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Mayor of San Jose, California

Elective public office in San Jose, California, United States

Mayor of San Jose, California
Summary

Elective public office in San Jose, California, United States

FieldValue
postMayor
bodythe City of San José
insigniaSeal of San José, California (alternate).svg
insigniasize100px
insigniacaptionSeal of San José
flagFlag of San José, California.svg
flagcaptionFlag of San Jose
imageMatt Mahan portrait.webp
incumbentMatt Mahan
incumbentsinceJanuary 1, 2023
termlengthFour years, renewable once
formation1850
inauguralJosiah Belden
websiteOffice of the Mayor

The Mayor of San Jose, officially the Mayor of the City of San José, is executive of the Government of the City of San Jose, California in the United States.

The mayor presides over the San Jose City Council, which is composed of 11 voting members, including the mayor. While the mayor is the head of the city council, they have no veto powers over legislation passed by the Council, as the city uses a council-manager form of government. The mayor serves a four-year term and is limited to two successive terms.

65 people have served as mayor in San Jose since 1850, when California became a state following the American Conquest of California. Before the conquest, Californios served as Mayor of San Jose during the Spanish and Mexican eras since 1777. The current mayor is Democrat Matt Mahan, who took office in January 2023.

List

Mayors prior to 1850

Mayors since 1850

Before 1967, the mayors of San Jose were nominated and elected by the San Jose City Council.

#PictureMayorTerm startTerm endNotes
1[[File:Josiah Belden.jpgframeless147x147px]]Josiah BeldenApril 13, 18501851
2Thomas W. WhiteApril 15, 18511854
3O. H. AllenDecember 5, 18541855title=Mayors of U.S. Cities M-Wurl=https://www.worldstatesmen.org/US_Mayors2.htmlaccess-date=2025-12-03website=WorldStatesmen.org}}
4[[File:Sherman Otis Houghton Crop.jpgframeless126x126px]]Sherman Otis HoughtonApril 12, 18551856
5[[File:Lawrence Archer.pngframeless138x138px]]Lawrence ArcherApril 16, 1856July 21, 1856
6[[File:John Marion Murphy Sr.pngframeless129x129px]]John Marion Murphy Sr.July 21, 1856August 5, 1856
7George GivensAugust 5, 1856April 13, 1857
8Ranson G. Moody18571858
9Peter O. Minor18581859
10[[File:Thomas Fallon.pngframeless100x100px]]Thomas Fallon18591860
11Richard B. Buckner18601861
12Joseph W. Johnson18611863
13[[File:John Alonzo Quinby.pngframeless127x127px]]John Alonzo Quinby18631868
14[[File:Mark Leavensworth.pngframeless107x107px]]Mark Leavensworth18681870
15[[File:Adolph Pfister.pngframeless109x109px]]Adolph Pfister18701873
16[[File:Bernard "Barney" Daniel Murphy.pngframeless123x123px]]Bernard D. Murphy18731877date=December 29, 1911title=The Passing of Barney Murphyurl=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-californian-the-passing-of-barney-mu/184225252/access-date=2025-11-03work=The Californianpages=7via=Newspapers.com}}
17George B. McKee18771878
18[[File:Lawrence Archer.pngframeless138x138px]]Lawrence Archer18781880title=Lawrence Archerurl=https://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/7259access-date=2025-12-02website=JoinCalifornia}}
19[[File:Bernard "Barney" Daniel Murphy.pngframeless123x123px]]Bernard D. Murphy18801882
20[[File:Charles J. Martin.pngframeless129x129px]]Charles J. Martin18821884
21[[File:Campbell Thomas Settle.pngframeless137x137px]]Campbell Thompson Settle18841886
22[[File:Charles Wesley Breyfogle.pngframeless133x133px]]Charles Wesley Breyfogle18861887
23[[File:Samuel Watson Boring.pngframeless131x131px]]Samuel Watson Boring18871890
24[[File:Samuel Rucker 1916 Crop.jpgframeless133x133px]]Samuel Newton Rucker18901894
25Paul P. Austin18941896
26[[File:Valentine Koch.pngframeless100x100px]]Valentine Koch18961898
27[[File:Charles J. Martin.pngframeless129x129px]]Charles J. Martin18981902
28[[File:Mayor George D. Worswick.pngframeless108x108px]]George D. Worswick19021906date=July 8, 1902title=McKenzie Gang Holds on To Office Until Thrown Out By The Policeurl=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-francisco-chronicle-mckenzie-gang-ho/187901703/access-date=2026-01-01work=San Francisco Chroniclepages=1via=Newspapers.com}}
29Henry D. Mathews19061908
30Charles W. Davison19081910
31Thomas Monahan19101914
32Fred R. Husted19141916
33Elmer E. Chase19161918
34Charles M. O'Brian19181920
35Albert C. Jayet19201922
36[[File:M. E. Arnerich, 1899 (cropped).jpgframeless133x133px]]M. E. Arnerich19221924
37Joseph T. Brooks19241926
38Dan W. Gray19261928
39[[File:Fred Doerr.jpegframeless152x152px]]Fred Doerr19281930
40W. L. Biebrach19301932
41A. M. Meyer19321934
42Charles Bishop19341936
43Richard French19361938
44Clyde L. Fischer19381940
45Harry Young19401944
46Earl Campbell19441945
47Ernie Renzel19451946
48[[File:Albert Ruffo.pngframeless132x132px]]Albert J. Ruffo19461948
49Fred Watson19481950
50Clark L. Bradley19501952
51Parker Hathaway19521954
52George Starbird19541956
53Robert Doerr19561958
54Louis Solari19581960
55Paul Moore19601962
56Robert Welch19621964
57Joseph L. Pace19641967

