# Did any President of the U.S. earlier serve as a mayor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240 "2012-11-07T16:45:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/1 "2012-11-07T16:45:58Z")
Plenty of governors, some senators, and a smattering of U.S. representatives… but I can’t think of any mayors. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/2 "2012-11-07T16:54:44Z")
Pretty sure Grover Cleveland served as mayor. Will check. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/3 "2012-11-07T16:56:21Z")
Andrew Johnson–Greeneville, TN Grover Cleveland–Buffalo, NY ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/4 "2012-11-07T16:56:39Z")
Yup–mayor of [Buffalo.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland) ---
**Author:** ![Mgalindo13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea5d25/32.png) [@Mgalindo13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mgalindo13)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/5 "2012-11-07T16:57:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Plenty of governors, some senators, and a smattering of U.S. representatives… but I can’t think of any mayors. At the very least there was Andrew Johnson, Calvin Calvin Coolidge and Grover Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/6 "2012-11-07T17:33:37Z")
Didn’t Theodore Roosevelt serve as some sort of city official of New York City? :: checks Wikipedia :: Ah yes: he was the city Police Commissioner. And then later he was Governor of New York State. That must be what I was remembering. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/7 "2012-11-07T17:35:17Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Pretty sure Grover Cleveland served as mayor. Will check. I had the Grovster appearing in post #2. You were tentative, yes, but you came through. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/8 "2012-11-07T19:03:20Z")
OK, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/9 "2012-11-07T19:18:02Z")
> [@Mgalindo13](#): > > Calvin Calvin Coolidge The mayor so nice, they named him twice! ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/10 "2012-11-07T20:08:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Didn’t Theodore Roosevelt serve as some sort of city official of New York City? > > :: checks Wikipedia :: > > Ah yes: he was the city Police Commissioner. And then later he was Governor of New York State. That must be what I was remembering. Technically, he was _a_ police commissioner – a member of the commission that ran the department in the 1890s. He may have been the head of the commission (not sure), but he was not alone. He was a state assemblyman, too, IIRC. Oh, and he ran for NYC mayor, but lost. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/11 "2012-11-07T20:42:08Z")
You know what Grover Cleveland’s favorite song was? Rio, by Duran Duran 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/12 "2012-11-07T21:04:27Z")
This Wikipedia page may be of interest: [List of Presidents of the United States by other offices held](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_other_offices_held#Municipal_Government) All the mayors listed there have been mentioned already in this thread. I’m not sure what Van Buren did as a county surrogate. If I had to guess I’d say it’s an old term for surrogate judge (probate judge). I’m not convinced that Wikipedia list is comprehensive though. The corresponding [List of Vice Presidents of the United States by other offices held](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Vice_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_other_offices_held) fails to note the service of Hubert Humphrey as the Mayor of Minneapolis (1945-48). ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/13 "2012-11-07T21:31:35Z")
You might note that while large city Mayors are sometimes considered viable Presidential candidates, nobody has ever directly jumped from Mayor to President. The closest is Cleveland, who established his reputation as a crusader against graft and corruption while Mayor of Buffalo, using that reputation to become Governor of New York. He only held that office a short time before running for President. The others served as Mayors of smaller places early in their careers, and became Presidential material while holding later offices. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/14 "2012-11-07T21:33:59Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > You know what Grover Cleveland’s favorite song was? > > Rio, by Duran Duran > > 😃 Sorry, don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/15 "2012-11-07T21:43:43Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > You might note that while large city Mayors are sometimes considered viable Presidential candidates, nobody has ever directly jumped from Mayor to President. The closest is Cleveland, who established his reputation as a crusader against graft and corruption while Mayor of Buffalo, using that reputation to become Governor of New York. He only held that office a short time before running for President. The others served as Mayors of smaller places early in their careers, and became Presidential material while holding later offices. A friend thinks that Rahm Emanuel may make a run for the presidency in 2016. I personally think it more likely he’ll go for governor first, then (assuming he has a good run as gov and doesn’t end up in prison\*) try for the presidency. Or maybe it will be Mayor of Chicago –\> US Senator from Illinois –\> presidential candidate. - It has been said (and with how much truth I do not know) that the chance of going to jail is higher for Illinois governors than it is for murderers. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/16 "2012-11-07T22:10:13Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Sorry, don’t get it. Like “Grover Cleveland” as an answer to this question, there was a GQ fairly early in the SDMB history to which the answer, provided by about a half dozen people back to back, was that song. It turned, for a while, into a SD catch phrase. I was simply riffing off it because of how many people simultaneously came up with Pres. Cleveland for this one; sorry! ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/17 "2012-11-07T22:14:36Z")
Thank you for expanding my SDMB vocabulary. Ignorance fought! (Honestly, I was wracking my brain for some reference to wife husbandry in “Rio.” Rather glad this was not the case.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/18 "2012-11-07T22:43:40Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Like “Grover Cleveland” as an answer to this question, there was a GQ fairly early in the SDMB history to which the answer, provided by about a half dozen people back to back, was that song. It turned, for a while, into a SD catch phrase. I was simply riffing off it because of how many people simultaneously came up with Pres. Cleveland for this one; sorry! [This is the “Rio” thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296939) Is this worth adding to the [Beginner’s Guide to Glossary of Terms on Straight Dope Message Boards](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298)? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/19 "2012-11-07T22:50:55Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > It has been said (and with how much truth I do not know) that the chance of going to jail is higher for Illinois governors than it is for murderers. Now that’s just not fair. Of 41 governors, only 6 have been charged with crimes, and 2 were acquitted. Only 2 (the two who served immediately before the current governor) are currently in prison. > [@](#): > > Or maybe it will be Mayor of Chicago –\> US Senator from Illinois –\> presidential candidate. I’m hoping for Mayor of Newark –\> Governor of New Jersey –\>President of the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240/20 "2012-11-08T08:39:31Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > You might note that while large city Mayors are sometimes considered viable Presidential candidates, nobody has ever directly jumped from Mayor to President. The last attempt that I can think of is John Lindsay, who ran for pres while mayor of New York in 1972. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-president-of-the-u-s-earlier-serve-as-a-mayor/640240.md?page=2)