A total of 34 individuals have served as mayor since the city's incorporation in 1897, some serving numerous terms.Michael Stammel (Republican) is the current mayor; he was first elected in 2019 and began service on January 1, 2020. Stammel was re-elected to a four-year term on November 2, 2021.
On April 23, 1897, GovernorFrank S. Black granted a law under Chapter 359 creating the municipality that would be known as the City of Rensselaer.
Charles S. Allen served as the first mayor of the new municipality. The first meeting of the common council of the City of Rensselaer was ordered by Mayor Allen to take place on Tuesday evening April 27, 1897 at 8:30 pm.[1]
| # | Portrait | Mayor | Start | End | Party | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles S. Allen | 1897 | 1899 | The first mayor of the City of Rensselaer, New York. Charles Allen convened the first common council meeting in the City of Rensselaer on April 27, 1897. Charles Allen was a graduate of Vermont Medical College. During theCivil War, he was an assistant surgeon of the125th New York Volunteer Infantry. Allen was also coroner ofRensselaer County for nine years and president of the village of Greenbush.[2] | ||
| 2 | James I. Miles | 1900 | 1901 |
| # | Portrait | Mayor | Start | End | Party | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Bradford R. Lansing | 1901 | Republican | Grocer and pork dealer. Bradford Lansing was born inNiskayuna, NY in 1860. He became Mayor of Rensselaer in 1901. Lansing was a member of theNYS Assembly between 1906–1912. | ||
| 4 | Thomas Kimber | 1904 | 1907 | |||
| 5 | W. Rockefeller | 1908 | 1911 | |||
| 6 | Thomas Penny | 1911 | 1913 | Chaplain of Masonic Greenbush Lodge Chapter, No. 274 in 1911. | ||
| 7 | Fred A. Rohloff | 1914 | 1915 | |||
| 8 | John H. McIntyre | 1915 | 1918 | Appointed Sheriff by theGovernor of New York on June 30, 1921. | ||
| 9 | John S. Hall | 1919 | 1920 | Served on the Committee on Literacy Program in 1919. | ||
| 10 | Henry Meurs | 1921 | 1922 | Republican | Hardware dealer. Henry Meurs was a member of the NYS Assembly representing the 2nd District of Rensselaer County in 1924. | |
| 11 | Harvey C. Younghans | 1923 | 1925 | Harvey Younghans served as mayor for a short time. Several years later, Younghans served ascity clerk. | ||
| 12 | James W. Adams | 1926 | 1929 | Republican | Previously served ascity treasurer. | |
| 13 | Clarence A. McNally | 1930 | 1931 | Democrat | Alternate delegate toDemocratic National Convention from New York in 1960. Clarence McNally served as Mayor during the 1930s and the 1950s. | |
| 14 | James Johnstone | 1932 | 1935 | |||
| 15 | William T. Wright | 1936 | 1939 | Republican | ||
| 16 | Marshall C. Rose | 1940 | 1941 | Democrat | ||
| 17 | Charles G. Maloy | 1943 | 1945 | Charles Maloy did not finish his term in office and resigned for unknown reasons. | ||
| 18 | Thomas S. H. Clark | 1945 | 1953 | Democrat | ||
| 19 | W. Hardt | 1953 | 1953 | |||
| 20 | Clarence A. McNally | 1954 | 1961 | See first entry above | ||
| 21 | John H. Warden | 1966 | 1971 | |||
| 22 | Irwin Stewart | 1972 | 1973 | |||
| 23 | Joseph P. Mink | 1974 | 1981 | |||
| 24 | Thomas E. Henry III | 1981 | 1983 | Mayor Henry was removed from office in 1983 following his conviction for official misconduct and obstructing governmental administration after threatening analderman to vote a specific way.[3] | ||
| 25 | Edward J. Finlan | 1983 | 1983 | Democrat | Edward Finlan was instated as Mayor of Rensselaer following Mayor Henry's conviction. Finlan had previously served as President of the city council. Under the city charter, the next in the line of succession to fill a vacancy in the mayor's office is the council president. | |
| 26 | Joseph E. Harrigan | 1984 | 1993 | |||
| 27 | John F. Ryan | 1994 | 1996 | |||
| 28 | Joseph Kapp | 1996 | 1996 | Republican | ||
| 29 | Edward J. Finlan | 1997 | 1997 | Democrat | ||
| 30 | Linda M. Ganance | 1998 | 2001 | Democrat |
| # | Portrait | Mayor | Start | End | Party | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Mark G. Pratt | 2002 | 2005 | Republican | Mark Pratt was a Republican mayor who ran on a bipartisan platform. He made significant changes even though he faced opposition. Due to forging ahead to make great positive change, he was accused of gas theft and the judge dismissed all charges as there was no wrongdoing.[4] | |
| 32 | Daniel J. Dwyer | 2006 | 2018 | Democrat | Daniel Dwyer was a past city alderman and the 32nd mayor of Rensselaer. Mayor Dwyer died in November 2018 after serving as mayor for 12 years.[5] | |
| 33 | Richard J. Mooney | 2019 | 2020 | Democrat | Richard Mooney was a past city alderman, council president and the 33rd mayor of Rensselaer. Under the city charter, Mooney was instated as mayor following the death of Mayor Daniel Dwyer in 2018. | |
| 34 |  | Michael E. Stammel | 2020 | Present | Republican | Michael Stammel previously served as a city alderman and a legislator on the Rensselaer County Legislature from 2002-2021. From 2017-2021 he served as its chairman. Mayor Stammel is the 34th and current mayor of Rensselaer. |