PoliticalGraveyard.com
The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Charleston, West Virginia
Mayors, City Managers, Postmasters

Mayors of Charleston, 1861-2015 (may be incomplete!)
Jacob Goshorn as of 1861 John A. Truslow as of 1862-63 John Williams as of 1863-64 George Ritter as of 1864-66 J. W. Wingfield as of 1866-68 H. Clay Dickinson as of 1868-70 John P. Hale as of 1870-72 Charles P. Snyder as of 1872-74 John D. White as of 1874-76 John C. Ruby as of 1876-78 C. J. Botkin as of 1878-80 R. R. Delaney as of 1880-82 John D. Baines as of 1882-84 James H. Huling 1884-88 Joseph L. Fry as of 1888-90 J. M. Pemberton as of 1890-92 E. W. Staunton as of 1892-94 Julius A. deGruyter as of 1894-98 W. Herman Smith as of 1898-1900 John B. Floyd as of 1900-02 George S. Morgan 1902-04 Ellsworth Rudesill 1904-05 John A. Jarrett 1905-07 James A. Holley 1907-11 R. Logan Walker 1918-19 Grant P. Hall 1919-23 William W. Wertz 1923-31 R. P. DeVan 1931-35 D. Boone Dawson 1935-47 R. Carl Andrews 1947-51 John T. Copenhaver 1951-59 John A. Shanklin 1959-67 Elmer H. Dodson 1967-71 John G. Hutchinson 1971-80 Joe F. Smith 1980-83 James E. Roark 1983-87 Charles R. Gardner as of 1989 G. Kemp Melton as of 1995-99 Jay Goldman as of 1999

Events and Candidates (may be incomplete!)

