Longest Serving State or Local Elected Officials

[ꙮ]

At the Federal Level, the question of which officials have held elected office the longest are easy. For President, it's FDR at a little over 12 years (1933-1945). In the Senate it's Pat Leahy, who just finished 48 years in office. The overall winner at the Federal level was John Dingell, who served just over 59 years (1955-2015) in the House of Representatives.

But what at the state or local level? Is there anyone who has managed to serve for longer? The only requirement here is that the position be one that is elected for a fixed term.

The thing which triggered my interest in the topic was an article about the Town Supervisor of Lee, New York (near Rome). John Urtz (D) has held the position since 1975, for 48 years and counting in office.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Robert Linn has to be up there, he served as mayor of Beaver, Pennsylvania for 58 years from 1946 until his death in 2004 at the age of 95. What surprises me is that he was a Republican, I can't believe a Republican was elected in that area in 1946.

[Tartarus Sauce]

Some other long-lasting officeholders at the local level include the longest serving mayor of any American city over 100,000 population during their tenure, Erastus Corning 2nd, having served as mayor of Albany, NY for 41 years from 1941-1982 and the boss of an incredibly powerful old-school political machine. Right behind him is Joseph P. Riley Jr., mayor of Charleston, SC for 40 years from 1976-2016.

[Хahar 🤔]

Robert Linn has to be up there, he served as mayor of Beaver, Pennsylvania for 58 years from 1946 until his death in 2004 at the age of 95. What surprises me is that he was a Republican, I can't believe a Republican was elected in that area in 1946.

Just eyeballing it, it looks as though Republicans picked up the congressional district containing Beaver County in 1938 and held it through the 1940s. That area didn't become really Democratic until later: Mondale won Beaver County by more than Roosevelt did in any year except 1936 (and even that was close).

[DrScholl]

Ralph Dills served in the California Legislature for a total of 43 years between both houses. He was first in the Assembly starting in 1939 and stayed there until 1949. He then ended up serving in the state senate starting in 1966 and stayed there for over 30 years.

[Tartarus Sauce]

The single longest serving state legislator in American history is the incredible Fred Risser of Wisconsin, who represented the Madison area in the both the state assembly and state senate (though mostly just the state senate) for an astounding 64 years, from 1957-2021 and was the last WW2 Veteran to serve as an elected official.

[Tartarus Sauce]

Robert Linn has to be up there, he served as mayor of Beaver, Pennsylvania for 58 years from 1946 until his death in 2004 at the age of 95. What surprises me is that he was a Republican, I can't believe a Republican was elected in that area in 1946.

Just eyeballing it, it looks as though Republicans picked up the congressional district containing Beaver County in 1938 and held it through the 1940s. That area didn't become really Democratic until later: Mondale won Beaver County by more than Roosevelt did in any year except 1936 (and even that was close).

I'd wager Beaver County's inclusion in the same district as the neighboring Republican stronghold of Butler County helped in that a bit, and that the city of Beaver itself was a Democratic stronghold by then, but yes, this was fairly common occurrence in a lot of areas we stereotypically associate as having realigned to the Democrats during the New Deal era, where there was a resurgence of Republican strength during the late 30s and throughout the 40s before receding and being subsumed by generational turnover to the Democrats in the 50s.

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, the Luzerne County district didn't stay consistently in Democratic hands until 1954. In Philadelphia, the Republican machine wasn't dismantled until the beginning of the 1950s. Dewey came within less than a point of carrying the city in 1948 and Hugh Scott still held his wealthy old line WASP district for Republicans in the city's northwest corner until he vacated it for his successful senate run in 1958.

[ꙮ]

Robert Linn has to be up there, he served as mayor of Beaver, Pennsylvania for 58 years from 1946 until his death in 2004 at the age of 95. What surprises me is that he was a Republican, I can't believe a Republican was elected in that area in 1946.

In local elections the party affiliations matter less. The guy I mentioned is a Democratic Town Supervisor for Lee, New York. It's the mostly rural area north of Rome-- already the largest city in NY to vote Republican in 2020. Trump won Lee 66%-33%.

[Oryxslayer]

Robert Linn has to be up there, he served as mayor of Beaver, Pennsylvania for 58 years from 1946 until his death in 2004 at the age of 95. What surprises me is that he was a Republican, I can't believe a Republican was elected in that area in 1946.

In local elections the party affiliations matter less. The guy I mentioned is a Democratic Town Supervisor for Lee, New York. It's the mostly rural area north of Rome-- already the largest city in NY to vote Republican in 2020. Trump won Lee 66%-33%.

