Hall of Mayors

  1. Paris Gibson — 1888
  2. J. H. Fairfield — 1889
  3. C. M. Webster — 1892 & 1895
  4. R. J. Fitzgerald — 1897
  5. John A. Collins — 1899 & 1901
  6. J. W. Freeman — 1903
  7. H. H. Ewing — 1905 & 1907
  8. F. P. Auerbach — 1909
  9. C.F. Murphy — 1909
  10. J. W. Speer — 1911
  11. N. T. Lease — 1913
  12. A. J. Fousek — 1915 & 1917
  13. L. Newman — 1919
  14. R. M. Armour — 1921
  15. H. B. Mitchell — 1923, 1925, & 1927
  16. A. J. Fousek — 1929 & 1931
  17. M.C. Grinde — 1933
  18. A. J. Fousek — 1935
  19. J. J. Wuerthner — 1937 & 1939
  20. Ed Shields — 1941 & 1943
  21. Fritz Norby — 1945
  22. J. C. Johnson — 1947
  23. T. G. Bradford — 1949
  24. J. B. Austin — 1951 & 1953
  25. Russell Conklin — 1955
  26. John W. Steffani — 1957
  27. William H. Swanbery — 1959 & 1961
  28. Marian S. Erdmann — 1963 & 1965
  29. John J. McLaughlin — 1967, 1969, & 1971
  30. Curtis A. Ammondson — 1973
  31. Donald L. Ostrem — 1975
  32. John C. Bulen — 1977
  33. Eugene B. Thayer — 1979
  34. Shirley A. Kuntz — 1981
  35. Robert A. Worthington — 1983
  36. Roger L. Anderson — 1986
  37. Ardi Aiken — 1988 & 1990
  38. Gayle Morris — 1992 & 1994
  39. Bob Deming — 1996
  40. Joan Bennett — 1998
  41. Randall H. Gray — 2000, 2002, & 2004
  42. Dona Stebbins — 2006 & 2008

Fun Mayoral Facts

  • Paris Gibson (1888), the founder and first mayor of Great Falls served the shortest term, not terminated prematurely, of any mayor of Great Falls. His term lasted less than one year.
  • A. J. Fousek (1915, 1917, 1929, 1931, & 1935) holds the record for the most terms as mayor. He served two terms beginning in 1915; another two terms beginning in 1929; and one more term in 1935.
  • Marian S. Erdmann (1963, 1965) was the first woman elected Mayor of Great Falls. Today it is not unusual for a woman to be mayor, but Erdmann was elected in 1962 and took office in 1963, a time when elected female leaders were rare. The people of Great Falls must have believed that Erdmann did a good job as mayor because they elected her to a second term. It was nearly 20 years before another woman became mayor — Shirley A. Kuntz in 1981.
  • The "Hall of Mayors" in the real world is located on the second floor of the Civic Center. The portraits of the previous mayors line the hallway leading to the City Commission Chambers.