List of mayors of Houston Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Houston
Flag of the City of Houston
Seal of the City of Houston
Incumbent John Whitmire since January 1, 2024
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years, renewable once (effective 2016)
Inaugural holder	James S. Holman 1837
Formation	Houston City Charter
Salary	$236,189 (2019)

A mayor is the leader of a city. They are chosen by the people who live there. The mayor helps make important decisions for the city, like how to spend money, keep people safe, and make the city a great place to live. This page lists all the people who have served as mayor of Houston, a big city in the U.S. state of Texas.

How Long Mayors Serve

For a long time, mayors in Houston served for two years at a time. Later, rules were added to limit how many times a mayor could be elected. This meant they could serve for no more than three terms, which was a total of six years.

In 2015, voters in Houston decided to change these rules. They approved a new plan that made the mayor's term four years long. Now, a mayor can only serve for two terms, which means a maximum of eight years in office. This change also applied to other city leaders, like the City Controller and City Councilmembers.

Houston's City Leaders: A List of Mayors

This table shows all the people who have been mayor of Houston, from the very first one in 1837 to today. You can see when they served and, for some, which political party they belonged to.

No.	Term	Mayor	Party affiliation
63	2024–present	John Whitmire	Democratic
62	2016–2024	Sylvester Turner	Democratic
61	2010–2016	Annise Parker	Democratic
60	2004–2010	Bill White	Democratic
59	1998–2004	Lee Brown	Democratic
58	1992–1998	Bob Lanier	Democratic
57	1982–1992	Kathy Whitmire	Democratic
56	1978–1982	Jim McConn	Republican
55	1974–1978	Fred Hofheinz	Democratic
54	1964–1974	Louie Welch	Republican
53	1958–1964	Lewis Cutrer	Democratic
52	1956–1958	Oscar F. Holcombe (5th)	Democratic
51	1953–1956	Roy Hofheinz	Democratic
50	1947–1953	Oscar F. Holcombe (4th)	Democratic
49	1943–1947	Otis Massey	Democratic
48	1941–1943	Neal Pickett	Democratic
47	1939–1941	Oscar F. Holcombe (3rd)	Democratic
46	1937–1939	Richard H. Fonville
45	1933–1937	Oscar F. Holcombe (2nd)	Democratic
44	1929–1933	Walter E. Monteith
43	1921–1929	Oscar F. Holcombe	Democratic
42	1918–1921	A. Earl Amerman
41	1917–1918	Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr.
40	1917	J. J. Pastoriza (died in office)
39	1913–1917	Ben Campbell
38	1905–1913	H. Baldwin Rice (2nd)
37	1904–1905	Andrew L. Jackson
36	1902–1904	O. T. Holt
35	1901–1902	John D. Woolford
34	1898–1901	Samuel H. Brashear
33	1896–1898	Horace Baldwin Rice
32	1892–1896	John T. Browne
31	1890–1892	Henry Scherffius
30	1886–1890	Daniel C. Smith
29	1880–1886	William R. Baker
28	1879–1880	Andrew Jackson Burke
27	1877–1878	James T. D. Wilson (2nd)
26	1875–1876	I. C. Lord
25	1874	James T. D. Wilson
24	1870–1873	Thomas H. Scanlan
23	1868–1870	Joseph Robert Morris
22	1867–1868	Alexander McGowan (2nd)
21	1866	Horace D. Taylor
20	1863–1865	William Anders
19	1862	Thomas W. House
18	1861	William J. Hutchins
17	1860	Thomas W. Whitmarsh
16	1859	William King
15	1858	Alexander McGowan
14	1856–1857	Cornelius Ennis
13	1855–1856	James H. Stevens
12	1853–1854	Nathan Fuller
11	1849–1852	Francis W. Moore Jr. (3rd)
10	1847–1848	Benjamin P. Buckner
9	1846	James Bailey
8	1845	William Swain
7	1844	Horace Baldwin
6	1843	Francis W. Moore Jr. (2nd)
5	1841–1842	John Day Andrews
4	1840	Charles Bigelow
3	1839	George W. Lively
2	1838–1839	Francis W. Moore Jr.
1	1837	James S. Holman

List of mayors of Houston facts for kids

How Long Mayors Serve

Houston's City Leaders: A List of Mayors

See also