Head of the executive branch of the San Diego city government
The
mayor of the City of San Diego
is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of
San Diego
,
California
. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the
San Diego City Council
, the legislative branch. The mayor serves a four-year term and is limited to two successive terms.
There have been 36 people who have served as mayor in San Diego since 1850, when
California
became a state following the American
Conquest of California
. Prior to the conquest,
Californios
served as
Mayor of San Diego during the Spanish and Mexican eras
since 1780. From 1852 to 1888, the city was run by a board of trustees and there was no elected mayor. However, the president of the board was called
mayor
as a courtesy.
The most recent election was held in
November 2020
.
Todd Gloria
was elected to be the 37th mayor of San Diego.
History
[
edit
]
The position of mayor was created when San Diego was first incorporated on March 27, 1850. However, the city went bankrupt in 1852, only two years after incorporation. As a result of the bankruptcy, the State of California dissolved the government and replaced the mayor and city council with a
board of trustees
.
[1]
The mayoral position was later re-established with a new charter in 1887.
[2]
This charter was replaced with a permanent City Charter on May 6, 1889, using the
strong mayor
form of government.
In 1931, a new charter was adopted using a
council?manager government
with a citywide mayor as leader of the city council.
In November 2004, voters approved Proposition F, returning San Diego to the strong mayor form of government on a five-year trial basis. This was made permanent in June 2010 with the passage of Proposition D.
[3]
Scandals
[
edit
]
Then-mayor
Roger Hedgecock
was forced to resign his post in 1985, after he was found guilty of one count of
conspiracy
and 12 counts of
perjury
, related to the alleged failure to report all
campaign contributions
.
[4]
[5]
After a series of appeals, the 12 perjury counts were dismissed in 1990 based on claims of
juror misconduct
; the remaining conspiracy count was reduced to a
misdemeanor
and then dismissed.
[6]
A 2002 scheme to underfund pensions for city employees led to the
San Diego pension scandal
. This resulted in the resignation of newly re-elected Mayor
Dick Murphy
[7]
and the criminal indictment of six pension board members.
[8]
Those charges were dismissed by a federal judge in 2010.
[9]
In 2005, two city council members,
Ralph Inzunza
and Deputy Mayor
Michael Zucchet
? who briefly took over as acting mayor when Murphy resigned ? were convicted of
extortion
,
wire fraud
, and
conspiracy to commit wire fraud
for taking campaign contributions from a
strip club
owner and his associates, allegedly in exchange for trying to repeal the city's "no touch" laws at strip clubs.
[10]
Both subsequently resigned. Inzunza was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
[11]
In 2009, a judge acquitted Zucchet on seven out of the nine counts against him, and granted his petition for a new trial on the other two charges;
[12]
the remaining charges were eventually dropped.
[13]
In July 2013, three former supporters of mayor
Bob Filner
asked him to resign because of allegations of repeated
sexual harassment
.
[14]
Over the ensuing six weeks, 18 women came forward to publicly claim that Filner had sexually harassed them,
[15]
and multiple individuals and groups called for him to resign. Filner agreed to resign effective August 30, 2013, subsequently pleaded guilty to one felony count of
false imprisonment
and two misdemeanor
battery
charges, and was sentenced to
house arrest
and
probation
.
[16]
[17]
In 2016, mayor
Kevin Faulconer
entered into a lease-to-own agreement for San Diego’s new City Hall at 101 Ash St. The building is uninhabitable with
Asbestos
and other issues. 101 Ash has become synonymous in San Diego with political scandals and bad real estate deals. The city overpaid for the property by $30M. It then botched renovations and eventually discovered its own real estate broker had also been working for the building's seller.
[18]
Duties and powers
[
edit
]
The mayor serves as the official head of the City of San Diego for all ceremonial and civil purposes. The mayor has the authority to approve or
veto
council actions, subject to a two-thirds vote veto overrule. Under the strong mayor system, the mayor has sole authority to appoint and dismiss the city manager and to direct and control the city manager as permitted by the city charter. The mayor also has the authority to dismiss the chief of police or the chief of the fire department subject to a council overrule. The mayor may recommend measures and ordinance to the city council, but may not vote on these items.
