Baltimore City Council
Term Name Party Notes
1923-1930 Howard Bryant† Democratic Had been the President of the 2nd Branch of the City Council , prior to the change to a unicameral council . Died in Office in September 1930
1930-1931* James O'Meara Democratic ** *He was the Vice President of the Council and served as acting president following Bryant 's death in September 1930 . **He was a Democrat , however he was elected and supported by the Republican members of the council , who he primarily voted with
1931-1935 E. Lester Muller Democratic Lost re-election in the primary coming in third behind Sellmayer and John Meyer
1935-1939 George Sellmayer Democratic In the 1935 election , John Meyer initially was called the winner on election night with 24 votes , after a recount , Sellmayer won . Lost re-election in the primary to O'Connell in 1939
1939-1943 Richard O'Connell Democratic Lost re-election in the primary to Conlon in 1943
1943 Thomas Conlon† Democratic Died in office . Served from May to October 1943
1943-1951 C. Markland Kelly ♯ Democratic First elected as Council President by the council in October 1943 , following Conlon 's death . Was re-elected in 1947 . He chose to run for mayor as an Independent in 1951 instead of re-election and lost in his bid for the mayoralty . Resigned as Council President 10 days early
1951-1955 Arthur B . Price Democratic Elected by the voters in the 1951 election , and elected by the council to fill the last 10 days of Kelly 's term . Ran for mayor in 1955 and lost the primary to Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr
1955-1959 Leon Abramson Democratic Running on a ticket with Mayor D'Alesandro , Abramson lost re-election in the primary to Goodman
1959-1962 Philip Goodman♯ Democratic In 1959 he ran on a joint ticket with J. Harold Grady for mayor and R. Walter Graham Jr. for comptroller , and all 3 won . Resigned as Council President in December 1962 to become mayor upon Grady 's resignation of the mayoralty to become a judge
1962-1967 Thomas D ' Alesandro III Democratic First elected Council President by the council in December 1962 . Re-elected in 1963 . Ran for mayor in 1967 and won
1967-1971 William Donald Schaefer Democratic Ran for mayor in 1971 and won
1971-1982 Walter Orlinsky♯ Democratic Resigned as Council President on October 18 , 1982 due to conviction on bribery and corruption charges
1982-1987 Clarence Du Burns ♯ Democratic Du Burns was the first African-American Council President . He was Council Vice President and first elected as Council President in October 1982 by the council following Orlinsky 's resignation . Resigned as council president to become mayor in January 1987 following Mayor Schaefer 's election as governor
1987 Frank X. Gallagher Democratic Served from January to December 1987 . He was a 3rd District councilman and was elected Council President upon Burns ' resignation to become mayor . He did not run for re-election in 1987 , retiring from politics
1987-1995 Mary Pat Clarke Democratic Mary Pat Clarke was the first female Council President . She had previously served as a 2nd District councilwoman from 1975-1983 and had run for Council President in 1983 , losing the primary to Burns . She ran for mayor in 1995 and lost the primary election to Mayor Kurt Schmoke
1995-1999 Lawrence Bell Democratic Ran for mayor in 1997 and lost the primary election to 3rd District Councilman Martin O'Malley
1999-2007 Sheila Dixon ♯ Democratic Resigned in January 2007 to become mayor following O'Malley 's election as governor
2007-2010 Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ♯ Democratic She was the 6th District Councilwoman and was first elected Council President by the council in January 2007 following Dixon 's resignation . Resigned as council president to become mayor on February 4 , 2010 due to Dixon 's resignation as mayor following a corruption trial
2010-2019 Bernard C. Jack Young # Democratic He was the 12th district councilman and was first elected Council President by the council in February 2010 due to Rawlings-Blake 's elevation to mayor . Resigned himself in May 2019 to become mayor
City Council President
A map of the current city council districts . The council president is elected citywide . In addition to their role on the council , the Council President is also President of the Board of Estimates . If the mayor 's office is vacant , the Council President automatically becomes mayor . If the position of council president is vacant , the members of the council elect the new council president .
The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds regular meetings on alternate Monday evenings on the fourth floor of the Baltimore City Hall. The Council has seven standing committees, all of which must have at least three members. To qualify for a position on the Council, a person must be 21 years of age, a registered voter, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of Baltimore and the district. If a position on the Council is vacated, a new representative from the Council District is elected by a majority vote of the Council. As of 2018, the President receives an annual salary of $119,000, the Vice President gets $77,000 and the rest of councillors receive $69,000. The current city council president, Brandon Scott, was sworn in on Monday, May 6, 2019.