The mayor of Bakersfield is the elected leader for the city of

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. Prior to 1957, the mayor was appointed by the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

and the head of the executive branch. After that time, the mayor was split into two positions. The

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

would be appointed by the city council and run the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

. The mayor would be elected by the citizens and serve as the leader for the city. The mayor is elected to four year terms, under the

single-winner voting system A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vot ...

. There is no limit on the number of terms they can serve. The office of the mayor is located at City Hall, but has no official residence.

Powers and duties

The description for the office of mayor is largely described in Article III, Section 20 of the Bakersfield City Charter, although some duties are described elsewhere. The mayor's primary role is to represent the city to other governments and business, as well as participate in ceremonies. There are some official powers, although some are rarely used. The mayor is the presiding member for all city council meetings, although they can not interfere with the proceedings of the council. The mayor also has the power to call special meetings of the city council. Probably one of the most important roles of the mayor is to cast the deciding vote when the city council is tied. This situation is very rare since the council is made up of seven members, an odd number. The only way for the city council to be deadlocked is either an odd number of abstaining votes, or an odd number of vacancies. This brings the number of possible votes to an even number, and a tie can occur. Except for a tie, the mayor also votes in three other occasions. They cast a vote on the appointment and removal for the City Manager, and City Attorney. The other vote relates to city contract work. After a project has been approved by the city council, and bids have either been rejected or no bids submitted, the mayor may cast a vote for turning over the work to city employees. He can not bring the matter to a vote, but only cast a vote.

List of mayors

This is a partial list of mayors of

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

by term, name, and other comments. * 1918 C. L. Taylor * 1919 Jay A. Hinman * 1921 E. L. Hougham * 1923 George Haberfelde * 1925 L. K. Stoner * 1937 George E. Wilson * 1950 Jake Vanderlei * 1952–1953 Frank Sullivan * 1954–1956 Manuel J. Carnakis (1911–1997) * 1957–1960 Frank Sullivan * 1981–1985 Mary K. Shell (1927–2018) – First woman mayor. * 1992–2001 Robert "Bob" Otis Price (1932–2011) * 2001–2017

Harvey Hall Harvey L. Hall (January 5, 1941 – May 19, 2018) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 25th mayor of Bakersfield, California. Hall was first elected in 2000, and re-elected in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He was one of the longes ...

(1941–2018) – 25th mayor. * 2017–present

Karen Goh Karen K. Goh (born 1955) is an American politician and non-profit organization executive born in India. Goh is the 26th and current mayor of Bakersfield, California. Before becoming mayor of Bakersfield, Goh was a non profit executive at Garden P ...

– First mayor of Asian descent. Second woman mayor.

References

External links

Mayors of Bakersields at politicalgraveyard.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayor Of Bakersfield Mayors of places in California People from Bakersfield, California