The presidents of the Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees have come from all areas of the state and diverse backgrounds. Some had extensive civic careers, while others were in public service briefly. Each contributed to this organization in a unique way and provided the leadership that allowed the League to flourish for over 100 years.
Here is a list of all the past presidents of the League:
William B. Baum, Mayor, Saginaw, 1899
George R. Perry, Mayor, Grand Rapids, 1900-03
John F. Bible, Mayor, Ionia, 1903-05
Edwin F. Sweet, Mayor Grand Rapids, 1905-06
David E. Heineman, Alderman, Detroit, 1906-08
Lawton T. Hemans, Mayor, Mason, 1909-10
William L. Walz, Mayor, Ann Arbor, 1911-12
Charles W. Giddings, Mayor, St. Louis, 1912-13
J. Gottlieb Reutter, Mayor, Lansing, 1913-14
A. J. Johnson, Mayor, Pontiac, 1914-15
Frank P. S. Kelton, Mayor, Bay City, 1915-16
James W. Marsh, Mayor, Battle Creek, 1916-17
E. J. Johnson, Alderman, Flint, 1917-18
John F. Bell, Alderman, Lansing, 1918-19
D. E. Newcombe, City Clerk, Flint, 1919-20
James H. Lee, Assistant Corporation Counsel, Detroit, 1920-21
Ganson Taggart, City Attorney, Grand Rapids, 1921-22
E. P. Stephan, Mayor, Holland, 1922-23
Fred Harris, City Manager, Escanaba, 1923-24
John H. Farley, City Attorney, Flint, 1924-25
J. Arthur Dratz, city commissioner, Muskegon, 1925-27
Alvah P. Cady, City Attorney, Benton Harbor, 1927-29
Laird J. Troyer, Mayor, Lansing, 1929-31
Earnest C. Brooks, Mayor, Holland, 1931-32
George L. Lusk, City Manager, Bay City, 1932-33
Fremont Evans, City Attorney, St. Joseph, 1933-35
George H. Sandenburgh, Ann Arbor, 1935-37
Kenneth J. McCarren, Member, Detroit Board of Assessors, 1937-38
Richard L. Cook, Mayor, Grand Haven, 1938-1940
W. W. Richards, City Commissioner, Muskegon, 1940-41
Herman G. Crow, City Manager, St. Joseph, 1941-42
J. H. Witherspoon, Commissioner of Police, Detroit, 1942-43
George C. Higgins, Mayor, Port Huron, 1943-44
Douglas P. Turnbull, City Auditor, Kalamazoo, 1944-45
Ralph W. Crego, Mayor, Lansing, 1945-46
Jay F. Gibbs, City Manager, Ferndale, 1946-48
Herbert A. Kurrasch, Mayor, Alpena, 1948-49
William V. Bailey, Mayor, Battle Creek, 1949-51
Henry J. DeVette, City Commissioner, Muskegon, 1951-52
David V. Addy, Budget Director, Detroit, 1952-53
Claude E. Porter, Mayor, Adrian, 1953-54
Bruce D. Garbutt, Mayor, Ferndale, 1954-55
Claude VerDuin, Mayor, Grand Haven, 1955-56
David R. Calhoun, Mayor, Huntington Woods, 1956-58
Glenn S. Allen, Jr., Mayor, Kalamazoo, 1958-59
Don K. Gothro, Mayor, Grayling, 1959-60
Robert Visscher, Mayor, Holland, 1960
Philip L. Reno, Village President, Wayland, 1961
John M. Patriarche, City Manager, East Lansing, 1961-62
William G. Kirby, Councilman, Grosse Pointe Farms, 1962-63
Hilding G. Carlson, City Commissioner, Muskegon, 1963-64
N. G. “Ance” Damoose, City Manager, Battle Creek, 1964-65
