AmericanPride
on February 19, 2026
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The core takeaway is correct: These major cities have been under continuous Democratic mayoral control for decades (50+ years in most cases) and they suck, but this meme floating around still needed fact-checking, Here's what I found…
No, not entirely—the meme mixes accurate historical facts with some inaccuracies and simplifications, especially around the phrasing “voters elected.” It correctly highlights that these are long-time Democratic strongholds with no recent Republican mayors, but the specific years aren’t precise for every city if you stick strictly to when voters elected one (as the headline claims).
Here’s the breakdown by city, based on official mayoral records and histories:
• Seattle – 1964: Accurate. James d’Orma Braman (Republican) was elected in 1964 and served until 1969 (when he resigned). He remains the last Republican mayor of Seattle.
• Minneapolis – 1973: Not accurate for “voters elected.” Richard Erdall (Republican) served for one day (Dec. 31, 1973) as acting mayor after the elected mayor resigned—he was council president and automatically succeeded for that single day. He was never elected mayor by voters. The last elected Republican mayor was in 1957 (P. Kenneth Peterson).
• Portland (Oregon) – 1979: Not accurate for “voters elected.” Connie McCready (Republican) was appointed by the city council in September 1979 after the prior mayor resigned; she served until November 1980 and lost re-election. She was the last Republican to serve as mayor, but the last elected Republican mayor was about 60 years earlier (~1957).
• Chicago – 1927: Accurate. William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson (Republican) was elected in 1927 for his third non-consecutive term and served until 1931. He remains the last Republican mayor of Chicago.
• Washington, D.C. – NEVER: Directionally true in modern context, but not literally across all history. D.C. has had no Republican mayor since home rule began in 1975 (when voters first elected the modern mayor—all have been Democrats). However, in the 19th century (before Congress abolished local elected government in 1871), voters did elect several Republican mayors (e.g., in the 1860s). The meme’s “NEVER” fits the contemporary elected era the other cities reference.
Bottom line on the meme’s point
The core takeaway is correct: These major cities have been under continuous Democratic mayoral control for decades (50+ years in most cases). No recent Republican has won the mayor’s office there. The rhetorical question about “blaming Trump for crime” is pure opinion/politics—not a verifiable “fact.” Crime trends in these cities are driven by local policies, policing, economics, etc., over many years of one-party rule, not recent federal actions.
This is a classic political meme: mostly true in broad strokes for effect, but fudges details on “elected” vs. “last served” to make the timeline look even longer in a couple of cases. The spirit is right; the literal wording has a couple of slips.
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