1947 Elijah Radford Betterton Jr.
(Lived June 29, 1879 – January 10, 1958)
Upon the resignation of Mayor Bass, the city commission appointed Commissioner of Fire and Police Elijah Betterton as acting mayor. Better known as “Lige,” Mayor Betterton had first been elected to the City Commission in 1935 and served as the Commissioner of Streets and Sewers for six years. Mayor Betterton did not seek a full term as mayor and retired from public service at the end of his term as acting mayor.