Mayor of Los Angeles explained

Post:Mayor
Body:the City of Los Angeles
Insignia:Seal of Los Angeles.svg
Insigniasize:110px
Insigniacaption:Seal of Los Angeles
Incumbent:Karen Bass (D)
Incumbentsince:December 12, 2022
Department:Government of Los Angeles
Style:Her Honor
Residence:Getty House
Salary:$269,365
Termlength:Four years (renewable once)
Formation:1850
Inaugural:Alpheus P. Hodges
Flag:Flag_of_Los_Angeles,_California.svg
Flagcaption:Flag of Los Angeles
Flagsize:155px

The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles 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.[1]

Forty-two men and one woman have been mayor since 1850, when California became a state following the American conquest of California. Between 1781 and the conquest, Californios, or native-born residents of the Mexican territory, served as alcalde, equivalent to mayor. The current mayor is Karen Bass, who was elected on November 17, 2022, and took office on December 12, 2022.[2]

History

The office of Alcalde, 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.[3] [4] [5] 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.[6] When California was conquered and Los Angeles came under the United States, 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.[7] The mayor appoints general managers and commissioners, removes officials from city posts, and proposes a yearly budget.[8] Most of the mayor's appointments and proposals are subject to approval by the City Council. 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.[9] [10]

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.[11]

The mayor has an office in the Los Angeles City Hall and resides at the mayor's mansion, Getty House, located in Windsor Square.[11] As of 2020, the mayor received a salary of $248,141.[12]

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.

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.[13] [14]

The mayor is elected in a citywide election and follows a two-round system.[15] 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. The city charter allows for write-in candidates 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.[16] [17] 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.[18]

The most recent election was held in November 2022. Politician Karen Bass defeated businessman Rick Caruso.[2]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Los Angeles: structure of a city government. League of Women Voters.
  2. Web site: Karen Bass sworn in as Los Angeles mayor, the first woman to hold the office . . Wick, Julia . December 11, 2022.
  3. Web site: Los Angeles Under The Spanish Flag: Spain's New World. Mason, William M.. Southern California Genealogical Society. 2004.
  4. Caughey, John and LaRee Caughey. Los Angeles: Biography of a City. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1977. 74.
  5. "Alcalde" and "Ayuntamiento" in Pitt, Leonard and Dale PItt. Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. 11 and 33.
  6. Web site: Los Angeles City Mayors Past to Present. Los Angeles Almanac.
  7. Web site: How much power does the mayor of LA really have?. Wesler, Ariel. February 25, 2022. Spectrum News 1.
  8. Web site: LA Explained: With A New Mayor In Town, What Powers Does Bass Actually Have?. Hernández, Caitlin. LAist. December 12, 2022.
  9. Web site: What Does the Mayor of Los Angeles Do?. Cowan, Jill. July 13, 2021 . The New York Times.
  10. News: Your Guide to Power in L.A.. Los Angeles. Sonenshein, Raphael. February 21, 2013.
  11. Web site: How much power does the mayor of L.A. have?. March 24, 2013. Gonzelez, Saul. KCRW.
  12. Web site: Why Los Angeles Is In Trouble – Average Pay For 20,000 Highly Compensated City Employees Nears $150,000. Andrzejewski, Adam. Forbes.
  13. Web site: Los Angeles City Charter, Vol I, Article IV. Americal Legal Publishing Corporation. November 16, 2014.
  14. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.const/.article_2 California Constitution, Article II, Section 6
  15. Web site: A Vote for Saving Money and Increasing Voter Turnout. Toebben, Gary L.. May 20, 2008 . Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
  16. News: Walton. Alice. Proposal to move Los Angeles elections passes key committee. November 16, 2014. KPCC. October 17, 2014.
  17. News: Saillant. Catherine. Effort would consolidate L.A. elections with state and federal voting. February 26, 2015. Los Angeles Times. January 15, 2015.
  18. News: Hoping to Boost Dismal Turnouts, L.A. Votes to Change Election Dates. March 14, 2015. City News Service. KCET. March 4, 2015.