, Steve (April 17, 1996). "Castle elected mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
21. Trebon, Mitch (April 22, 1998). "Bloechl takes mayor's gavel". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
22. Hummel, Alex (April 19, 2000). "Oshkosh has new mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 9. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
23. Ebert, Karl (April 17, 2002). "Hintz elected Oshkosh mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
24. "Congratulations to new local leaders". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 22, 2004. p. 4. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
25. Hummel, Alex (March 27, 2005). "Esslinger: Led effort to elect Oshkosh mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 7. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
26. Bollier, Jeff (April 20, 2005). "Former mayor moves to executive office". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 15. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
27. Warner, Bethany K. (April 4, 2007). "First-time candidate narrowly elected as new Oshkosh mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 22. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
28. Bollier, Jeff (April 8, 2009). "Third time the charm for Esslinger". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
29. "Deep divide between Oshkosh mayoral candidates", thenorthwestern.com, 2017-03-24
30. Bollier, Jeff (April 6, 2011). "Tower wins city mayor seat". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 4. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
31. Woldt, Jennifer K. (April 8, 2015). "Cummings elected new Oshkosh mayor". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. A1. Retrieved July 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
32. Shuda, Nathaniel (April 2, 2019). "Lori Palmeri defeats incumbent Steve Cummings in Oshkosh mayoral race". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
33. Groth, Alex (April 7, 2021). "Voters reelect Oshkosh Mayor Lori Palmeri to second term; three new city council members elected". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
34. Keasey, Bremen (April 4, 2023). "Matt Mugerauer wins Oshkosh mayor race, council sees shakeup after 2023 spring elections". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
35. "City Council Directory". City of Oshkosh. Retrieved July 6, 2024.

Further reading

• Municipal code of the city of Oshkosh, 1911 – via HathiTrust