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Mayor of Los Angeles

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Los Angeles City Hall

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 city charter, the office is non-partisan, though candidate party affiliations are normally made public in elections. The current Mayor is Antonio Villaraigosa; he is the 52nd Mayor of Los Angeles.

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

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 truly is the one responsible, much like a President or Governor, for the success of the city. 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 City Council, but the Mayor has the power of veto or approval of City Council legislation.[4] 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.

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 office of the Mayor is also subject to recall in the same manner that he was elected.

The title should not be confused with the Mayor of the County of Los Angeles. That title is occasionally used by the chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The Los Angeles County Mayor position is a rotating position and purely ceremonial.


List of mayors

The current mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa.
# Mayor Tenure Terms Party
1 Stephen C. Foster * January 1, 1848July 1, 1850 Alcade 1
2 Alpheus P. Hodges July 1, 1850May 7, 1851 1
3 Benjamin D. Wilson May 7, 1851May 4, 1852 1
4 John G. Nichols May 4, 1852May 3, 1853 1 Democratic
5 Antonio F. Coronel May 3, 1853May 4, 1854 1 Democratic
6 Stephen C. Foster May 4, 1854January 13, 1855 1 Democratic
no incumbent January 13, 1855January 25, 1855
Stephen C. Foster January 25, 1855May 9, 1855 Partial Democratic
7 Dr. Thomas Foster May 9, 1855May 7, 1856 1 Democratic
Stephen C. Foster May 7, 1856September 22, 1856 Partial Democratic
Manuel Requena, Council President September 22, 1856October 4, 1856 Acting Republican
John G. Nichols October 4, 1856May 9, 1859 3 Democratic
8 Damien Marchessault May 9, 1859May 9, 1860 1 Democratic
9 Henry Mellus May 9, 1860December 26, 1860 Partial Democratic
William Woodworth, Council President December 27, 1860January 7, 1861 Acting Democratic
Damien Marchessault January 7, 1861May 6, 1865 4 Democratic
10 Joseph Mascarel May 5, 1865May 10, 1866 1 Republican
11 Cristóbal Aguilar May 10, 1866December 7, 1868 2 Democratic
12 Joel Turner December 9, 1868December 9, 1870 2 Democratic
Cristóbal Aguilar December 9, 1870December 5, 1872 2 Democratic
13 James R. Toberman December 5, 1872December 18, 1874 2 Democratic
14 Prudent Beaudry December 18, 1874December 8, 1876 2
15 Frederick A. MacDougal December 8, 1876November 16, 1878 2 Democratic
16 Bernard Cohn November 21, 1878December 5, 1878 Partial Democratic
James R. Toberman December 5, 1878December 9, 1882 4
17 Cameron E. Thom December 9, 1882December 9, 1884 2 Democratic
18 Edward F. Spence December 9, 1884December 14, 1886 2 Republican
19 William H. Workman December 14, 1886December 10, 1888 2 Democratic
20 John Bryson December 10, 1888February 25, 1889 1 Democratic
21 Henry T. Hazard February 25, 1889December 5, 1892 2 Republican
William H. Bonsall, Council President December 5, 1892December 12, 1892 Acting Republican
22 Thomas E. Rowan December 12, 1892December 12, 1894 1 Democratic
23 Frank Rader December 12, 1894December 16, 1896 1 Republican
24 Meredith P. Snyder December 16, 1896December 15, 1898 1 Democratic
25 Fred Eaton December 15, 1898December 12, 1900 1 Republican
Meredith P. Snyder December 12, 1900December 8, 1904 2 Democratic
26 Owen McAleer December 8, 1904December 13, 1906 1 Republican
27 Arthur C. Harper December 13, 1906March 11, 1909 1 Democratic
28 William D. Stephens March 15, 1909March 26, 1909 Partial Republican
29 George Alexander March 26, 1909July 1, 1913 2 Democratic
30 Henry Rose July 1, 1913July 1, 1915 1 Republican
31 Charles E. Sebastian July 1, 1915September 2, 1916 1 Democratic
32 Frederick T. Woodman September 5, 1916July 1, 1919 2 Republican
Meredith P. Snyder July 1, 1919July 1, 1921 1 Democratic
33 George E. Cryer July 1, 1921July 1, 1929 3 Republican
34 John C. Porter July 1, 1929July 1, 1933 1 Democratic
35 Frank L. Shaw July 1, 1933September 26, 1938 2 Reform
36 Fletcher Bowron September 26, 1938July 1, 1953 4 Democratic
37 C. Norris Poulson July 1, 1953July 1, 1961 2 Republican
38 Samuel W. Yorty July 1, 1961July 1, 1973 3 Democratic
39 Thomas Bradley July 1, 1973July 1, 1993 5 Democratic
40 Richard J. Riordan July 1, 1993July 1, 2001 2 Republican
41 James K. Hahn July 1, 2001July 1, 2005 1 Democratic
42 Antonio Villaraigosa July 1, 2005 – present Democratic

† Died in office in 1860.

‡ Samuel Yorty was elected and served two terms and most of his third as a Democrat, but changed affiliations to Republican in 1972.

The office of Mayor is officially non-partisan, with no intra-party primary prior to the general election. If neither candidate receives fifty percent, plus one vote, a runoff election is required. (See Mayoral runoff races below).

The party affiliation in the table references the incumbent's voter registration, as party affiliation is not identified on ballots.

Mayoral runoff races

All candidates run together, and if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote getters run against each other in a runoff election a couple of months later. The table below refers to the runoff races over the years.

(winners are in bold)

Year    
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 Thomas Bradley
156,7245
Nate R. Holden
84,376
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 E. Bonelli
74,917
1929 John C. Porter
William E. Bonelli
1911 George Alexander
Good Government Nominee
Job Harriman
Socialist
1909
(recall)
March 26
George Alexander
14,043
Fred C. Wheeler
12,341
Socialist
1872 J. R. Toberman
715
Cristóbal Aguilar
350
1870 Cristóbal Aguilar
436
Andrew Glassell
428
  • Note: 1941 election is reported with 1750 out of 2753 precincts reporting, but Cunningham concedes at this point

Notes

  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. ^ Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article II, Sec 240)
  5. ^ Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article IV, Sec 409)

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