Past Mayors

1911 - 1913                                          Thomas Mouat won the mayor's seat on February 18, 1911, in the first City election held in Hardin, defeating C.C. Hutton, 43 votes to 10. Mouat's campaign platform called for municipal ownership of the town's water and lighting systems, and he stated that he wasn't "tied to any man or set of men," nor had he made any promises to anyone that he would have to live up to if elected.

1913 - 1915                                       He was succeeded by W.J. Scott in 1913.

1915 - 1922                                       Then in the election of 1915, A.L. Mitchell became Hardin's third mayor.                                               Mitchell was apparently a popular city executive, because he served until the spring of 1922. He then was succeeded by Hardin's fourth mayor, H.M. Strand. The seven-year span of Mitchell's administration saw the construction of the City Hall building where today's City Council still holds it's meetings. Mitchell's lengthy stay in office remained a record until Lawrence Koebbe took over the reins of city government in late 1963 and served until late 1971.

1922 - 1927                                       Strand served a long while himself, lasting until his death in 1927.

1927 - 1928                                           At that time Wilbur S. Fish, the council president, became Hardin's fifth mayor on October 4, 1927. Fish served the shortest amount of time of any mayor.

1928 - 1930                                      In April of 1928, John Putnam was elected the town's sixth mayor.

1930 - 1934                                      J.E. McCarthy was elected Hardin's seventh mayor in 1930

1934 - 1936                                      The city's eighth executive, Matt Calderwood, in 1934. Calderwood served only until 1936.

1936 - 1940                                     Hardin dentist W.A. Ransier was elected the town's ninth mayor.      Ransier died in 1940.

1940 - 1941                                       His wife, Miriam Ransier, became Hardin's 10th mayor and first woman mayor, when the City Council elected her to fill out his term.

1941 - 1947                                      About a year later, Carl Rankin was elected the town's 11th mayor. Rankin was a popular mayor and served until 1947.

1947 - 1949                                      A.M. Crilly was elected the town's 12th chief executive in 1947.

1949 - 1955                                      Jens Kalberg was elected to the city's top spot in 1949, and held the post as Hardin's 13th mayor until 1955.

1955 - 1957                                       That year, Carl Rankin was once again elected Hardin's mayor. Rankin, who had helped survey the town in 1908, was the first mayor to hold the office in non-consecutive terms.

1957 - 1959                                       In 1957, Ronald Iverson was elected Hardin's 15th mayor and held the job until 1959.

1959 - 1962                                      Joe Lammers was elected to the position of Hardin's 16th mayor. Lammers served nearly two terms, and in 1962 resigned and moved out of the city.

1962 - 1963                                      A.B. Cook, as Council President, succeeded to the chair as Hardin's 17th mayor. He was elected in the spring of 1963. But Cook's term of office wasn't long, because he died in September of the same year.

1963 - 1971                                       Lawrence Koebbe was initially appointed to the post in which he served longer than any other man in the city's history until Ron Adams. Koebbe was appointed Hardin's 18th mayor just days after Cook's death. Koebbe was elected in 1965, and re-elected in 1967, 1969, and 1971.                                         In 1971, Koebbe didn't even run for the office. Liz Brennan and Glen Gustafson competed for the job, but Koebbe beat both candidates soundly by garnering an incredible 303 write-in votes. Gustafson got 178, and Brennan tallied 73. Koebbe resigned in late 1971.

1971 - 1973                                       Daryl Ohmstede became Hardin's 19th mayor.

1973 - 1976                                      In 1973, Sam Meeke became the 20th mayor of Hardin, becoming the first mayor who was elected to a four-year term under the state law passed in 1971. But Meeke didn't serve the full four years, resigning in 1976 because of poor health.

1976 - 1977                                       Leona Hodgson became Hardin's 21st mayor, and only the city's second woman mayor, when she was elected by the Council to fill out Meeke's term.

1977 -1981                                        In 1977, Jeff Roberts was elected the city's 22nd mayor, defeating Hodgson. Roberts could have made history by becoming the first Hardin mayor to complete a full four-year term. But he resigned in July 1981, and the city had no mayor for several months. Council President James Svaren assumed the mayor's duties from July 1981 - late 1981 but never did take up the office as Mayor.

1982 - 1990                                       Hardin's 23rd mayor, Henry Hochhalter, was elected to the post late in 1981 and began serving at the beginning of 1982.

1990 - 1994                                      Joseph Koebbe, Hardin's 24th mayor was elected January 1, 1990 and served until July 31, 1994.

1994 - 2010                                     The 25th mayor, Ron Adams, has served since August 1, 1994 until the election of 2009, when he decided not to run again for Mayor.

2010-2011                                         The 26th Mayor and first woman to be elected to the office of Mayor. Resigned April 5, 2011.

2011-2013                                         When Mayor Hammond resigned in 2011, Joseph Koebbe returned for another term. Joe retired in 2013.

2013-2018​

2018-2026