Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

Mayor of Kansas City
Flag of Kansas City, Missouri
Incumbent
Quinton Lucas
since August 1, 2019
StyleHis Honor
ResidencePrivate residence
Term lengthFour years
Inaugural holderWilliam S. Gregory
Formation19th century
WebsiteOffice of the Mayor
Number of mayors of Kansas City by party affiliation[A]
Party Mayors
Democratic 37
Republican 20
Whig 1

The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri is the highest official in the Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Government.

Since the 1920s the city has had a council-manager government in which a city manager runs most of the day-to-day operations of the city. Unlike most cities of its size, by charter Kansas City has a "weak-mayor" system, in which most of the power is formally vested in the city council. However, the mayor is very influential in drafting and guiding public policy. The mayor presides over all city council meetings and has a casting vote on the council. Due to these combined factors the mayor, in fact, holds a significant amount of de facto power in the city government.

Since 1946, mayors of Kansas City have been elected by the voters of Kansas City to four-year terms and are limited to two terms under the city's charter. Mayors initially served one-year terms until 1890 when they began serving two-year terms. According to the City Charter, city elections are non-partisan, meaning that the mayor and city council run without nominal political affiliation. The mayor of Kansas City occupies an office on the 29th floor of the Kansas City City Hall, the building's highest floor. Eleven of Kansas City's mayors are interred in Elmwood Cemetery. The current mayor of Kansas City is Quinton Lucas, who was elected in 2019.