List of mayors of Garden City, Georgia
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Garden City, Georgia was incorporated on February 8, 1939. It operates under a council-administrator form of government. By 2011, its city council will be composed of one mayor and five city council members. Each of the councillors will represent a different section of town.
{{Elections in Georgia (U.S. state)}}
The current mayor is Tennyson Holder. Re-elected to the city council in 2009, he was appointed by his colleagues to serve the remainder the Anthony "Andy" Quinney's unexpired mayoral term.[http://savannahnow.com/news/2009-10-06/tennyson-holder-takes-reins-garden-city-mayor Tennyson Holder takes reins as Garden City mayor, Savannah Morning News, October 5, 2009]
As of 2010, Garden City has never collected property taxes.[http://old.savannahnow.com/stories/100303/LOC_gardencity.shtml Charles Cochran, Race seems like musical chairs, Savannah Morning News, October 3, 2003]
Council Meetings
The Council meets on the first and the third Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060726204718/http://www.lwvga.org/gaLeagues/documents/Savannah-ChathamGovernmentDirectory2006.pdf City of Garden City], Chatham County Governmental Directory, p. 83 Meetings have taken place at:
- Garden City Community House, 78 Varnedoe Avenue, from 1951 until 1963
- Garden City City Hall, 100 Main Street, from 1963 to 2009 New Garden City Town Hall Opens, Savannah Morning News, September 9, 1963
- Garden City Town Center, 100 Central Avenue, since 2009
Mayors
Until 2003, the mayor and the council members were elected to two-year terms of office. In 2003, staggered four-year terms were introduced.[http://old.savannahnow.com/stories/091303/LOC_munyraces.shtml Chatham County's municipal races shape up, Savannah Morning News, September 13, 2003]
Past and presents mayors are:
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
!colspan="2"|Inauguration!!Term Expiration!!Mayor!!Party!!Other Elective Offices |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|April 7, 1939 |December 11, 1941 |Edgar C. Pipkin |Chatham County Commissioner, 1951–1961 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 11, 1941 |December 9, 1943 |Edgar C. Pipkin |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 9, 1943 |December 13, 1945 |Edgar C. Pipkin |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 13, 1945 |December 11, 1947 |Edgar C. Pipkin |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 11, 1947 |December 8, 1949 |Edgar C. Pipkin |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 8, 1949 |December 13, 1951 |J. Arlie Rowe |Democrat |Garden City Council Member, 1939–1941 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 13, 1951 |December 10, 1953 |J. Arlie Rowe |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 10, 1953 |September 3, 1954 Rowe resigned before the end of his term of office. Mayor J.A. Rowe Resigns, Savannah Morning News, September 4, 1954 |J. Arlie Rowe |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 8, 1955 |Warren F. Oglesby, Sr. |Democrat |Garden City Council Member, 1949–1954 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 8, 1955 |December 12, 1957 |Warren F. Oglesby, Sr. |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 12, 1957 |December 10, 1959 |Warren F. Oglesby, Sr. |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 10, 1959 |December 14, 1961 |Warren F. Oglesby, Sr. |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 14, 1961 |December 12, 1963 |Rupert W. Bazemore |Democrat |Garden City Council Member, 1955–1959 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 12, 1963 |December 9, 1965 |Rupert W. Bazemore |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 9, 1965 |December 14, 1967 |Rupert W. Bazemore |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 14, 1967 |December 11, 1969 |Rupert W. Bazemore |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 11, 1969 |December 9, 1971 |Rupert W. Bazemore |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 9, 1971 |December 13, 1973 |Rupert W. Bazemore |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 13, 1973 |December 11, 1975 |Democrat |Garden City Council Member, 1971–1973; |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 11, 1975 |December 8, 1977 |James M. "Jimmie" DeLoach |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|