Popularly elected mayors (1967-present)

Norman Y. Mineta, 59th mayor of San Jose
Chuck Reed, 64th mayor of San Jose
Sam Liccardo, 65th mayor of San Jose

Since 1967, San Jose has elected its mayors by popular vote. Due to state laws regarding primary elections, political parties cannot nominate candidates for mayor, although candidates often choose to identify with a party. All registered candidates, regardless of party affiliation, compete in an election held in June of even-numbered years which are non-leap years. If no person gets over 50% of the popular vote, the top two candidates automatically move to a runoff election. Mayors are limited to two terms.

All elected mayors of San Jose have been members of the Democratic Party. The first elected mayor was Ron James and the first female mayor was Janet Gray Hayes.

#PictureMayorTerm startTerm endParty
58Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
59[[File:Norman Mineta, official portrait, DOT.jpgframeless129x129px]]Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
60[[File:JanetGrayHayesKPAR (1).jpgframeless133x133px]]Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
61Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
62[[File:Susan Hammer.jpgframeless144x144px]]Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
63[[File:Mayor-ron-gonzales (1).jpgframeless134x134px]]Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
64[[File:Mayor Chuck Reed speaking at the opening ceremony. (2840730500) (cropped).jpgframeless133x133px]]Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
65[[File:Sam Liccardo - Jan 2020 (cropped).jpgframeless125x125px]]Democratic Party (United States)}}Democratic
66[[File:Matt Mahan Portrait (cropped).pngframeless125x125px]]incumbentDemocratic Party (United States)}}Democratic

References

Notes

1Elmer E. Chase was the first mayor who was not the city's chief executive; the city moved to a council-manager government corresponding to his election. Chase and all following mayors are simply the president of the city council.

References

  1. (13 December 2013). "Oldest living San Jose mayor, Robert Doerr, dies at 99".
  2. "Mayors of U.S. Cities M-W".
  3. (July 26, 1856). "Mr. Archer". The Sacramento Age.
  4. (December 29, 1911). "The Passing of Barney Murphy". The Californian.
  5. "Lawrence Archer".
  6. (April 12, 1882). "The Election at San Jose". [[The Sacramento Union]].
  7. (April 17, 1896). "County Elections". The Peninsula Times Tribune.
  8. (April 21, 1898). "San Jose Officials Take Oath of Office". [[The San Francisco Call Bulletin]].
  9. (July 8, 1902). "McKenzie Gang Holds on To Office Until Thrown Out By The Police". San Francisco Chronicle.
  10. (1971-04-14). "New Mayor of San Jose is Japanese". [[Milwaukee Journal]].
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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