Hall of Mayors

  1. Paris Gibson — 1888
  2. J. H. Fairfield — 1889
  3. C. M. Webster — 1892 & 1895
  4. W. H. Gelsthorpe — 1893
  5. R. J. Fitzgerald — 1897
  6. John A. Collins — 1899 & 1901
  7. J. W. Freeman — 1903
  8. H. H. Ewing — 1905 & 1907
  9. F. P. Auerbach — 1909
  10. C.F. Murphy — 1909
  11. J. W. Speer — 1911
  12. N. T. Lease — 1913
  13. A. J. Fousek — 1915 & 1917
  14. L. Newman — 1919
  15. R. M. Armour — 1921
  16. H. B. Mitchell — 1923, 1925, & 1927
  17. A. J. Fousek — 1929 & 1931
  18. M.C. Grinde — 1933
  19. A. J. Fousek — 1935
  20. J. J. Wuerthner — 1937 & 1939
  21. Ed Shields — 1941 & 1943
  22. Fritz Norby — 1945
  23. J. C. Johnson — 1947
  24. T. G. Bradford — 1949
  25. J. B. Austin — 1951 & 1953
  26. Russell Conklin — 1955
  27. John W. Steffani — 1957
  28. William H. Swanbery — 1959 & 1961
  29. Marian S. Erdmann — 1963 & 1965
  30. John J. McLaughlin — 1967, 1969, & 1971
  31. Curtis A. Ammondson — 1973
  32. Donald L. Ostrem — 1975
  33. John C. Bulen — 1977
  34. Eugene B. Thayer — 1979
  35. Shirley A. Kuntz — 1981
  36. Robert A. Worthington — 1983
  37. Roger L. Anderson — 1986
  38. Ardi Aiken — 1988 & 1990
  39. Gayle Morris — 1992 & 1994
  40. Bob Deming — 1996
  41. Joan Bennett — 1998
  42. Randall H. Gray — 2000, 2002, & 2004
  43. Dona Stebbins — 2006 & 2008
  44. Michael Winters — 2010

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.