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List of mayors of Yazoo City, Mississippi

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{{Notability|List|date=February 2023}}

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File:Welcome_To_Yazoo_City_sign.jpg

The mayor of Yazoo City, Mississippi is elected every four years by the population at large. Being the chief executive officer of the city, the mayor is responsible for administering and leading the day-to-day operations of city government. The current mayor of the city is David "Mel" Starling, who was elected in 2022.{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Jamie |author-link1= |last2= |first2= |author-link2= |last3= |first3= |author-link3= |last4= |first4= |author-link4= |last5= |first5= |author-link5= |display-authors= |author-mask= |name-list-style= |date=16 April 2022 |orig-date= |title=Starling sworn in as Yazoo City's new mayor |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.yazooherald.net/starling-sworn-yazoo-citys-new-mayor |url-status= |department= |work=Yazoo Herald |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location=Yazoo City, Mississippi |publisher= |publication-date=16 April 2022 |agency= |page= |pages= |access-date=11 December 2022 |via= |url-access= |quote=And after being presented with a gavel and sworn in by Federal Judge Carlton Reeves, David “Mel” Starling began his tenure as Yazoo City’s new mayor. }}

City Hall is located at 128 East Jefferson Street.

List of mayors

=Nineteenth century=

{{Incomplete list|date=January 2023}}

class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
style="width:175px" | Mayor name

! style="width:100px" | Term

! class="unsortable" | Notes

Hodge
M. B. Hamer1834Referred to as President Pro-Tem
Gustavus Cheyney Doane1867–1868Reconstruction
Joseph A. Holt1877–1880
D. R. Barnett1882–1884
C. H. Williams1884–1886
A. M. Roach1886–1888
W. G. Deles1888–1892
Theodore Schmitt1892–1894{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofyazoocity.org/visit-yazoo-city/the-history-of-yazoo/ |title=List of Mayors of Yazoo City |author= |date= |website=City of Yazoo City |publisher= |access-date=January 17, 2023 |quote=}}
John C. Henderson1894–1897
John H. Murphy1897Interim mayor upon the resignation of Henderson. Died in office.
George M. Powell1897–1900

=Twentieth Century=

class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
style="width:175px" | Mayor name

! style="width:100px" | Term

! class="unsortable" | Notes

Edward Luke1900–1904
Edwin R. Holmes1904–1908
Edward Luke1908–1911Returned to office.
Thomas H. Campbell, Jr.1911–1920
E. P. Swain1920–1928
J. O. Stricklin, Sr.1928–1930Died in office shortly after winning decisively for a second term. Committed suicide on Tuesday, April 1, 1930, after shooting and seriously wounding F. R. Birdsall, editor of the Yazoo Sentinel newspaper.{{cite news |author=|date=April 1, 1930 |orig-date= |title=Yazoo editor shot down by Mayor Stricklin |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/263183190/ |url-status= |format= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |editor2-link= |editor3-last= |editor3-first= |editor3-link= |editor4-last= |editor4-first= |editor4-link= |editor5-last= |editor5-first= |editor5-link= |display-editors= |department= |work=The Yazoo City Herald |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location=Yazoo City, Mississippi |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page=1 |pages= |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=January 16, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=F. R. Birdsall, editor of the Ya[z]oo Sentinel and member of the State Tax Commission was shot and seriously wounded and J. O. Stricklin, Mayor of Ya[z]oo City, is dead of a self-inflicted wound, as the result of a shooting affray on Main street this afternoon about 1:30 o'clock in which Mayor Stricklin did all the shooting, according to eye witnesses.}} The shooting occurred after Birdsall published a story of a grand jury indictment against Stricklin. Birdsall died from his injuries the following day.{{cite news |author=|date=April 4, 1930 |orig-date= |title=Editor given final honors in Yazoo City |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/202615082/ |url-status= |format= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |editor2-link= |editor3-last= |editor3-first= |editor3-link= |editor4-last= |editor4-first= |editor4-link= |editor5-last= |editor5-first= |editor5-link= |display-editors= |department= |work=Clarion-Ledger |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location=Jackson, Mississippi |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page= |pages=1, 15 |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=January 17, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=Mr. Birdsall died early Wednesday morning from three pistol wounds inflicted by J. O. Stricklin, Sr., mayor of Ya[z]oo City, Tues[d]ay afternoon after which Mr. Stricklin calmly drove his car to the undertaking establishment of his son and shot himself, death ensuing instantly.}}
R. M. Middleton1930Interim mayor after the death of Stricklin. Finished a distant second in special election to complete remainder of Stricklin's unexpired term.
Dewitt M. Love1930–1942
Nathan L. Swayze1942–1945Died in office
R. M. Middleton1945Interim mayor after the death of Swayze.
Charles L. Graeber1945–1947
J. B. Smith1947–1948
William Sidney Perry1948–1954
Harry Applebaum1954–1968
J. F. Barbour III1968–1972{{cite news |author=|date=April 11, 1968 |orig-date= |title=His Honor sworn to duty by mother |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/261320754/ |url-status= |format= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |editor2-link= |editor3-last= |editor3-first= |editor3-link= |editor4-last= |editor4-first= |editor4-link= |editor5-last= |editor5-first= |editor5-link= |display-editors= |department= |work=The Yazoo City Herald |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location= |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page=1 |pages= |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=January 16, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=Mayor J. F. Barbour III was sworn into office Monday night by his mother, Mrs. J. F. Barbour, Jr. and became one of the youngest chief executive officers in the history of the city.}}Elected as an Independent, Barbour was one of the first Mississippi politicians to successfully challenge the Democratic Party in the state in the modern era.
Floyd E. Johnson1972-1978{{cite news |author=|date=April 6, 1972 |orig-date= |title=Floyd Johnson elected mayor |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/254146233/ |url-status= |format= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |editor2-link= |editor3-last= |editor3-first= |editor3-link= |editor4-last= |editor4-first= |editor4-link= |editor5-last= |editor5-first= |editor5-link= |display-editors= |department= |work=The Yazoo City Herald |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location=Yazoo City, Mississippi |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page=1 |pages= |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=January 16, 2023 |via=newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |quote=Alderman Floyd E. Johnson, who was elected Mayor of Yazoo City by polling 1581 votes will take office at regular Council meeting Monday, April 10. }}
Charles E. Fulgham1978–1990
Hugh J. McGraw1990–1998

=Twenty-first century=

class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
style="width:175px" | Mayor name

! style="width:100px" | Term

! class="unsortable" | Notes

Wardell Leach1998–2006{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/first-black-mississippi-county-supervisor-dies-house-fire |title=First Black Mississippi county supervisor dies in house fire |author= |date=January 17, 2023 |website=Fox News |publisher= |access-date=January 17, 2023 |quote=His brother Wardell Leach was Yazoo City's first Black mayor from 1998 through 2006.}}First African American mayor. Brother of Herman Leach (1937-2023), who in 1979 became the first African American county supervisor in Yazoo County.
McArthur Slaughter2006–2014
Diana Delaware2014–2022"[https://www.yazooherald.net/news/delaware-cruises-second-term-mayor Delaware cruises to a second term as Mayor - Yazoo Herald] Retrieved on April 29, 2021"

|First female mayor

David "Mel" Starling2022–

|

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.cityofyazoocity.org/ Official website of Yazoo City, Mississippi]

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Mayors Of Yazoo City, Mississippi}}

Yazoo City, Mississippi

Category:Yazoo City, Mississippi

Category:History of Yazoo County, Mississippi