|December 8, 1977 |December 13, 1979 |James M. "Jimmie" DeLoach |Democrat | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|December 13, 1979 |December 10, 1981 |Ralph O. Kessler |Garden City Council Member, 1975–1979 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|December 10, 1981 |December 8, 1983 |Ralph O. Kessler |Republican | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|December 8, 1983 |December 12, 1985 |Ralph O. Kessler |Republican | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|December 12, 1985 |December 10, 1987 |E. James "Jimmy" Burnsed |Republican |Garden City Council Member, 1979–1985; |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|December 10, 1987 |December 14, 1989 |E. James "Jimmy" Burnsed |Republican | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|December 14, 1989 |January 6, 1992 |Ralph O. Kessler |Republican | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 6, 1992 |January 3, 1994 |LeRoy "Roy" L. Crager |Republican |Garden City Council Member, 1981–1992; 2000–2002 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 3, 1994 |January 8, 1996 |LeRoy "Roy" L. Crager |Republican | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 8, 1996 |January 5, 1998 |James "Jay" W. Harrell |Republican |Garden City Council Member, 1969–1987; |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 5, 1998 |January 2, 2000 |Dean Kicklighter |Republican |Garden City Council Member, 1996–1998; |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 2, 2000 |January 6, 2002 |Ralph O. Kessler |Republican | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 6, 2002 |January 5, 2004 |Anthony "Andy" Quinney |Republican |Garden City Council Member, 1998–2000 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 5, 2004 |January 7, 2008 |Anthony "Andy" Quinney |Republican | |
| bgcolor={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|
|January 7, 2008 |Anthony "Andy" Quinney |Republican | |
| |October 5, 2009 Holder was appointed by the City Council to serve the remainder of Anthony "Andy" Quinney's unexpired term. [http://savannahnow.com/news/2009-10-06/tennyson-holder-takes-reins-garden-city-mayor Tennyson Holder takes reins as Garden City mayor], Savannah Morning News, Michael Atkins, October 5, 2009
|January 2, 2012 |Tennyson Holder | |Garden City Council Member, 1992–2009 |
Color code:
{{legend2|{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|Democrat or non-partisan leaning Democrat|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|Republican or non-partisan leaning Republican|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|{{party color|Independent (United States)}}|Independent|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
Council Members
Past and present council members are:
| Willie L. Adams
| 1959–1961 | |
| Rupert W. Bazemore
| 1955–1961 | Mayor of Garden City, 1961–1973 |
| Viola W. Bell Viola Bell was the first elected Black council member in Garden City.
| 1985–2000 | |
| Don Bethune
| Since 2010 | |
| Frederick Dekle Blackburn, Jr.
| 1988–1992 | |
| M.O. Blackburn, Jr.
| 1954–1959 | |
| M.O. Blackburn, Sr.
| 1940–1941; 1943–1945 | |
| John R. Blackwell
| 1949–1953 | |
| I. Clifford Blount, Jr.
| 1947–1949 | |
| Bobby G. Bohler
| 1973–1975 | |
| Jessie L. Bowman
| 1953–1958 | |
| Clark F. Branch
| 1959–1961 | |
| James A. Bridgforth
| 1961–1965; 1969–1971 | |
| Elbert N. Brown
| 1953–1954 | |
| Ernest M. Brown, Sr.
| 1961–1973 | |
| Robert "Bob" Bryant, Sr.
| 1996–2004 | Georgia House Representative, since 2005 |
| E. James "Jimmy" Burnsed
| 1979–1985 | Mayor of Garden City, 1985–1989 |
| J. Lawrence Cavanah
| 1961–1969; 1971–1973 | |
| Stanley Childers
| 1996–2000 | |
| Keith Cox
| 1971–1978 | |
| LeRoy "Roy" L. Crager
| 1981–1992; 2000–2002 | Mayor of Garden City, 1992–1996 |
| Lois T. Dasher Lois Dasher was appointed in 1978 and became the first elected female council member in Garden City in 1979.
