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History of City Managers

The Council-Manager form of government for the City of Cookeville was approved with the adoption of a new City Charter in 1961. Chapter 223 of the Private Acts of Tennessee, 1961, was adopted by special referendum on April 29, 1961, with 410 voting for and 258 voting against the new Charter. Since the establishment of the Council-Manager form of government, the City has had 12 permanent City Managers and 2 interim or acting City Managers. The longest serving City Manager was Jim Shipley, serving from 1995 to 2015. Bethal Newport was the second longest in the position, serving from 1968 to 1981. The following individuals have served as City Manager for the City of Cookeville:

Edmund Meisenhelder III 9-25-61 to 2-4-62

C. N. Martin 3-1-62 to 10-15-62

Ed Little 10-19-62 to 9-17-64

Dwain Peterman 9-21-64 to 7-17-67

Luther Mathis 8-22-67 to 8-1-68 and 2-7-84 to 7-31-88

Bethal Newport 9-5-68 to 2-28-81

Ed Kimsey 2-28-81 to 2-6-84

Barrett Jones 11-1-88 to 6-7-90

John Gentry 7-1-90 to 9-30-95

Jim Shipley 9-30-95 to 3-6-15

Mike Davidson 3-7-15 to 6-30-19

James Mills 7-1-19 to Present

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