The Town of Skaneateles was formed from the Town of Marcellus on February 26, 1830. Since then, the town has elected a town supervisor to lead the Town Council. Chris Legg (D) will succeed Janet Aaron (R) as town supervisor and will serve along with four Town Councilors: Courtney Alexander (R), Sue Dove (R), Mark Tucker (R), and Lori Milne (R).
42 unique individuals have served a total of 45 tenures as town supervisor. These individuals are as follows:
| # | Name | Start Year | End Year | Length of Tenure | Total Length of Service | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunis Van Houghten | 1830 | 1831 | 2 years | 2 years | first town supervisor |
| 2 | Dorastus Lawrence | 1832 | 1833 | 2 years | 3 years | 1st tenure |
| 3 | Chester Clark | 1836 | 1838 | 3 years | 3 years | - |
| 4 | William Fuller | 1839 | 1841 | 3 years | 3 years | also village president (1854) |
| 5 | Samuel H. Greenman | 1842 | 1843 | 2 years | 2 years | - |
| 6 | James H. Gifford | 1844 | 1844 | 1 year | 1 year | - |
| 7 | Spencer Hannum | 1845 | 1846 | 2 years | 2 years | also village president (1844, 1859); namesake of Hannum Street |
| 8 | William H. Jewett | 1847 | 1848 | 2 years | 2 years | also village president (1849) |
| 9 | Aaron Brinkerhoff | 1849 | 1852 | 4 years | 4 years | - |
| 10 | Daniel T. Moseley | 1853 | 1855 | 3 years | 3 years | - |
| 11 | John Barrow | 1856 | 1856 | 1 year | 1 year | 1st tenure; also village president (1856) |
| 12 | Dorastus Lawrence | 1857 | 1857 | 1 year | 3 years | 2nd tenure |
| 13 | John Barrow | 1858 | 1860 | 3 years | 4 years | 2nd tenure |
| 14 | Caleb W. Allis | 1861 | 1864 | 4 years | 4 years | also village president pro tem (1860-1861) |
| 15 | John H. Smith | 1865 | 1868 | 4 years | 4 years | - |
| 16 | Edward B. Coe | 1869 | 1870 | 2 years | 2 years | - |
| 17 | George T. Campbell | 1871 | 1871 | 1 year | 1 year | - |
| 18 | George W. Earll | 1872 | 1872 | 1 year | 1 year | - |
| 19 | Thomas Morton | 1873 | 1873 | 1 year | 1 year | - |
| 20 | H.B. Benedict | 1874 | 1874 | 1 year | 1 year | - |
| 21 | Andrew J. Earll | 1875 | 1877 | 3 years | 3 years | - |
| 22 | John H. Gregory | 1878 | 1879 | 2 years | 2 years | - |
| 23 | Dennis Bockes | 1880 | 1880 | 1 year | 8 years | 1st tenure |
| 24 | J. Horatio Earll | 1881 | 1881 | 1 year | 1 year | also village president (1905-1908) |
| 25 | Dennis Bockes | 1882 | 1888 | 7 years | 8 years | 2nd tenure |
| 26 | Stephen Thornton | 1889 | 1897 | 9 years | 9 years | - |
| 27 | N.O. Shepard | 1898 | 1909 | 12 years | 12 years | also village president (1891) |
| 28 | William G. Stuart | 1910 | 1916 | 7 years | 7 years | - |
| 29 | Charles M. Goodspeed | 1917 | 1927 | 11 years | 11 years | namesake of Goodspeed Place |
| 30 | Charles T. Major, Sr. | 1928 | 1933 | 6 years | 6 years | father of #37 |
| 31 | Charles W. Hunt | 1934 | 1940 | 7 years | 7 years | - |
| 32 | Byron B. Lee | 1941 | 1955 | 15 years | 15 years | longest-serving town supervisor |
| 33 | Ivan J. Stewart | 1956 | 1959 | 4 years | 4 years | - |
| 34 | Arthur W. Hyatt (R) | 1960 | 1967 | 8 years | 8 years | - |
| 35 | Edward L. "Ed" Carls | 1968 | 1973 | 6 years | 6 years | - |
| 36 | David T. Walton | 1974 | 1977 | 4 years | 4 years | - |
| 37 | Charles T. Major, Jr. (R) | 1978 | 1991 | 14 years | 14 years | son of #30; currently serves as town justice |
| 38 | John Angyal (R) | 1992 | 1995 | 4 years | 4 years | - |
| 39 | Paul William "Bill" Pavlus | 1996 | 2005 | 10 years | 10 years | - |
| 40 | Phil Tierney (D) | 2006 | 2009 | 4 years | 4 years | - |
| 41 | Terri Roney (R) | 2010 | 2013 | 4 years | 4 years | first female supervisor |
| 42 | Mary Sennett (D) | 2014 | 2015 | 2 years | 2 years | also village mayor (2021-) |
| 43 | Jim Lanning (R) | 2016 | 2017 | 2 years | 2 years | - |
| 44 | Janet L. Aaron (R) | 2018 | 2023 | 5 years | 5 years | - |
| 45 | Chris Legg (D)* | 2024 | ? | ? years | ? years | *Chris Legg is the supervisor-elect |
SEE ALSO