On or before January 15, the mayor is obligated to communicate a State of the City address to the city council. The mayor must also propose a budget to the city council and for public review no later than April 15.
[19]
The salary of the mayor was set at $100,464 in 2003.
[20]
In March 2012, the city's Salary Setting Commission proposed that the mayor be paid $235,000, but the city council unanimously rejected the recommendation, instead keeping the salary at the 2003 level.
[21]
In March 2014, the Salary Setting Commission recommended no pay increase for the mayor or city council. Instead, they recommended exploring future pay increases with additional condition that council members voting for pay increases not be allowed to benefit from the increase. This recommendation was approved by the city council in a 5?3 vote in favor of the changes.
[20]
In November 2018, voters passed Measure L which ties future mayoral salaries to those of Superior Court judges.
[22]
As of December 2020, the mayoral salary is $206,000.
[23]
Election and succession
[
edit
]
The mayor is elected in citywide election. Elections follow a
two-round system
. The first round of the election is called the
primary election
. The top-two candidates from the primary election advance to a runoff election, called the
general election
.
Write-in candidates
are only allowed to contest the primary election and are not allowed in the general election. The mayor is elected to a four-year term, with a limit of two consecutive terms.
[24]
The mayor is officially non-partisan by state law, although most mayoral candidates identify a party preference.
If the office of the mayor becomes vacant with one year or less remaining in the term, the city council appoints a person to fill the vacancy. If the vacancy occurs with more than one year remaining, the city council is obligated to call a special election. The candidate with the majority of the votes in the special election is declared mayor. If no candidate receives a majority, a special run-off must be held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. While the mayor's office is vacant pending a special election, the president of the city council serves as the interim mayor, with limited powers, until a new mayor is elected.
[25]
If for any reason a Mayor serves a partial term of two years or more, it will count as one full term.
[19]
The most recent election was held in
November 2020
.
Todd Gloria
was elected to be the 37th mayor of San Diego, succeeding the
termed out
Kevin Faulconer
. Gloria had previously served as interim mayor in his role as city council president following the 2013 resignation of
Bob Filner
.
[26]
List
[
edit
]
As of May 2024, 36 individuals have served as mayor. There have been 37 mayoralties because
Edwin M. Capps
served two non-consecutive terms; he is counted chronologically as both the ninth and sixteenth mayor. The longest term was that of
Pete Wilson
, who served for eleven years over three terms prior to the establishment of successive term limits. The shortest term, not counting interim or acting mayors, was that of
George P. Tebbetts
, who served for less than two months before the position of mayor was abolished due to the bankruptcy of the city.
Percy J. Benbough
is the only mayor to have died in office. Two women have been elected mayor:
Maureen O'Connor
and
Susan Golding
consecutively.
John F. Forward Sr.
and
John F. Forward Jr.
are the only father and son to have both served as mayor.
Todd Gloria
is the first mayor of color, with Filipino, Latino, and Native American heritage. Gloria is also the first elected mayor to be openly gay.
[26]
This list includes people who served as acting mayor or interim mayor due to a vacancy in the office of the mayor, but who were not officially elected or appointed as mayor. The acting and interim mayors are not included in the count of mayoralties.
Presidents of the Board of Trustees
[
edit
]
After San Diego's bankruptcy in 1852, the State of California took over city government and ran the city with an appointed Board of Trustees during 1852?1888. The President of the Board was called
mayor
by courtesy, although there was no official office of mayor.
[1]
When the office of president was vacated due to death or resignation, the board of trustees would choose a president pro tempore to preside over meetings until a permanent president could be elected by the board.
