Mayor of Los Angeles

Mayor of Los Angeles

Seal of City of Los Angeles
Incumbent
Antonio Villaraigosa
since July 1, 2005
Residence Getty House
Term length 4 years
Inaugural holder Stephen Clark Foster
Formation 1848
Website Office of the Mayor

The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city.[1] He is elected for a four-year term[2] and limited to serving no more than two terms.[3] Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan.[4] The 41st and current Mayor is Antonio Villaraigosa.

The mayor has an office in the Los Angeles City Hall and resides at the Mayor's Mansion, Getty House, located in Windsor Square in Hancock Park.

In the case of an office vacancy, the City Council has a choice to appoint a new mayor or to hold a special election.[5] The mayor is subject to recall.

Contents

Duties and powers

Los Angeles has a strong mayor council form of government, giving the mayor the position of chief executive of the city. The city does not have a city manager and as a result, the mayor's office resembles the office of a president or governor. The mayor is given the authority to appoint general managers and commissioners, remove officials from city posts, and is required to propose a budget each year. Most of the mayor's appointments and proposals are subject to approval by the Los Angeles City Council, but the mayor has the power of veto or approval of City Council legislation.[6] The organization of the mayor's office changes with administration, but is almost always governed by a chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, director of communications, and several deputy mayors. Each mayor also organizes his 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.

List of mayors

Since California became a state in 1850, the following Mayors have served.[7]

For pre-statehood mayors, see List of pre-statehood mayors of Los Angeles, California.
# Mayor Tenure Terms
1 Alpheus P. Hodges July 1, 1850–May 7, 1851 1
2 Benjamin D. Wilson May 7, 1851–May 4, 1852 1
3 John G. Nichols May 4, 1852–May 3, 1853 1
4 Antonio F. Coronel May 3, 1853–May 4, 1854 1
5 Stephen C. Foster May 4, 1854–January 13, 1855 1
– no incumbent January 13, 1855–January 25, 1855
– Stephen C. Foster January 25, 1855–May 9, 1855 Partial
6 Dr. Thomas Foster May 9, 1855–May 7, 1856 1
– Stephen C. Foster May 7, 1856–September 22, 1856 Partial
– John G. Nichols October 4, 1856–May 9, 1859 3
7 Damien Marchessault May 9, 1859–May 9, 1860 1
8 Henry Mellus May 9, 1860–December 26, 1860† Partial
– Damien Marchessault January 7, 1861–May 6, 1865 4
9 Joseph Mascarel May 5, 1865–May 10, 1866 1
10 Cristóbal Aguilar May 10, 1866–December 7, 1868 2
11 Joel Turner December 9, 1868–December 9, 1870 2
– Cristóbal Aguilar December 9, 1870–December 5, 1872 2
12 James R. Toberman December 5, 1872–December 18, 1874 2
13 Prudent Beaudry December 18, 1874–December 8, 1876 2
14 Frederick A. MacDougal December 8, 1876–November 16, 1878 2
15 Bernard Cohn November 21, 1878–December 5, 1878 Partial
– James R. Toberman December 5, 1878–December 9, 1882 4
16 Cameron E. Thom December 9, 1882–December 9, 1884 2
17 Edward F. Spence December 9, 1884–December 14, 1886 2
18 William H. Workman December 14, 1886–December 10, 1888 2
19 John Bryson December 10, 1888–February 25, 1889 1
20 Henry T. Hazard February 25, 1889–December 5, 1892 2
21 Thomas E. Rowan December 12, 1892–December 12, 1894 1
22 Frank Rader December 12, 1894–December 16, 1896 1
23 Meredith P. Snyder December 16, 1896–December 15, 1898 1
24 Fred Eaton December 15, 1898–December 12, 1900 1
– Meredith P. Snyder December 12, 1900–December 8, 1904 2
25 Owen McAleer December 8, 1904–December 13, 1906 1
26 Arthur C. Harper December 13, 1906–March 11, 1909 1
27 William D. Stephens March 15, 1909–March 26, 1909 Partial
28 George Alexander March 26, 1909–July 1, 1913 2
29 Henry Rose July 1, 1913–July 1, 1915 1
30 Charles E. Sebastian July 1, 1915–September 2, 1916 1
31 Frederick T. Woodman September 5, 1916–July 1, 1919 2
– Meredith P. Snyder July 1, 1919–July 1, 1921 1
32 George E. Cryer July 1, 1921–July 1, 1929 3
33 John C. Porter July 1, 1929–July 1, 1933 1
34 Frank L. Shaw July 1, 1933–September 26, 1938 2
35 Fletcher Bowron September 26, 1938–July 1, 1953 4
36 C. Norris Poulson July 1, 1953–July 1, 1961 2
37 Samuel W. Yorty July 1, 1961–July 1, 1973 3
38 Thomas Bradley July 1, 1973–July 1, 1993 5
39 Richard J. Riordan July 1, 1993–July 1, 2001 2
40 James K. Hahn July 1, 2001–July 1, 2005 1
41 Antonio Villaraigosa July 1, 2005–present

