MINNEAPOLIS MAYORAL SUPERLATIVES
Copyright (C) 1994-2019 Tony L. Hill
All Rights Reserved
OLDEST MAYORS
(age when left office)
1. Fraser 69 years, 317 days
2. Pillsbury 69 years, 227 days
3. Leach 64 years, 358 days
(age when assumed office, * indicates return to office)
1. Pillsbury 67 years, 223 days
2. Leach (*1937) 60 years, 357 days
3. Ames (A.A.) (*1901) 58 years, 354 days
4. Haynes (*1907) 58 years, 107 days
YOUNGEST MAYORS
1. Hofstede 33 years, 99 days
2. Humphrey 34 years, 36 days
3. Ames (A.A.) 34 years, 84 days
4. Frey 36 years, 163 days
5. Brackett 36 years, 204 days
6. Gray 36 years, 318 days
(Edward S. Brown became mayor of the City of
St. Anthony at age 33 years, 65 days. Three
others became St. Anthony mayor before age 34.
Henry T. Welles, the first mayor of St.
Anthony took office at 34 years, 13 days.)
LONGEST TENURE
1. Fraser 14 years, 1 day
2. Rybak 12 years
3. Leach 11 years, 362 days
4. Hoyer 8 years, 213 days
5. Naftalin 8 years, 4 days
6. Sayles Belton 7 years, 364 days
7. Haynes 7 years, 361 days
8. Stenvig 6 years, 178 days
LONGEST CONTINUOUS TENURE
1. Fraser 14 years, 1 day
2. Rybak 12 years
3. Hoyer 8 years, 213 days
4. Naftalin 8 years, 4 days
5. Sayles Belton 7 years, 364 days
6. Leach 7 years, 361 days
7. Haynes 5 years, 364 days
SHORTEST TENURE
Erdall less than two days
(No other mayor served an unusually short tenure, although
Jones served 131 days in 1902-3 before being elected to a
two year term in 1904.)
LONGEST LIVED
1. Fraser 95 years, 102 days
2. Hoyer 92 years, 14 days
3. Kunze 89 years, 259 days
4. de Laittre 89 years, 199 days
5. Naftalin 87 years, 322 days
6. Erdall 85 years, 171 days
7. Brackett 84 years, 243 days
8. Eustis 83 years, 134 days
SHORTEST LIVED
1. Bainbridge 50 years, 192 days
2. Rand 52 years, 192 days
3. Gray 54 years, 203 days
(Mayor Rand drowned in a boat explosion on Lake Minnetonka
along with seven members of his family and two others. He
and Mayor Peterson, who died in a car accident, and Mayor
Naftalin, who died after a fall, were the only mayors to die
from other than natural causes.)
LONGEST LIVED AFTER LEAVING OFFICE
1. Brackett 47 years, 33 days
2. de Laittre 45 years, 163 days
3. Erdall 44 years, 182 days
4. Hofstede 36 years, 245 days
5. Naftalin 35 years, 313 days
6. Eustis 33 years, 327 days
7. Hoyer 32 years, 258 days
8. Peterson 32 years 181 days
9. Stenvig 32 years, 50 days
10. Kunze 30 years, 223 days
11. Merriman 30 years, 113 days
12. Humphrey 29 years, 44 days
SHORTEST LIVED AFTER LEAVING OFFICE
1. Haynes 98 days
2. Latimer 123 days
3. Bainbridge 257 days
4. Rand 3 years, 92 days
(Mayor Latimer and Mayor Bainbridge both died shortly
after losing reelection bids. Mayor Haynes abruptly
ended his reelection effort before the election.)
NATIVE MINNEAPOLITANS
Jones, Peterson, Stenvig, Erdall, Hofstede, Fraser, Rybak
(The only other native Minnesotans were Kunze, born in Sleepy Eye; Sayles Belton, born in St. Paul.)
NATURALIZED AMERICANS
Gray (born in Scotland); Hoyer (born in Sweden)
MAYORS WHO MOVED INTO THE LEAMINGTON HOTEL FROM EDINA ON THE NIGHT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY NOMINATED THEM
Leach
MAYORS WHO HELD OTHER ELECTIVE OFFICES
Comptroller: Nye
City Council:
Harrison
Brackett
*Merriman
Ames (A.A.)
*Pillsbury
Babb
Pratt
Gray
*Jones
Haynes
Nye
*Kline
*Hoyer
*Erdall
Hofstede
*Sayles Belton
Hodges
Frey
(* Council President)
Legislature: Morrison, Peterson, Fraser
Mayor of Concord, N.H.: Pillsbury
U.S. House: Wilson, Fraser
U.S. Senate: Humphrey (Majority Whip, Deputy President Pro
Tempore)
Vice President
of the U.S.: Humphrey
LARGEST ELECTION WINS (* incumbent)
1. Fraser* 1985 81.8%
2. Hoyer* 1951 80.6%
3. Fraser* 1989 79.0%
4. Rybak* 2009 73.6%
5. Stenvig* 1971 72.2%
6. Humphrey* 1947 66.3%
7. Ames (Eli B.)* 1871 66.0%
8. Rybak 2001 64.7%
9. Pillsbury 1884 64.5%
(Mayor Merriman ran unopposed in 1875.)
(Mayor Humphrey in 1947 and Mayor Hoyer in 1951 were the
only mayors to top 100,000 popular votes.)
NARROWEST ELECTION WINS (* incumbent)
1. Haynes* 1910 < .5% point (4-way)
2. Stenvig 1975 < 1% point (5-way)
3. Haynes* 1908 < 1% point (4-way)
4. Jones* 1904 < 1% point (5-way)
4. Meyers 1918 51.17%
5. Naftalin* 1967 51.25%
6. Van Lear 1916 51.47%
DFL MAYORS FROM THE EAST SIDE
Humphrey, Hoyer, Naftalin, Hofstede, Fraser, Frey
DFL MAYORS FROM THE WEST SIDE
Mayor Sayles Belton was the first DFLer elected from the
West Side. Mayor Rybak was second. Mayor Hodges was third.
INCUMBENTS DEFEATED
Brackett 1874 (subsequently lost comeback attempt)
Ames (A.A.) 1877 (subsequently reelected)
Ames (A.A.) 1884 (subsequently reelected)
Pillsbury 1886
Gray 1900
Haynes 1904 (subsequently reelected)
Jones 1906
Nye 1916 primary
Van Lear 1918 (subsequently lost comeback attempt)
Leach 1929 (subsequently lost comeback attempt; eventually reelected)
Kunze 1931 primary
Anderson 1933
Bainbridge 1935 primary (19 way race)
Latimer 1937 primary ( 5 way race)
Leach 1941 primary
Kline 1945
Hoyer 1957
Peterson 1961 (subsequently lost comeback attempt)
Stenvig 1973 (subsequently reelected)
Hofstede 1975 (subsequently reelected)
Stenvig 1977 (subsequently lost comeback attempt)
Sayles Belton 2001
Hodges 2017 (by ranked choice voting)
MAYORS WHO RESIGNED
Ames (A.A.), August 27, 1902 (scandal)
Humphrey, November 30, 1948 (elected to U.S. Senate)
Stenvig, December 31, 1973 (lark)
MAYORS WHO DIED IN OFFICE
In the 152 years that the City has existed, no mayor
has met with this fate.
Tony L. Hill
P.O. Box 14995
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414
hill@canpolitics.com
View the Directory of mayors
Return to the Minneapolis history page
E-mail Tony Hill