Mayor of the City of Los Angeles | |
---|---|
Government of Los Angeles | |
Style | Her Honor |
Residence | Getty House |
Term length | Four years (renewable once) |
Inaugural holder | Alpheus P. Hodges |
Formation | 1850 |
Salary | $269,365 |
Website | www |
The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, both the elections and the office were partisan. [1]
Forty-two men and one woman have been mayor since 1850, when California became a state following the American conquest of California. Between 1781 and the conquest, Californios, or native-born residents of the Mexican territory, served as alcalde, equivalent to mayor. The current mayor is Karen Bass, who was elected on November 17, 2022, and took office on December 12, 2022. [2]
The office of Alcalde , the Mayor of El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles, was established in 1781 and elected annually without the right to reelection for two years. [3] [4] [5] In 1841, the office of alcalde was abolished, instead being replaced by two Jueces de Paz (Justice of the peace). In 1844, the office of alcalde was restored but kept the two officials. [6] When California was conquered and Los Angeles came under the United States, the office name was changed to Mayor.
Los Angeles has a council form of government, giving the mayor the position of chief executive of the city. [7] The mayor appoints general managers and commissioners, removes officials from city posts, and proposes a yearly budget. [8] Most of the mayor's appointments and proposals are subject to approval by the City Council. The mayor also has the power to veto or approve certain City Council actions, though the City Council can override the Mayor's veto with a two-thirds vote. [9] [10]
The organization of the mayor's office changes with each new administration, but is almost always governed by a chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, director of communications, and several deputy mayors. Each mayor organizes their office into different offices, usually containing the Los Angeles Housing Team, Los Angeles Business Team, International Trade Office, Mayor's Volunteer Corps, and Office of Immigrant Affairs, among other divisions. [11]
The mayor has an office in the Los Angeles City Hall and resides at the mayor's mansion, Getty House, located in Windsor Square. [11] As of 2020, the mayor received a salary of $248,141. [12]
In the case of an office vacancy, the city council has a choice to appoint a new mayor or to hold a special election. The replacement, if appointed, will serve until the next regularly scheduled primary for a city general election. If any portion remains on the term, a special election will be held to elect a candidate to serve the remainder of the term.[ citation needed ]
The mayor is subject to recall by registered voters if at least 15 percent of eligible voters sign a recall petition within 120 days of the first day of circulation. If the petition is successful, a special election is held asking whether the incumbent should be removed and who among a list of candidates should replace the incumbent. If the recall is successful, the replacement candidate with the majority of votes succeeds the ousted incumbent. If no replacement candidate receives a majority of the votes, a special runoff election is held between the top two candidates. [13]
The mayor is elected to a four-year term, with a limit of two consecutive terms, and is officially nonpartisan by state law, although most mayoral candidates identify a party preference. [13] [14]
The mayor is elected in a citywide election and follows a two-round system. [15] The first round of the election is called the primary election, with the candidate receiving a majority of the vote in the primary is elected outright. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two candidates advance to a runoff election, called the general election. The city charter allows for write-in candidates for the primary election, but not for the runoff in the general election.
Elections for mayor were held in odd-numbered years from 1909 until 2013. In October 2014, the Los Angeles City Council recommended consolidating city elections with gubernatorial and presidential elections in even-numbered years in an effort to increase turnout. [16] [17] On March 3, 2015, voters passed a charter amendment to extend the term of the mayor elected in 2017 to five and a half years. From 2022 and onward, mayoral elections will be consolidated with the statewide gubernatorial elections held every four years. [18]
The most recent election was held in November 2022. Politician Karen Bass defeated businessman Rick Caruso. [2]
The Los Angeles City Council is the lawmaking body of Los Angeles. It has 15 members from 15 council districts that are spread throughout the city.
The 2001 election for Mayor of Los Angeles took place on April 10, 2001, with a run-off election on June 5, 2001. Incumbent mayor Richard Riordan was prevented from running for a third term because of term limits. In the election to replace him, then-City Attorney James Hahn defeated Antonio Villaraigosa, the former speaker of the California State Assembly.