† Died in office in 1860.

The office of Mayor is nonpartisan. If no candidate receives fifty percent, plus one vote, a runoff election is required. (See Mayoral runoff races below).

Mayoral runoff races

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary election, the top two finishers meet in a runoff two months later. The table below refers to the runoff races over the years.

Year Winning Candidate Losing Candidate Losing Candidate #2
2009 No runoff. Antonio Villaraigosa received a majority in the first round.
2005 Antonio Villaraigosa
289,116		 James K. Hahn
203,968
2001 James K. Hahn
304,791		 Antonio Villaraigosa
264,611
1997 Richard Riordan
250,771		 Tom Hayden
140,648
1993 Richard Riordan
314,559		 Michael Woo
268,137
1989 No runoff. Tom Bradley received a majority in the first round.
1985 Thomas Bradley
313,318		 John Ferraro
141,499
1981 Thomas Bradley
293,138		 Samuel Yorty
148,193
1977 Thomas Bradley
288,636		 Alan Robbins
136,515
1973 Thomas Bradley
433,473		 Samuel Yorty
335,857
1969 Sam Yorty
449,572		 Thomas Bradley
394,364
1965 Sam Yorty
395,208		 James Roosevelt
249,099
1961 Sam Yorty
276,106		 Norris Poulson
260,381
1957 Norris Poulson
314,910		 Robert Yeakel
142,094
1953 Norris Poulson
290,239		 Fletcher Bowron
254,114
1949 Fletcher Bowron
238,190		 Lloyd Aldrich
207,211
1941 Fletcher Bowron
112,556*		 Stephen W. Cunningham
90,597*
1938 Fletcher Bowron
232,686		 Frank L. Shaw
122,198
1932
(recall)		 John C. Porter
180,546		 Charles W. Dempster
102,815		 William G. Bonelli
74,917
1929 John C. Porter
 William G. Bonelli
1911 George Alexander Job Harriman
1909
(recall)
March 26		 George Alexander
14,043		 Fred C. Wheeler
12,341
1872 J. R. Toberman
715		 Cristóbal Aguilar
350
1870 Cristóbal Aguilar
436		 Andrew Glassell
428

Living former mayors

As of December 2008, two former mayors were alive, the older being Richard J. Riordan (1993–2001, born 1930). The most recent mayor to die was Thomas Bradley (1973–1993), on September 29, 1998.

Name Mayoral term Date of birth
Richard J. Riordan 1993–2001 May 1, 1930
James K. Hahn 2001–2005 July 3, 1950

See also

References

  1. ^ Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article II, Sec 230)
  2. ^ Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article II, Sec 205)
  3. ^ Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article II, Sec 206)
  4. ^ California Constitution, Article II, Section 6. [1]
  5. ^ Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article IV, Sec 409)
  6. ^ Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article II, Sec 240)
  7. ^ Office of the City Clerk, Mayors of Los Angeles, 1850 to Present [2]

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