Despite everything that we.think about the modern electoral scene, the old truth is still relevant: the farther down the ballot,  the name of the person gains increasing relevance,  and the party label decreases. 

When the electorate is small enough,  you the incumbent actually can meet every voter if you want to. You also get free local name recognition from the local TV (and historically papers) and you are there at the local events.  Unless there is a scandal,  or term limits like in most big cities now, it's not hard to get entrenched. And then it's your voter base, not the party's.  Changing ID in this situation, like many have done in the South, is a simple task. You do it once control over local Government changes hards, to maintain your past presence within the local system.



Which therefore leads into another point of discussion: long-tenured statewide officers who seemingly enjoy all the results of the above - popularity and a personal vote - without the local factor. La Follette in Wisconsin (who has finally retired) and Tom Miller in Iowa (who barely lost his attempt at an 11th term by 2%) come to mind, but I'm sure there are others.

[Senator Incitatus]

New Jersey used to have a common practice of dual office holding. The longest modern combined tenure that comes to mind immediately is Leonard T. Connors Jr.—simultaneously the mayor of Surf City, New Jersey (1966–2015) and a State Senator (1982–2008) for a combined seventy-five years.

[Tartarus Sauce]

Something unusual I stumbled upon while researching who is the longest serving Lt. Governor of a state is that Washington has a string of bizarrely long-tenured occupants of the office, more so than any other state. The most recent is Brad Owen, who served from 1996-2016, and there was another 20 year tenure by Victor Aloysius Meyers from 1932-1952. But the one that really takes the cake is John Cherberg, who occupied the office of Lt. Governor for a puzzlingly long 32 years, having served between 1956-1988, spanning five different gubernatorial administrations! That must be the longest period of time anybody has served as Lt. Governor in American history.

What is it that has driven such long tenures for the office in Washington in particular?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Something unusual I stumbled upon while researching who is the longest serving Lt. Governor of a state is that Washington has a string of bizarrely long-tenured occupants of the office, more so than any other state. The most recent is Brad Owen, who served from 1996-2016, and there was another 20 year tenure by Victor Aloysius Meyers from 1932-1952. But the one that really takes the cake is John Cherberg, who occupied the office of Lt. Governor for a puzzlingly long 32 years, having served between 1956-1988, spanning five different gubernatorial administrations! That must be the longest period of time anybody has served as Lt. Governor in American history.

What is it that has driven such long tenures for the office in Washington in particular?

I remember this was brought up in the past here, and a Washington poster explained it as that because the LG doesn't really do anything and is just a ceremonial office as long as the Governor doesn't resign/die, they can't really be attacked in a campaign and also lets someone keep an office with some prestige but no real responsibilities. Thus once someone gets in the LGship they can't really be dislodged and they have reason to want to sit around as long as possible.

[TheTide]

At the Federal Level, the question of which officials have held elected office the longest are easy. For President, it's FDR at a little over 12 years (1933-1945). In the Senate it's Pat Leahy, who just finished 48 years in office. The overall winner at the Federal level was John Dingell, who served just over 59 years (1955-2015) in the House of Representatives.

But what at the state or local level? Is there anyone who has managed to serve for longer? The only requirement here is that the position be one that is elected for a fixed term.

The thing which triggered my interest in the topic was an article about the Town Supervisor of Lee, New York (near Rome). John Urtz (D) has held the position since 1975, for 48 years and counting in office.

Without checking, I'm sure Robert Byrd was in the Senate for longer than Leahy?

[Roll Roons]

At the Federal Level, the question of which officials have held elected office the longest are easy. For President, it's FDR at a little over 12 years (1933-1945). In the Senate it's Pat Leahy, who just finished 48 years in office. The overall winner at the Federal level was John Dingell, who served just over 59 years (1955-2015) in the House of Representatives.

But what at the state or local level? Is there anyone who has managed to serve for longer? The only requirement here is that the position be one that is elected for a fixed term.

The thing which triggered my interest in the topic was an article about the Town Supervisor of Lee, New York (near Rome). John Urtz (D) has held the position since 1975, for 48 years and counting in office.

Without checking, I'm sure Robert Byrd was in the Senate for longer than Leahy?

Yeah, Byrd is the longest ever serving Senator.

[Lechasseur]

New Jersey used to have a common practice of dual office holding. The longest modern combined tenure that comes to mind immediately is Leonard T. Connors Jr.—simultaneously the mayor of Surf City, New Jersey (1966–2015) and a State Senator (1982–2008) for a combined seventy-five years.

Dual office holding was the norm in France until it was banned in 2017.

Most national politicians were mayors at the same time. For example, Jacques Chirac was Mayor of Paris during his term as Prime Minister between 1986 and 1988.