Mayor of San Jose, California

For Mayors of San Jose prior to 1850, see List of pre-statehood mayors of San Jose.

Mayor of the City of San José
Seal of San José
Flag of San Jose
Incumbent Matt Mahan since January 1, 2023
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Josiah Belden
Formation	1850
Website	Office 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

Further information: List of pre-statehood mayors of San Jose

Mayors since 1850

Josiah Belden, first mayor of San Jose

Sherman Otis Houghton, fourth mayor of San Jose

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

#	Picture	Mayor	Term start	Term end
1		Josiah Belden	1850	1851
2		Thomas White	1851	1854
3		O. H. Allen	1854	1855
4		Sherman Otis Houghton	1855	1856
5		Lawrence Archer	1856	1856
6		John M. Murphy	1856	1856
7		George Givens	1856	1857
8		Ranson G. Moody	1857	1858
9		Peter O. Minor	1858	1859
10		Thomas Fallon	1859	1860
11		Richard B. Buckner	1860	1861
12		Joseph W. Johnson	1861	1863
13		John Alonzo Quinby	1863	1868
14		Mark Leavensworth	1868	1870
15		Adolph Pfister	1870	1873
16		Bernard D. Murphy	1873	1877
17		George B. McKee	1877	1878
18		Lawrence Archer	1878	1880
19		Bernard D. Murphy	1880	1882
20		Charles J. Martin	1882	1884
21		Campbell Thompson Settle	1884	1886
22		Charles W. Breyfogle	1886	1887
23		Samuel Watson Boring	1887	1890
24		Samuel N. Rucker	1890	1894
25		Paul P. Austin	1894	1896
26		Valentine Koch	1896	1898
27		Charles J. Martin	1898	1902
28		George D. Worswick	1902	1906
29		Henry D. Mathews	1906	1908
30		Charles W. Davison	1908	1910
31		Thomas Monahan	1910	1914
32		Fred R. Husted	1914	1916
33		Elmer E. Chase	1916	1918
34		Charles M. O'Brian	1918	1920
35		Albert C. Jayet	1920	1922
36		M. E. Arnerich	1922	1924
37		Joseph T. Brooks	1924	1926
38		Dan W. Gray	1926	1928
39		Fred Doerr	1928	1930
40		W. L. Biebrach	1930	1932
41		A. M. Meyer	1932	1934
42		Charles Bishop	1934	1936
43		Richard French	1936	1938
44		Clyde L. Fischer	1938	1940
45		Harry Young	1940	1944
46		Earl Campbell	1944	1945
47		Ernie Renzel	1945	1946
48		Albert J. Ruffo	1946	1948
49		Fred Watson	1948	1950
50		Clark L. Bradley	1950	1952
51		Parker Hathaway	1952	1954
52		George Starbird	1954	1956
53		Robert Doerr	1956	1958
54		Louis Solari	1958	1960
55		Paul Moore	1960	1962
56		Robert Welch	1962	1964
57		Joseph L. Pace	1964	1967

Popularly elected mayors (1967-present)

Norman Y. Mineta, 59th mayor of San Jose

Ron Gonzales, 63rd 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.

#	Picture	Mayor	Term start	Term end		Party
58		Ron James	January 9, 1967	January 9, 1971		Democratic
59		Norman Mineta	January 9, 1971	January 9, 1975		Democratic
60		Janet Gray Hayes	January 9, 1975	January 9, 1983		Democratic
61		Tom McEnery	January 9, 1983	January 9, 1991		Democratic
62		Susan Hammer	January 9, 1991	January 1, 1999		Democratic
63		Ron Gonzales	January 1, 1999	January 1, 2007		Democratic
64		Chuck Reed	January 1, 2007	January 1, 2015		Democratic
65		Sam Liccardo	January 1, 2015	January 1, 2023		Democratic
66		Matt Mahan	January 1, 2023	incumbent		Democratic

See also

• Timeline of San Jose, California

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.