List of mayors of Los Angeles

Then-Mayor Eric Garcetti (center) with his predecessors Antonio Villaraigosa (right) and James Hahn (left) in 2013.

The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive of the Government of Los Angeles as set in the city charter. The current officeholder, the 43rd in the sequence of regular mayors, is Karen Bass, a member of the Democratic Party, though the office has been nonpartisan since 1909.[1]

When Los Angeles was founded as a small town, a comisionado (Military Commissioner) was appointed before the title was changed to alcalde (Mayor) in 1786. Between 1841 and 1844, there were two mayors called the Jueces de Paz (Justices of Peace). When the United States took control, the office was renamed to Mayor.[2]

The longest serving mayors have been Tom Bradley (1973–1993; 20 years), Fletcher Bowron (1938–1953; 14 years), Sam Yorty (1961–1973; 12 years), and Eric Garcetti (2013–2022; 9 years).[3] The shortest tenures, not counting Acting Mayors, were John Bryson (77 days), Bernard Cohn (14 days), and William Stephens (11 days).

Although the President of the Los Angeles City Council serves as acting mayor when the Mayor is out of the city, only five have served due to a vacancy: Manuel Requena (1855 and 1856), Wallace Woodworth (1860–1861), Bernard Cohn (1878), Niles Pease (1909), and Martin F. Betkouski (1916); only one, Cohn, ascended from Acting Mayor to Mayor.[4] Two Mayors have died during their terms: Henry Mellus and Frederick A. MacDougall.

Los Angeles has had five Latino mayors post-incorporation: Antonio F. Coronel, Manuel Requena, Cristobal Aguilar, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Eric Garcetti.[5] The city has also had two African-American mayors, Tom Bradley and Karen Bass. Two French-Canadian politicians, Damien Marchesseault and Prudent Beaudry, have served as Mayors.[6] The first woman to serve as Mayor is Karen Bass, who was elected in 2022.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nonpartisan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Schmal, John P. (April 17, 2004). "The Mayors of Los Angeles". LatinoLA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2004.
  3. ^ Van Dyke, Jonathan (August 17, 2015). "SCREENING, PANEL ILLUMINATE THE LIFE OF FORMER MAYOR, UCLA ALUMNUS TOM BRADLEY". UCLA Government & Community Relations.
  4. ^ Rasmussen, Cecilia (May 8, 2005). "The City of Angels Has Had Mayors With Demons". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ Rasmussen, Cecilia (May 18, 2005). "From the 19th Century, a Look at City's Past Latino Mayors". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Tindal, Chris. "The French Canadian Mayor of Los Angeles". Acres of Snow.
  7. ^ Wick, Julia (December 11, 2022). "Karen Bass sworn in as Los Angeles mayor, the first woman to hold the office". Los Angeles Times.