Stewart G. Franke, Mayor, Saginaw, 1965-66
Gordon L. Thomas, Mayor, East Lansing, 1966-67
Chris H. Sonneveldt, Mayor, Grand Rapids, 1967-68
William H. Taylor, Mayor, Pontiac, 1968-69
Michael M. Glusac, Mayor, Highland Park, 1969-70
Frederick R. Brydges, Mayor, Battle Creek, 1970-71
Gordon R. Bryant, Mayor, Huntington Woods, 1971-72
Thomas K. Eardley, Mayor, Wyoming, 1972-73
Walter Bezz, Mayor, East Detroit, 1973-74
Edward H. McNamara, Mayor, Livonia, 1974-75
Ernest C. Browne, Jr., Councilmember, Detroit, 1975-76
Charles E. Palmer, Mayor, Clawson, 1976-77
James R. Haley, Councilmember, Harper Woods, 1977-78
George D. Goodman, Mayor, Ypsilanti, 1978-79
Patricia M. Guenther, City Commissioner, Kalamazoo, 1979-80
Jean Andrew Anderson, Councilmember, Hancock, 1980-81
James C. Robertson, Mayor, Gladwin, 1981-82
Robert L. Bovitz, Mayor, Trenton, 1982-83
George S. Freeman, Mayor, Grosse Pte. Woods, 1983-84
Sylvester Joe Stephens, Councilmember, Saginaw, 1984-85
Marjorie A. Boon, Mayor, Grand Haven, 1985-86
Merrill S. Bailey, Mayor, Norton Shores, 1986-87
Thomas L. Werth, Councilmember, Rochester, 1987-88
Gail Kaess, Councilmember, Grosse Pointe Farms, 1988-89
Harold Easton, Mayor, Tecumseh, 1989-90
Woodrow Stanley, Mayor, Flint, 1990-91
David Eberhard, Councilmember, Detroit, 1991-92
Ben Marks, Councilmember, Farmington Hills, 1992-93
Alan Israel, Mayor, Milan, 1993-94
Patricia A. Lockwood, Mayor, Fenton, 1994-95
William E. Lynn, Mayor, Sault Ste. Marie, 1995-96
Michael A. Guido, Mayor, Dearborn, 1996-97
Susan Bess, Village President, Ortonville, 1997-98
Nancy Crandall, Mayor, Norton Shores, 1998-99
Ingrid B. Sheldon, Mayor, Ann Arbor, 1999-2000
Charles Smiley, Mayor, Burton – 2000-01
Robert Slattery, Mayor, Mt. Morris mayor, 2001-02
Kate Lawrence, Mayor, Brighton, 2002-03
James L. Sinclair, Councilmember, Rogers City, 2003-04
Margene Scott, Councilmember, Madison Heights 2004-05
Michael Matheny, Mayor, Grand Blanc, 2005-06
Vicki Barnett, Mayor, Farmington Hills, 2006-07
Deb Doyle, Mayor, Durand, 2007-08
Robin Beltramini, Councilmember, Troy, 2008-09
Jeff Jenks, Mayor Pro Tem, Huntington Woods, 2009-10
Carol Shafto, Mayor, Alpena, 2010-11
Karen Majewski, Mayor, Hamtramck, 2011-12
David Lossing, Mayor, Linden, 2012-13
Jacqueline Noonan, Mayor, Utica, 2013-14
Dick Bolen, Mayor Pro Tem, Wakefield, 2014-15
Nathan Triplett, Mayor Pro Tem, East Lansing, Sept.-Nov., 2015
Jack O’Reilly, Mayor, Dearborn, 2015-16
Rosalynn Bliss, Mayor, Grand Rapids, 2016-17
Catherine Bostick-Tullius, Commissioner, Lapeer, 2017-18
Melanie Piana, Councilmember, Ferndale, 2018-19
Brenda F. Moore, Mayor Pro Tem, Saginaw, 2019-20
William Wild, Mayor, Westland, 2020-21
Monica Galloway, Councilmember, Flint, 2021
Barbara A. Ziarko, Councilmember, Sterling Heights, 2021-23
Current President: Robert Clark, Mayor, Monroe