  • 1904: Ellsworth Rudesill (Rep), elected.
  • 1907: James A. Holley (Dem), elected.
  • 1909: James A. Holley (Dem), elected.
  • 1919: Grant P. Hall (Rep), elected; A. J. Humphreys (Dem), defeated.
  • 1935: J. Hornor Davis II (Dem), defeated.
  • 1939 Apr 17: D. Boone Dawson (Rep), elected; P. H. 'Pat' Murphy (Dem), defeated.
  • 1943 Apr 19: D. Boone Dawson (Rep), elected; Jackson Savage (Dem), defeated.
  • 1947 Apr 21: R. Carl Andrews (Dem), elected; D. Boone Dawson (Rep), defeated.
  • 1951 Apr 16: John T. Copenhaver (Rep), elected; R. Carl Andrews (Dem), defeated.
  • 1955 Mar 14: John T. Copenhaver (Rep), nominated; Joseph Thomas (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1955 Apr 18: John T. Copenhaver (Rep), elected; Robert A. Robertson (Dem), defeated.
  • 1959 Mar 16: J. Kemp McLaughlin (Dem), nominated; Samuel Tabet (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1959 Mar 16: John T. Copenhaver (Rep), nominated; Wilbur L. Carte (Rep), defeated in primary; F. O'Dair Duff (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1959 Apr 20: John T. Copenhaver (Rep), elected; J. Kemp McLaughlin (Dem), defeated.
  • 1959 Aug 13: John T. Copenhaver, died in office.
  • 1963 Mar 4: James B. McIntyre (Dem), nominated; Jesse G. Workman (Dem), defeated in primary; Gay Barker (Dem), defeated in primary; William G. Lance (Dem), defeated in primary; Robert W. Rectenwald (Dem), defeated in primary; Frederick G. DuBois (Dem), defeated in primary; Samuel Tabet (Dem), defeated in primary; Harvey Allen Fleck (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1963 Mar 4: John A. Shanklin (Rep), nominated; Walter G. Clark (Rep), defeated in primary; Wilbur L. Carte (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1963 Apr 15: John A. Shanklin (Rep), elected; James B. McIntyre (Dem), defeated.
  • 1967 Mar 13: Robert D. Pennington (Dem), nominated; Sherwood M. Spencer (Dem), defeated in primary; Melton M. Maloney (Dem), defeated in primary; Jesse G. Workman (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1967 Mar 13: Elmer H. Dodson (Rep), nominated; Fred Haddad (Rep), defeated in primary; Claude Lacy (Rep), defeated in primary; Wilbur L. Carte (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1967 Apr 17: Elmer H. Dodson (Rep), elected; Robert D. Pennington (Dem), defeated.
  • 1971 Mar 15: John G. Hutchinson (Dem), nominated; Robert D. Pennington (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1971 Mar 15: Cleo S. Jones (Rep), nominated; Dallas W. Bias (Rep), defeated in primary; Clinton Black (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1971 Apr 19: John G. Hutchinson (Dem), elected; Cleo S. Jones (Rep), defeated.
  • 1975 Mar 17: John G. Hutchinson (Dem), nominated; Melton M. Maloney (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1975 Apr 21: John G. Hutchinson (Dem), elected; Henry T. Elden, defeated.
  • 1979 Mar 19: John G. Hutchinson (Dem), nominated; Gay Barker (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1979 Apr 16: John G. Hutchinson (Dem), elected unopposed.
  • 1983 Mar 21: Joe F. Smith (Dem), nominated; Don Joe Hunt (Dem), defeated in primary; Phyllis Rutledge Cole (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1983 Mar 21: James E. Roark (Rep), nominated; Elmer Walker (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1983 Apr 18: James E. Roark (Rep), elected; Joe F. Smith (Dem), defeated; Mary E. Radin (Socialist), defeated.
  • 1987 Mar 16: John G. Hutchinson (Dem), nominated; Arthur J. Chestnut (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1987 Mar 16: James E. Roark (Rep), nominated; Claude Lacy (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1987 Apr 20: James E. Roark (Rep), elected; John G. Hutchinson (Dem), defeated.
  • 1987 Nov 24: James E. Roark, resigned.
  • 1991 Mar 11: Arthur J. Chestnut (Dem), nominated unopposed.
  • 1991 Mar 11: Kent Strange Hall (Rep), nominated; Charles R. Gardner (Rep), defeated in primary; Mike Dunnavant (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1991 Apr 15: Kent Strange Hall (Rep), elected; Arthur J. Chestnut (Dem), defeated; Linda Joyce, defeated.
  • 1995 Feb 6: G. Kemp Melton (Dem), nominated unopposed.
  • 1995 Feb 6: Ted Armbrecht (Rep), nominated; Kent Strange Hall (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1995 Apr 17: G. Kemp Melton (Dem), elected; Ted Armbrecht (Rep), defeated.
  • 1999 Mar 9: Jay Goldman (Dem), nominated; G. Kemp Melton (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1999 Mar 9: Kent Strange Hall (Rep), nominated unopposed.
  • 1999 May 18: Jay Goldman (Dem), elected; Kent Strange Hall (Rep), defeated.
  • 2003 Mar 11: Chris Smith (Dem), nominated; Jay Goldman (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 2003 Mar 11: Danny Jones (Rep), nominated unopposed.
  • 2003 May 20: Danny Jones (Rep), elected; Chris Smith (Dem), defeated.
  • 2007 Mar 6: Hershel H. Layne (Dem), nominated unopposed.
  • 2007 Mar 6: Danny Jones (Rep), nominated unopposed.
  • 2007 May 15: Danny Jones (Rep), elected; Hershel H. Layne (Dem), defeated.
  • 2011 Mar 8: Janet Thompson (Dem), nominated unopposed.
  • 2011 Mar 8: Danny Jones (Rep), nominated unopposed.
  • 2011 May 17: Danny Jones (Rep), elected; Janet Thompson (Dem), defeated.
  • 2015 Mar 7: Paul J. Monroe (Dem), nominated; Janet Thompson (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 2015 Mar 7: Danny Jones (Rep), nominated; Josh Scott (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 2015 May 16: Danny Jones (Rep), elected; Paul J. Monroe (Dem), defeated; Bill Carpenter (Ind), defeated.

    City Managers of Charleston, 1949-51 (may be incomplete!)
    John T. Moore as of 1949 Harry S. Trotter as of 1950 James O. Lakin as of 1951

    Postmasters at Charleston, 1879-1971 (may be incomplete!)
    Alvaro F. Gibbens 1879-81 Lewis H. Ewart 1881-84 Alvaro F. Gibbens 1884-85 Richard J. Ashby 1885-91 Henry C. McWhorter 1891-93 Annie B. Kenna 1893-98 Obe A. Petty 1898-1904 John Eugene Dana 1904-09 James F. Hudson 1909-13 Robert E. Wood 1913-15 William Jones 1915 Julius A. deGruyter 1915 Julius A. deGruyter 1915-24 William R. Jarrett 1924-25 Leonard S. Echols 1925-29 M. R. Mathews 1929 M. R. Mathews 1929-33 Julius W. Singleton 1933-34 Julius W. Singleton 1934-55 M. R. Mathews 1955-57 Fred E. Wiseman 1957-58 Fred E. Wiseman 1958-60 James O. Lakin 1960 James O. Lakin 1960-71

    Charleston
    (became part of West Virginia 1863)

    Postmasters at Charleston, 1816 (may be incomplete!)
    Humphrey Keys as of 1816

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