The 1993 election for Mayor of Los Angeles took place on April 20, 1993, with a run-off election on June 8, 1993. This was the first race in 64 years that an incumbent was not on the ballot. It marked the first time in 24 years that retiring Mayor Tom Bradley was not on the ballot, after five consecutive victories starting in 1973. Richard Riordan became the first Republican mayor elected in 36 years.
Ranked-choice voting (RCV) can refer to one of several ranked voting methods used in some cities and states in the United States. The term is not strictly defined, but most often refers to instant-runoff voting (IRV) or single transferable vote (STV).
The 2013 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on March 5, 2013, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles. No candidate received a majority of the primary votes to be elected outright, and the top two finishers, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel advanced to a runoff vote. On May 21, 2013, Garcetti was elected mayor with a majority of the votes in the runoff.
The 2012 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Jerry Sanders was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election.
The government of the City of Los Angeles operates as a charter city under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The elected government is composed of the Los Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and the mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor–council government, as well as several other elective offices. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan. The current mayor is Karen Bass, the current city attorney is Hydee Feldstein Soto and the current city controller is Kenneth Mejia.
The 1949 election for Mayor of Los Angeles took place on April 5, 1949, with a run-off election on May 31, 1949. Incumbent Fletcher Bowron was re-elected.
The 1969 election for Mayor of Los Angeles took place on April 1, 1969, with a run-off election on May 27, 1969. Incumbent Sam Yorty was re-elected over councilmember Tom Bradley, a win that had a record-breaking turnout. Yorty used race against Bradley to paint him as a mayor who would be open to Black Nationalism and that he was inefficient against fighting crime, both were denied by Bradley as he was a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department before his election to the council.
The 2004 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Dick Murphy stood for reelection for a second term.
Municipal elections were held in San Diego in 2014 for city council and propositions. The primary election was held on June 3, 2014, and the general election was held on November 4, 2014. Four of the nine seats of the San Diego City Council were contested. Two city council incumbents ran for re-election in their same district and one ran for election in a new district due to redistricting.
The 2000 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Susan Golding was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.
Municipal elections were held in San Diego in 2016 for mayor, city attorney, city council, and ballot measures. The primary election was held on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Five of the nine council seats were contested. Two city council incumbents ran for reelection.
The 1975 San Diego mayoral election was held on September 16, 1975 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent Pete Wilson stood for reelection.
The 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, California. A top-two primary was held on June 7, 2022. Candidates could win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote, but no candidate received a majority. More than forty candidates formed committees to run. Twenty-seven filed their declaration of intention to collect signatures for the ballot, and of these twelve qualified.
The 1994 Oakland mayoral election was held on June 7, 1994 and November 8, 1994 to elect the mayor of Oakland, California. It saw the reelection of Elihu Harris.
The 1978 San Jose mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of San Jose, California. It saw an initial election held on June 6, 1978, followed by a runoff election on November 7, 1978 after no candidate managed to obtain a majority in the initial election. The runoff was won by incumbent mayor Janet Gray Hayes.
The 2022 Tulsa municipal elections were held on August 23, 2022. A top two runoff election was scheduled for November 8 if no candidate receives a majority vote. All nine city council seats and the city auditor are elected to two year terms. The filing period was June 13–15. Incumbent Mayor G.T. Bynum is not up for reelection until 2024. All nine city council seats will have contested elections. City Auditor Cathy Carter was re-elected without opposition.
As part of the 2022 United States elections, throughout the year various elections were held at the local level, including the office of mayor, as well as several other municipal and county-level positions. A number of major U.S. cities held mayoral elections in 2022, and saw incumbent mayors re-elected, including Fort Smith, Arkansas ; Little Rock, Arkansas ; Tallahassee, Florida ; Lexington, Kentucky ; Reno, Nevada ; Newark, New Jersey ; Charlotte, North Carolina, and Raleigh, North Carolina ; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ; Denton, Texas ; and Washington, D.C..