Mayor of Opa-locka

The Mayor of the City of Opa-locka is the official head of the city of Opa-locka in the U.S. state of Florida.

Mayor of Opa-locka
Incumbent
John Taylor
since 2022
Term length4 years
Formation1926

In the November 2002 election, voters approved extending the term of the mayor from two to four years.[1]

Mayors of Opa-Locka
ImageMayorYears of serviceNotesCitation
 ? 1960–1962
 ? 1962–1964
 ? 1964–1966
Kenton N. Wells 1966–1968 [2]
Robert J. Anderson 1968–1970 [3]
Kenton N. Wells 1970–1972 [2]
Ronald Pierson 1972–1974 [4]
Kenton N. Wells 1974–1975* *Wells tied with Albert Tresvant in the general election and they decided to split the two-year term with Wells serving the first year.[5]
Albert Tresvant 1975–1976* First African-American mayor of Opa-locka[6]
*Tresvant tied with Kenton Wells in the general election and they decided to split the two-year term with Wells serving the first year.[5]
Candido Giardino 1976–1977 Resigned in June 1977 after suspension by Governor Rubin Askew over corruption charges[7]
C. William Hartman 1977–1978 Acting mayor[8]
Willie Young (mayor) 1978–1980 [6]
Willie Logan 1980–1982 [6]
Helen L. Miller 1982–1984 First female African-American mayor in the state of Florida and the first female mayor of Opa-locka [9][10]
John Riley 1984–1986 [6]
Robert B. Ingram 1986–1998 First directly elected African-American mayor of Opa-locka[11] Choose to not run for re-election in 1998 in order to run for the school board of Miami-Dade County[12] [13]
Alvin L. Miller 1998–2002 Son of former mayor Helen L. Miller [6][14]
Myra L. Taylor 2002–2004 First mayor elected to a 4-year term.
Removed from office in 2004 by governor Jeb Bush after being indicted for defrauding the Internal Revenue Service later pleading guilty to a misdemeanor of failing to promptly file her taxes[15]		 [16]
Joseph L. Kelley 2004–2010 Finished term of Myra L. Taylor after special election in September 2004 then elected to a 4-year term in 2006 [17]
Myra L. Taylor 2010–2018 [15][18]
Matthew Pigatt 2018–2021 Resigned November 10, 2021[19] [18]
Veronica Williams 2021–2022 As the elected Vice Mayor, she filled the vacancy created by the resignation of Matthew Pigatt.
John H. Taylor, Jr. 2022–present John H. Taylor, Jr. was elected to the City of Opa-locka Commission in 2020, was appointed Vice Mayor in 2021 and was elected as Mayor in 2022.

References
  1. Rabin, Charles (November 6, 2002). "Runoffs Ahead in N. Bay Village, Key Biscayne". The Miami Herald. Opa-locka residents did vote to change the mayor's term limit from two to four years...
  2. "Kenton Wells Wins Opa-locka's Mayoral Seat". The Miami News. April 22, 1970.
  3. Barger Jr., Fred J. (April 21, 1970). "Five Seek Three Seats in Opa-Locka Election". The Miami Herald.
  4. "First Black is Elected in Opa-locka; Pierson, Bowers, Tresvant Lead Vote". The Miami Herald . April 19, 1972.
  5. "Two mayors; one town". Dixon Evening Telegraph. April 20, 1974. Wells and Tresvant tied in the election for mayor of Opa-locka, so they decided that each of them would serve half the two-year term. Wells will serve the first year
  6. Gordon, Cristina (March 26, 2012). "State of the City Address'". Miami's Community News.
  7. "Two Opa-locka Officials Suspended". Orlando Sentinel. June 8, 1977.
  8. Oglesby, Joe (April 19, 1978). "Opa-locka Elects Pastor As Mayor". The Miami Herald. Hartman served as acting mayor after Giardino's resignation
  9. "HONORING HELEN MILLER - HON. CARRIE P. MEEK of Florida in the house of representatives Friday, October 4, 1996". govinfo.gov. October 4, 1996.
  10. "Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HR 9159 By Representative Bush" (PDF). Florida House of Representatives. 1997. WHEREAS, Helen L. Miller was the first African-American female mayor in Florida...
  11. Kriegel, Mark (November 6, 1986). "Ingram Wins Opa-Locka's Mayor's Seat". The Miami Herald.
  12. Ifateyo, Ajowa Nzinga (July 23, 1998). "Mayor's Plans Sparks Election Fever in Opa-Locka". The Miami Herald .
  13. "RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO DESIGNATE OPA-LOCKA BOULEVARD/N.W. 135TH STREET FROM N.W. 7TH AVENUE TO N.W. 47TH AVENUE AS THE "HONORABLE ROBERT B. INGRAM, PH.D. BOULEVARD"; APPROVING SUCH DESIGNATION; AND URGING THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA TO APPROVE SUCH DESIGNATION". miamidade.gov. 2007.
  14. Martiniez, Draeger (November 12, 2000). "2 Political Novices Join Miller". The Miami Herald.
  15. Mato, Ines (November 10, 2010). "Voters Choose Taylor for Mayor". The Miami Herald.
  16. Martinez, Draeger (November 10, 2002). "Mayor, 2 Commissioners Take Oath". The Miami Herald.
  17. "Kelley, Joseph L." ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  18. Kaufman, Maya; Weaver, Jay (November 7, 2018). "Matthew Pigatt defeats legacy politicians to win election as mayor of Opa-locka". Miami Herald.
  19. Gross, Samantha J. (November 12, 2021). "State law enforcement investigating Opa-locka after allegations made by former mayor". The Miami Herald.
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