[27]
[28]
#
|
President
|
Term start
|
Term end
|
|
Party
|
1
|
Charles P. Noell
|
March 25, 1852
|
June 9, 1852
|
|
Democratic
|
2
|
James W. Robinson
|
July 31, 1852
|
September 10, 1853
|
|
Democratic
|
3
|
Louis Rose
|
September 10, 1853
|
April 24, 1855
|
|
Democratic
|
4
|
Jesse Julian Ames
|
April 24, 1855
|
March 20, 1856
|
|
|
5
|
Thomas Collins
|
March 20, 1856
|
July 14, 1857
|
|
|
6
|
Henry H. Whaley
|
July 14, 1857
|
May 4, 1858
|
|
Whig
|
7
|
Thomas Whaley
|
May 4, 1858
|
March 23, 1859
|
|
Whig
|
8
|
Jacob C. Bogart
|
March 23, 1859
|
March 18, 1860
|
|
Democratic
|
9
|
Rufus B. Tebbetts
|
March 18, 1860
|
June 30, 1862
|
|
|
10
|
David B. Kurtz
|
June 30, 1862
|
March 30, 1865
|
|
Democratic
|
11
|
Andrew Cassidy
|
March 30, 1865
|
April 30, 1867
|
|
Democratic
|
12
|
Joseph S. Manasse
|
April 30, 1867
|
April 29, 1868
|
|
|
13
|
Jose G. Estudillo
|
April 29, 1868
|
March 5, 1869
|
|
|
14
|
James McCoy
|
March 5, 1869
|
May 13, 1872
|
|
Democratic
|
15
|
William J. McCormick
|
May 13, 1872
|
March 31, 1873
|
|
|
16
|
David W. Briant
|
April 21, 1873
|
May 21, 1874
|
|
|
17
|
E. A. Veazie
|
May 21, 1874
|
December 18, 1874
|
|
|
18
|
William A. Begole
|
February 1, 1875
|
May 22, 1876
|
|
|
19
|
J. M. Boyd
|
May 22, 1876
|
March 7, 1877
|
|
|
20
|
D. O. McCarthy
|
April 2, 1877
|
June 1, 1880
|
|
|
21
|
S. P. Jones
|
June 1, 1880
|
October 5, 1883
|
|
|
22
|
John H. Snyder
|
May 21, 1884
|
May 26, 1886
|
|
|
23
|
William W. Stewart
|
May 26, 1886
|
June 7, 1886
|
|
|
23
|
Charles S. Hamilton
|
June 7, 1886
|
April 18, 1887
|
|
Democratic
|
24
|
Martin D. Hamilton
|
April 18, 1887
|
January 3, 1888
|
|
Republican
|
Notes and references
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- a
Party affiliation is shown for each mayor, when known. However, election of mayor under the current charter is officially
nonpartisan
.
- b
From 1852 until 1888, San Diego was governed by a board of trustees, so there was no official mayor.
[1]
- c
William Jefferson Hunsaker
resigned from office, likely due to frustration from losing a power struggle against rivals on the city council.
[29]
Martin D. Hamilton
served as acting mayor until the next election could be held.
[30]
- d
Both acting mayor Martin D. Hamilton and fourth mayor
Douglas Gunn
ran as Republicans on the "Citizens' Non-Partisan" ticket.
[31]
- e
John F. Forward Jr.
resigned from office after failing in his attempt to fire the city manager.
[32]
Rutherford B. Irones
was appointed to finish the balance of his term. However, Irones himself would later resign after being convicted of drunk driving and a hit-and-run traffic accident.
[33]
Vice mayor
Albert W. Bennett
then served as acting mayor until a new election could be held.
[34]
- f
Percy J. Benbough
died in office of natural causes.
[35]
Vice mayor
Fred W. Simpson
then served briefly as acting mayor until
Howard B. Bard
was appointed to finish the balance of Benbough's term.
[36]
- g
Pete Wilson
resigned from office to join the
United States Senate
.
