The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the

government of Los Angeles The government of the City of Los Angeles operates as a charter city (as opposed to a general law city) under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The List of elected officials in Los Angeles, elected government is composed of the Los An ...

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. Forty-two men and one woman have been

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

since 1850, when

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

became a state following the American conquest of California. Between 1781 and the conquest,

Californios Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

, or native-born residents of the Mexican territory, served as ''alcalde'', equivalent to ''mayor''. The current mayor is

Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the United States House ...

, who was elected on November 17, 2022, and took office on December 12, 2022.

History

The office of ''

Alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

'', 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. 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. When California was conquered and Los Angeles came under the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the office name was changed to Mayor.

Powers

Los Angeles has a council form of government, giving the mayor the position of chief executive of the city. The mayor appoints general managers and commissioners, removes officials from city posts, and proposes a yearly budget. Most of the mayor's appointments and proposals are subject to approval 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, borough counc ...

. 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. 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. The mayor has an office in the

Los Angeles City Hall Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the Mayor of Los Angeles, mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is loca ...

and resides at the mayor's mansion, Getty House, located in Windsor Square. As of 2020, the mayor received a salary of $248,141.

Succession

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. If the mayor resigns, the City Charter gives the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...

the power to appoint an interim mayor through the end of the term and/or the power to call a special election.

Elections

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. The mayor is elected in a citywide election and follows a

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

. 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 A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. The city charter allows for

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

s 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 2017. 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. 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. The most recent election was held in November 2022. Politician

defeated businessman Rick Caruso.

References

External links

Office of Mayor website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayor Of Los Angeles, California Government of Los Angeles Mayors