- Source: List of mayors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin
This is a list of mayors of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. 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.
Original mayor system (1853–1957)
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. To this day, the Oshkosh city manager is the chief executive in the city, despite the re-creation of the office of mayor.
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.
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.
See also
Oshkosh history
References
Further reading
Municipal code of the city of Oshkosh, 1911 – via HathiTrust