Bill Cleator
served as acting mayor until a new election could be held.
[37]
- h
Roger Hedgecock
resigned from office due to convictions on felony conspiracy and perjury charges that were later overturned.
[38]
Ed Struiksma
served as acting mayor until a new election could be held.
[39]
- i
Dick Murphy
resigned from office amid criticism for his role in the
San Diego pension scandal
and after failing to win a majority of the votes in the
2004 election
.
[40]
Michael Zucchet
served as acting mayor for three days before he too resigned due to a corruption conviction that was later overturned.
[41]
A week later, the City Council elected
Toni Atkins
to serve as acting mayor until a new election could be held.
[42]
- j
Bob Filner
resigned from office amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
Todd Gloria
served as interim mayor until a new mayor was elected.
[43]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Smythe, William (1907). "Part Five: Chapter II Political Affairs and Municipal Campaigns".
History of San Diego, 1542-1908: The modern city
. History Co
. Retrieved
February 25,
2014
.
- ^
Larson, Thomas (October 28, 2004).
"Elections San Diego Style"
.
San Diego Reader
. Retrieved
December 22,
2012
.
- ^
"A History of San Diego Government"
.
City of San Diego
. Retrieved
December 22,
2012
.
- ^
Horstman, Barry (December 6, 1987).
"Man About Town : San Diego's Ex-Mayor Roger Hedgecock Hasn't Let His Felony Conviction Get Him Down. But This Week, the Past May Catch Up With Him"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
April 2,
2011
.
- ^
Abrahamson, Alan (February 2, 1992).
"Bailiff's Bias in Hedgecock Trial Disclosed"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
April 3,
2011
.
- ^
"Hedgecock has clean slate; judge erases felony record"
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. January 1, 1991
. Retrieved
June 1,
2011
.
- ^
"San Diego's Widening Pension Woes"
.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
. June 13, 2005. Archived from
the original
on June 6, 2005
. Retrieved
July 1,
2010
.
- ^
Strumpf, Daniel (June 15, 2005)
San Diego's Pension Scandal for Dummies
, San Diego City Beat via Internet Archive. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^
Hall, Matthew T. (April 8, 2010).
"Five cleared in San Diego pension case"
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. Retrieved
July 1,
2010
.
- ^
Moran, Greg & Thornton, Kelly (July 19, 2005).
"Councilmen Guilty"
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. Archived from
the original
on August 9, 2011
. Retrieved
April 6,
2011
.
- ^
"Ralph Inzunza Goes to Prison (Soon)"
.
NBC San Diego
. January 20, 2012
. Retrieved
July 8,
2012
.
- ^
"Appeals Court opinion, Sept. 1, 2009"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
July 1,
2010
.
- ^
Greg Moran (October 14, 2010).
"
Seven Years Later, Zucchet Cleared
"
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. Retrieved
April 6,
2011
.
- ^
Filner apologizes, gets professional help
,
San Diego Union Tribune
, July 11, 2013
- ^
Lah, Kyung (August 21, 2013).
"Another sex harassment accusation for San Diego Mayor Bob Filner"
.
CNN
. Retrieved
August 22,
2013
.
- ^
"San Diego Mayor Resigns in Sexual Harassment Scandal"
.
NY Times
. August 23, 2013
. Retrieved
August 23,
2013
.
- ^
"Ex-San Diego mayor Bob Filner pleads guilty to 3 charges"
.
USA Today
. October 15, 2013
. Retrieved
October 15,
2013
.
- ^
McDonald, Jeff.
"Anatomy of the Deal: What happened on Ash Street"
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. San Diego Union-Tribune
. Retrieved
January 22,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
"ARTICLE XV Strong Mayor Form of Governance"
(PDF)
.
City of San Diego City Charter
.
City of San Diego
. Retrieved
December 22,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Walker, Mark (March 10, 2014).
"No pay hikes for mayor, council"
.
U-T San Diego
. Retrieved
November 2,
2014
.