| 1978–1985 | |
| James M. "Jimmie" DeLoach
| 1971–1973 | Mayor of Garden City, 1973–1979 |
| J.A. "Sonny" Dixon
| 1985–1988 | Georgia House Representative, 1989–1997 |
| Ralph V. Dodd
| 1971–1981 | |
| Fred S. Elliott
| 1959–1961 | |
| C. Marvin Exley
| 1949–1959 | |
| Welcome G. Farr
| 1961–1967 | |
| Kay A. Ford
|1996–1998 | Member of the School Board |
| Alton D. Fryer
| 1947–1958 | |
| W.J. Fussell
| 1947–1949 | |
| Scott A. George
| 2012 to Present | Mayor Pro Temp |
| Dan W. Gray
| 1941–1943 | |
| L. Fred Griffin, III
| 1989–1992 | |
| Joseph W. Guill
| 1943–1947 | |
| Gwyn L. Hall, Sr.
| 1996–1998; Since 2004 | |
| James "Jay" W. Harrell, Jr.
| 1969–1987; 1989–1992; 2000–2002 | Mayor of Garden City, 1996–1998 |
| Amos C. Hathaway
| 1957–1959 | |
| Steve T. Hattrich, Jr.
| 1965–1971 | |
| Edwin B. Hemby
| 1943–1947 | |
| Lawrence E. Hill, Jr.
| 1973–1987 | |
| Claude Hodges, Jr.
| 1973–1977 | |
| A. Tennyson Holder
| 1992–2009 | Mayor of Garden City, since 2009 |
| Connie S. Holland
| 1994–1996 | |
| Darrel Hutcheson
| 1977–1987 | |
| J.Q. James
| 1945–1947 | |
| M.C. Jones
| 1947–1949 | |
| R. Bowen Jones
| 1971–1992; since 2000 | |
| William B. Jones
| 1939–1945 | |
| Ralph O. Kessler
| 1975–1979 | Mayor of Garden City, 1979–1985; 1989–1992 |
| Bessie Kicklighter
| Since 2002 | |
| Dean Kicklighter
| 1996–1998 | Mayor of Garden City, 1998–2000 |
| W.A. Marks
| 1940–1943 | |
| John C. McCord
| 1939–1945 | |
| S.L. McDonald
| 1939–1941 | |
| William Durward Motes
| Since 2004 | |
| Wendell P. Neville
| 1961–1965 | |
| Warren F. Oglesby, Sr.
| 1949–1954 | Mayor of Garden City, 1954–1961 |
| Marion F. Peterson
| 1967–1969 | |
| W. Roy Poe
| 1952–1953; 1955–1957 | |
| Anthony "Andy" Quinney
| 1998–2000 | Mayor of Garden City, 2002–2009 |
| Ted O. Romine
| 1969–1971 | |
| J. Arlie Rowe
| 1939–1941 | Mayor of Garden City, 1949–1954 |
| George A. Seckinger
| 1961–1965 | |
| Misty Bethune Selph
| 2006–2010 | |
| Judy Moore Shuman
| Since 2002 | |
| Carlie L. Smith
| 1965–1969 | |
| Edsel Smith
| 1965–1971 | |
| James "Jimmy" Lee Spilliards
| 2000–2004; since 2009 | |
| Jack C. Stafford
| 1961–1969 | |
| Ron Stephens
| 1994–1996 | Georgia House Representative, since 1997 |
| Carl G. Story
| 1949–1953 | |
| Shelby Strickland
| 1996–2000 | |
| H.W. Tuten
| 1939–1940; 1941–1943 | |
| John Underwood
| 1969–1971 | |
| Hal A. Van Sickle
| 1940–1941; 1945–1949; 1954–1959 | |
| Robert Edward Wilder
| 1987–1992; 1994–1996; 2000–2002 | |
| Earl Wilson
| 2002–2004 | |
Footnotes
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