The

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

is recognised as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes. There have been seventy-six mayors of Cincinnati, the first of which being David Ziegler in 1802. The current mayor is

Aftab Pureval Aftab Karma Singh Pureval (born September 9, 1982) is an American attorney and politician serving as 70th Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, since January 4, 2022. On January 14, 2021, he declared his candidacy for the 2021 Cincinnati mayoral election. O ...

, who was elected on November 2, 2021, and took office noon on January 4, 2022.

Executive powers

The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

shall preside over all meetings of the

Cincinnati City Council The Cincinnati City Council is the lawmaking body of Cincinnati, Ohio. The nine-member city council is elected at-large in a single election in which each voter chooses nine candidates from the field. The nine top vote-getters win seats on the cou ...

. The mayor may call a special meeting of the council, but may not have a vote in the council. The mayor has the power to propose legislation for debate among the council. The mayor shall appoint and may remove the vice-mayor and the chair of all committees of the council without the advice and consent of the council. The mayor of

shall be recognized as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes, except as provided otherwise in the city charter of Cincinnati. The mayor may appoint a city manager upon an affirmative vote of five members of the city council following the mayor's recommendation. The mayor delivers an annual address to the council and citizens of the city reporting on the state of the city and making recommendations for the establishment and achievement of future city goals. In time of public danger or emergency, the mayor, with the consent of the council, may take command of the police, maintain order and enforce the law.

Succession

In the event of the death, removal or resignation of the mayor, the

Vice Mayor of Cincinnati A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

shall succeed to the office of mayor in accordance with the city charter. The current vice mayor of Cincinnati is Jan Michelle Kearney.

History

Until the charter of 1815, the President of the council served as equivalent of mayor. Two sources agree on the list of Presidents: Prior to 1925 (and since 1999) the mayor of

, Ohio was elected in a separate, partisan election. In 1924, the

Charter Party A charterparty (sometimes charter-party) is a maritime contract between a shipowner and a "charterer" for the hire of either a ship for the carriage of passengers or cargo, or a yacht for pleasure purposes. Charter party is a contract of carriag ...

, a local third-party, was founded. It has elected members of the city council and mayors. Until 1961, many Democrats ran as Charterites. The party focuses exclusively on local government; thus, many Charterites switch to a major party when seeking office outside Cincinnati. From 1925 through 1998, the mayor was chosen by the city council from among its nine members. In 1971, a coalition of two parties, the Democrats and the Charterites, worked out a power-sharing plan, which, starting in 1973, resulted in a rotating mayorship. After a few years of rotation, they decided that the city council member who received the most votes in the election would automatically become mayor. In 1999,

Charlie Luken Charles John Luken (born July 18, 1951, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. L ...

became the first mayor to take office under a restored system of direct mayoral election.

Mayor firsts

In 1900,

Julius Fleischmann Julius Augustus Fleischmann (June 8, 1871 – February 5, 1925) was an American businessman, the long-time president of Fleischmann's Yeast, and a former mayor of Cincinnati. A bon vivant, sailor, and sportsman, he was the son of yeast magnate ...

became the youngest mayor of Cincinnati at the age of 28 years. In 1954, Dorothy N. Dolbey became the first female mayor of the City of Cincinnati. In 2006,

Mark Mallory Mark Mallory (born April 2, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 68th Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first two-term Mayor under the City's new Stronger-Mayor system, the first directly elect ...

was the first directly elected African-American Mayor of Cincinnati. On November 2, 2021,

was elected the first Asian American mayor of Cincinnati. Mayor Pureval is the 70th and current mayor of Cincinnati.

List of mayors

References

{{Cincinnati