The Office of Mayor was created with the formation of the Dallas City Charter in 1856, also providing for the mayor six aldermen, a treasurer, recorder and a constable. In the charter, it was stated that each office would be elected for a term of one year. In the reorganization of 1876, the mayor was elected to the office for a term of two years. The office was first filled in the
election of 1856, in which Dr.
Samuel B. Pryor defeated
A. D. Rice for the position. A. D. Rice would run for office again and go on to serve as the 4th mayor of the city. For much of the 19th century, mayors of the city of Dallas served for only one term. This precedence was broken at the end of
Winship C. Connor's term, who – after serving three consecutive terms from 1887 to 1894 – would go on to be the city's longest consecutively serving mayor in the 19th century. His success was accredited to the development of the city's first water, power, and streetcar systems. The municipal government of Dallas underwent two significant structural changes during its history. The first change was made in 1907 where the city voted to change from an
alderman system to a commission form of government.
Stephen J. Hay was the first mayor elected in this new form of government, demonstrating the success of the highly debated commission form of government and contributing to the development of
White Rock Lake in response to a water shortage in 1910. The second major government change was made in 1930, altering the commission form of government to specifically be a council-manager form. The first mayor to serve following this change was
Tom Bradford, a successful grocer who was a significant financial contributor to the Bradford Memorial Hospital for Babies, the preliminary institution to the
Children's Medical Center Dallas. He died after suffering a major heart attack in 1932 and was the first mayor of Dallas to die in office.
Woodall Rodgers, serving two 4 year terms from 1939 to 1947, was mayor during World War II and served during the rampant manufacturing of aircraft and weapon goods in a rapidly industrializing Dallas. Rodgers oversaw the initial transformation of
Dallas Love Field from a
USAAF training ground to a commercial airport. He was also mayor when the
Mercantile National Bank Building was constructed, which was the only skyscraper built in the United States during World War II and was the tallest building in the city of Dallas until the completion of
Republic Center Tower I in 1954. The economic success brought by his contributions in office are commemorated by several namesakes throughout the city, most notably the
Woodall Rodgers Freeway that passes underneath
Klyde Warren Park and over the Trinity River along the
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.
Earle Cabell served as 48th mayor from 1961 to 1964 and was mayor during the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy in the city. In the wake of the assassination, Cabell was the target of multiple death threats and accusations of his involvement in the act. The image of the city of Dallas was immensely tarnished by the assassination of the President, earning the moniker "City of Hate". Following Earle Cabell was Mayor
J. Erik Jonsson who funded and supported the then proposed
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. As mayor, he went on to support public works projects such as developing the new
Dallas City Hall, the
Dallas Convention Center, and the
Dallas Central Library - the last of which is now named in his honor. He was followed by
Wes Wise who went on to further improve the city's image during his three terms as mayor from 1971 to 1976. However, he stepped down to pursue a political career in
United States Congress before the end of his third term. His pro-term mayoral successor,
Adlene Harrison, stepped in and became acting mayor for the remainder of his term. She was the city's first female mayor, and the first female Jewish mayor in the United States. Although
Dianne Feinstein is officially recognized as the first female Jewish mayor in the United States, Adlene Harrison's position as acting mayor predates Feinstein's start in office by almost two years; Adlene began serving as acting mayor on February 11, 1976, while Feinstein took office on December 4, 1978. Adlene would go on to serve as a member of several environmental committees and organizations after her short tenure, including the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Ron Kirk was the first African-American mayor of the City of Dallas and served two terms from 1995 to 2002. As mayor, he led several efforts advocating for race equality and social welfare, mitigated tension between City Council and the Dallas School Board, advocated for economic development, and oversaw the construction of the
American Airlines Center. He would later step down to pursue a seat in the US Senate, where he lost in the 2002 election to
John Cornyn. After his defeat, he went on to become a lobbyist before being nominated and appointed by President
Barack Obama to serve as
United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013.
Laura Miller - the city's third female mayor, following Adlene Harrison and
Annette Strauss - was instrumental in renegotiating the
Wright Amendment to revise flight restrictions at Love Field Airport, as well as implementing a citywide smoking ban and an ordinance prohibiting sex-based discrimination. The following mayor
Tom Leppert would impose a staunch crime-fighting policy, promote the economic development of a modern inland port, and was a vocal supporter of a controversial convention center hotel project during the
Great Recession. He later vacated the office to pursue a US Senate campaign in 2012, of which he would place third in the runoff. Following the four-month incumbency of acting mayor
Dwaine Caraway, mayor
Mike Rawlings would be known for his vocal leadership during the
2014 Ebola outbreak, the
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, and the removal of confederate monuments following the
Charlottesville riots. ==List==