Mayor of Portland, Oregon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Portland, Oregon
Seal of Portland, Oregon
Incumbent Keith Wilson since January 1, 2025
Style	Mayor
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	Hugh O'Bryant
Formation	1851
Salary	$143,666

The mayor of Portland, Oregon is the main leader of the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. This person is chosen by voters for a four-year term. There is no limit to how many times someone can be mayor. All elections in Portland are nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not run as members of a political party. The current mayor is Keith Wilson, who started his term on January 1, 2025. He was first elected in the 2024 election.

The mayor's term used to be two years, but it changed to four years in 1913. Before 2024, elections were held in May. If no one won more than half the votes, the top two candidates would have a second election in November. Now, starting in 2024, there is just one election in November. Voters use a special system called "Instant Runoff Ranked Choice Voting" to pick their favorite. The person chosen as mayor starts their job the next January.

What Does the Mayor Do?

Portland uses a special type of city government called a city commission government. It is the only large city in the U.S. that still uses this system. The mayor and other elected officials, called commissioners, work together. They create the city's rules and laws. They also manage the different city departments, called bureaus, which handle daily city operations.

The mayor leads the city council meetings. They are also in charge of giving different city departments to the other commissioners to oversee. The mayor's role has mostly been about leading meetings and representing the city. Most big decisions are made by the entire council. However, the mayor does have some special powers. For example, they can declare an emergency. They also act as the city's police commissioner.

Starting in 2025, Portland will change its government system. It will become a "Council-Mayor" form of government. The mayor will then have more executive power. They will work with a professional city administrator. This administrator will help carry out the laws made by the council. The mayor will also manage the city's departments, employees, and resources. The mayor will create the city's budget and suggest it to the council. They can also introduce new ideas to the council. If there is a tie vote in the council, the mayor gets to break it.

How Are Mayors Elected?

Gallery of the mayors of Portland

The mayor is chosen in an election that includes the whole city. Starting with the 2024 election, voters use a system called "instant runoff ranked choice voting." This means you can rank candidates in order of your preference. The city rules also allow for write-in candidates. A write-in candidate is someone whose name is not printed on the ballot, but voters can write it in.

The mayor serves a four-year term. There are no limits on how many terms someone can serve. Even though candidates often say which political party they prefer, the mayor's office is officially nonpartisan. This means they do not run as a member of a specific political party. Mayoral elections happen at the same time as the United States presidential election. Before 2024, elections had two rounds. First, there was a primary election. If a candidate won more than half the votes in the primary, they were elected right away. If not, the top two candidates went on to a second election, called the general election.

The most recent election was in 2024. In that election, businessman Keith Wilson won against 19 other candidates.

