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 endNotes1Josiah BeldenApril 13, 185018512Thomas W. WhiteApril 15, 185118543O. H. AllenDecember 5, 185418554Sherman Otis HoughtonApril 12, 185518565Lawrence ArcherApril 16, 1856July 21, 18566John Marion Murphy Sr.July 21, 1856August 5, 18567George GivensAugust 5, 1856April 13, 18578Ranson G. Moody185718589Peter O. Minor1858185910Thomas Fallon1859186011Richard B. Buckner1860186112Joseph W. Johnson1861186313John Alonzo Quinby1863186814Mark Leavensworth1868187015Adolph Pfister1870187316Bernard D. Murphy1873187717George B. McKee1877187818Lawrence Archer1878188019Bernard D. Murphy1880188220Charles J. Martin1882188421Campbell Thompson Settle1884188622Charles Wesley Breyfogle1886188723Samuel Watson Boring1887189024Samuel Newton Rucker1890189425Paul P. Austin1894189626Valentine Koch1896189827Charles J. Martin1898190228George D. Worswick1902190629Henry D. Mathews1906190830Charles W. Davison1908191031Thomas Monahan1910191432Fred R. Husted1914191633Elmer E. Chase1916191834Charles M. O'Brian1918192035Albert C. Jayet1920192236M. E. Arnerich1922192437Joseph T. Brooks1924192638Dan W. Gray1926192839Fred Doerr1928193040W. L. Biebrach1930193241A. M. Meyer1932193442Charles Bishop1934193643Richard French1936193844Clyde L. Fischer1938194045Harry Young1940194446Earl Campbell1944194547Ernie Renzel1945194648Albert J. Ruffo1946194849Fred Watson1948195050Clark L. Bradley1950195251Parker Hathaway1952195452George Starbird1954195653Robert Doerr1956195854Louis Solari1958196055Paul Moore1960196256Robert Welch1962196457Joseph L. Pace19641967
Popularly elected mayors (1967-present)
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.
#Picture Mayor Term start Term end Party58Democratic59Democratic60Democratic61Democratic62Democratic63Democratic64Democratic65Democratic66incumbentDemocratic
See also Timeline of San Jose, California List of pre-statehood mayors of San Jose
References
Arbuckle, Clyde; Clyde Arbuckle's History of San Jose; 1985 Pioneers who made a difference San Jose case study, part one, the urban growth boundary
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.