- ^
"City Council Rejects Salary Hikes For Mayor, Council"
.
10news.com
. March 5, 2012. Archived from
the original
on October 25, 2014
. Retrieved
December 4,
2012
.
- ^
Garrick, David (November 21, 2018).
"Ballot measures hiking council pay, boosting transparency approved by wide margins in San Diego"
.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
. Retrieved
November 7,
2018
.
- ^
Horn, Jonathan (April 17, 2020).
"Despite budget cuts, San Diego's next mayor in line for massive raise"
.
ABC 10 News
. Retrieved
November 8,
2020
.
- ^
"How To Run For Office Details"
.
City of San Diego
. Retrieved
December 14,
2010
.
- ^
Dotinga, Randy (August 22, 2013).
"The Differences Between an Interim Mayor and a Strong Mayor"
.
Voice of San Diego
. Retrieved
August 30,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Garrick, David (November 8, 2020).
"Todd Gloria will bring lots of firsts as San Diego's new mayor"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
November 8,
2020
.
- ^
"City Clerk Archives"
.
City Clerk Reports
.
City of San Diego
. Retrieved
February 16,
2014
.
- ^
"Selected Chronological List of San Diego City Officials"
. San Diego History Center
. Retrieved
December 23,
2012
.
- ^
"William Jefferson Hunsaker (1855-1933)"
.
Biographies
. San Diego History Center
. Retrieved
September 4,
2013
.
- ^
"The Mayor's Resignation"
.
The San Diego Union
. November 14, 1888. p. 5
. Retrieved
February 26,
2014
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Crawford, Richard (August 25, 2011).
"San Diego Pioneer Moved from Newspapers to Mayor's Chair"
(PDF)
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. Retrieved
February 16,
2014
.
- ^
"Forward to End Job August 1 Action Follows His Failure to Oust F. M. Lockwood as City Manager Three Councilmen and City Attorney in Line for Post as Municipal Head"
.
Los Angeles Times
. April 18, 1934. pp. A8
. Retrieved
September 5,
2013
.
- ^
"Hit-Run Mayor Drops Out"
.
The New York Times
. February 5, 1935
. Retrieved
September 5,
2013
.
- ^
"Bennett Acting Mayor of S.D. as Irones Fate Debated"
.
Evening Tribune
. February 2, 1935. p. 1
. Retrieved
February 26,
2014
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"PERCY J. BENBOUGH; Mayor of San Diego Since 1935, Ex-Head of Fire, Police Groups"
.
The New York Times
. November 5, 1942
. Retrieved
September 5,
2013
.
- ^
"P.J. Benbough Succumbs to Lengthy Illness"
.
The San Diego Union
. November 5, 2014. p. 1
. Retrieved
February 26,
2014
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"William E. Cleator, Was San Diego City Councilman"
.
Associated Press
. February 11, 1993
. Retrieved
February 16,
2014
.
- ^
Abrahamson, Alan (February 2, 1992).
"Bailiff's Bias in Hedgecock Trial Disclosed"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
"Election Today for S.D. Mayor"
.
Los Angeles Times
. February 25, 1986
. Retrieved
February 26,
2014
.
- ^
Dillon, Jeff (April 25, 2005).
"San Diego mayor announces departure less than 5 months into second term"
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. Archived from
the original
on November 3, 2013.
- ^
Coffey, Daniel (October 14, 2010).
"Justice undone: Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza"
.
San Diego Daily Transcript
. Retrieved
September 2,
2012
.
- ^
"Toni Atkins to serve as San Diego's deputy mayor until new mayor elected"
.
San Diego Union-Tribune
. North County Times Wire Service. July 26, 2005
. Retrieved
February 26,
2014
.
- ^
Gustafson, Craig (August 30, 2013).
"Q&A with Todd Gloria, interim mayor"
.
U-T San Diego
. Retrieved
August 30,
2013
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
| | |
1
denotes acting or interim mayor
|