List of Portland Mayors

#	Image	Name (Birth–Death)	Term	Election	Previous office/occupation
1		Hugh O'Bryant (1813–1883)	1851–1852		Officer in the Oregon Riflemen
2		A. C. Bonnell (1801–1875)	April 1852 – November 1852
3		Simon B. Marye (c. 1810–1868)	November 1852 – April 1853
4		Josiah Failing (1806–1877)	1853–1854		Member of the Portland City Council (1852)
5		William S. Ladd (1826–1893)	1854–1855		Member of the Portland City Council (1853)
6		George W. Vaughn (1809–1877)	1855–1856
7		James O'Neill (1824–1901)	1856–1857		Agent for Wells Fargo & Company
8		William S. Ladd (1826–1893)	1857–1858		5th Mayor of Portland (1854-1855)
9		A. M. Starr (c. 1820–1891)	1858–1859		Member of the Portland City Council (1854, 1856)
10		S. J. McCormick (1828–1891)	1859–1860		Delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention from Multnomah County
11		G. Collier Robbins (1823–19??)	1860–1861		Member of the Portland City Council (1855, 1858)
12		John M. Breck (1828–1900)	1861–1862		City Assessor of Portland
13		William H. Farrar (1826–1873)	1862–1863		Delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention from Multnomah County District Attorney for the Oregon Territory (1853-1859)
14		David Logan (1824–1874)	1863–1864		Member of the Oregon Territorial Legislature from Washington County
15		Henry Failing (1834–1898)	1864 – November 16, 1866
16		Thomas J. Holmes (1819–1867)	1866–1867		Member of the Portland Public Schools Board of Education
17		J. A. Chapman (1821–1885)	1867–1868		Major/Surgeon in the United States Army
18		Hamilton Boyd	1868–1869		Multnomah County Commissioner
19		Bernard Goldsmith (1832–1901)	1869–1871		Director of the Library Association of Portland
20		Philip Wasserman (1828–1895)	1871–1873
21		Henry Failing (1834–1898)	1873–1875		15th Mayor of Portland (1864-1866)
22		J. A. Chapman (1821–1885)	1875–1877		17th Mayor of Portland (1867-1868)
23		William Spencer Newbury (1834–1915)	1877–1879		Mayor of Iola, Kansas (1870)
24		David P. Thompson (1834–1901)	1879–1882		6th Governor of the Idaho Territory (1875-1876)
25		J. A. Chapman (1821–1885)	1882–1885		17th and 22nd Mayor of Portland (1867-1868, 1875-1877)
26		John Gates (1827–1888)	1885 – April 27, 1888 (died in office)		President of the Portland National Bank
27		Van B. DeLashmutt (1842–1921)	May 2, 1888 – 1891
28		William S. Mason (1832–1899)	1891–1894
29		George P. Frank (1852–1896)	1894–1896
30		Sylvester Pennoyer (1831–1902)	1896–1898		8th Governor of Oregon (1887-1895)
31		William S. Mason (1832–1899)	July 1, 1898 – March 27, 1899 (died in office)		28th Mayor of Portland (1891-1894)
32		W. A. Storey (1854–1917)	May 17, 1899 –1900		Member of the Portland City Council (1898-1899)
33		Henry S. Rowe (1851–1914)	1900–1902	1900
34		George Henry Williams (1823–1910)	1902–1905		32nd United States Attorney General (1871-1875)
35		Harry Lane (1855–1917)	1905–1909		Superintendent of the Oregon State Insane Asylum (1887--1891)
36		Joseph Simon (1851–1935)	1909–1911		United States Senator from Oregon (1898-1903)
37		Allen G. Rushlight (1874–1930)	1911–1913		Member of the Portland City Council (1905-1911)
38		H. Russell Albee (1867–1950)	June 1913 – July 1917
39		George L. Baker (1868–1941)	July 1917 – July 1933		Member of the Portland City Commission
40		Joseph K. Carson (1891–1956)	July 1933 – December 31, 1940
41		Earl Riley (1890–1965)	January 1, 1941 – December 31, 1948		Member of the Portland City Commission (1930-1940)
42		Dorothy McCullough Lee (1901–1981)	January 1, 1949 – December 31, 1952		Member of the Portland City Commission (1943-1949)
43		Fred L. Peterson (1896–1985)	January 1, 1953 – December 31, 1956		Member of the Portland City Commission (1941-1952)
44		Terry Schrunk (1913–1975)	January 1, 1957 – January 1, 1973		24th Sheriff of Multnomah County (1949-1956)
45		Neil Goldschmidt (1940–2024)	January 2, 1973 – August 15, 1979		Member of the Portland City Commission (1970-1973)
46		Connie McCready (1921–2000)	September 5, 1979 – November 23, 1980	–	Member of the Portland City Commission (1970-1979)
47		Frank Ivancie (1924–2019)	November 24, 1980 – January 3, 1985	1980	Member of the Portland City Commission (1967-1980)
48		Bud Clark (1931–2022)	January 3, 1985 – January 2, 1993	1984 1988
49		Vera Katz (1933–2017)	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2005	1992 1996 2000	57th Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives (1985-1990)
50		Tom Potter (born 1940)	January 3, 2005 – December 31, 2008	2004	38th Chief of the Portland Police Bureau (1990-1990)
51		Sam Adams (born 1963)	January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2012	2008	Member of the Portland City Commission (2005-2009)
52		Charlie Hales (born 1956)	January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2016	2012	Member of the Portland City Commission (1993-2002)
53		Ted Wheeler (born 1962)	January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2024	2016 2020	28th Treasurer of Oregon (2010-2017)
54		Keith Wilson 1962/1963 (age 61–62)	January 1, 2025 – present	2024	CEO of Titan Freight Systems (2010-2017)

Note: The color in the number (#) column shows the mayor's registered political party. Red is for Republican, blue for Democratic, teal for the People's Party (Populist), and gray for Independent. However, mayors officially run and serve as nonpartisan.

The mayor's office in City Hall has a collection of portraits of all the mayors. As of February 2024, two mayors are missing from this collection: William H. Farrar (who served from 1862–1863) and Hamilton Boyd (who served from 1868–1869).

See Also

• Government of Portland, Oregon
• History of Portland, Oregon