Mayor of Boston facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mayor of Boston |
|
---|---|
![]() Seal
|
|
Style | His/Her Honor |
Member of | Board of Aldermen (1822-1854) |
Residence | None official |
Seat | Boston City Hall |
Nominator | Non-partisan nominating petition |
Appointer | Popular vote |
Term length | Four years |
Constituting instrument | Boston City Charter |
Precursor | Boston Board of Selectmen |
Formation | Original Post: 1822 Current form: 1909 |
First holder | John Phillips |
Salary | $199,000 (2018) |
The Mayor of Boston is the main leader of the city government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston uses a special type of government called a mayor–council government, where the mayor is the chief executive and works with a city council.
Mayoral elections in Boston are nonpartisan, meaning candidates don't run as members of a political party. The mayor is elected for a four-year term, and there's no limit to how many terms they can serve. The mayor's main office is located in Boston City Hall, in an area called Government Center.
The current Mayor of Boston is Michelle Wu. She took office on November 16, 2021.
Contents
History of Boston's Mayors
Before 1822, Boston was set up as a town, not a city. Towns in Massachusetts were usually run by a town meeting and a group called a board of selectmen. These selectmen handled the daily business.
Becoming a City
Boston was the first place in Massachusetts to get a special document called a city charter in 1822. This charter changed Boston from a town into a city. With this new charter, Boston started having a mayor who was elected every year.
Changes to the Mayor's Term
In June 1895, the city charter was updated. This change made the mayor's term longer, from one year to two years.
More big changes happened in 1909. The state government decided to make the mayor's term even longer, to four years. They also made the position officially non-partisan, meaning candidates would not run as part of a political party.
Rules About Serving Terms
In 1918, a law was passed that stopped the Mayor of Boston from serving two terms in a row. This meant a mayor had to take a break after one term before running again. For example, James Michael Curley was prevented from running for re-election twice because of this law. This rule was removed in 1939.
Another important change to the city's rules happened in 1949. This update added a preliminary election to help narrow down the candidates. Before the main election, voters would choose from many candidates, and only the top two would move on. This change also made the Boston City Council smaller and gave the council more power to disagree with the mayor's decisions. These new rules started in 1951.
Election Schedule
From 1951 to 1991, Boston's mayoral elections were held the year before presidential elections. For example, if there was a mayoral election in 1951, the presidential election would be in 1952. Since 1993, the mayoral elections have been held the year after presidential elections. This change happened after Raymond Flynn became an ambassador, which led to a special election.
Mayor's Salary
In June 2018, the city council voted to increase the mayor's salary to $207,000. This change took effect after the November 2021 mayoral election. In October 2022, the council voted again to increase the mayor's salary to $250,000.
How Mayors Are Counted
The City of Boston does not have an official way of numbering its mayors. Because of this, the numbering has changed over time. For example, Thomas Menino was called the 47th mayor when he started, but his successor, Marty Walsh, was identified as the 54th. The Walsh administration even used Wikipedia for its count! This numbering system usually counts people who were elected mayors. It also counts mayors who served terms that were not in a row more than once. For example, James Michael Curley served four separate terms and was counted four times.
List of Mayors
Mayor | Term | In office | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | Terms won | Duration | ||||
![]() |
John Phillips | May 1, 1822 | May 1, 1823 | 1 | 1 year | Federalist | |
![]() |
Josiah Quincy III | May 1, 1823 | January 5, 1829 | 6 | 5 years, 8 months | Federalist | |
![]() |
Harrison G. Otis | January 5, 1829 | January 2, 1832 | 3 | 3 years | Federalist | |
![]() |
Charles Wells | January 2, 1832 | January 6, 1834 | 2 | 2 years | Whig | |
![]() |
Theodore Lyman | January 6, 1834 | January 4, 1836 | 2 | 2 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Samuel T. Armstrong | January 4, 1836 | January 1, 1837 | 1 | 1 year | Whig | |
![]() |
Samuel A. Eliot | January 1, 1837 | January 6, 1840 | 3 | 3 years | Whig | |
![]() |
Jonathan Chapman | January 6, 1840 | January 2, 1843 | 3 | 3 years | Whig | |
![]() |
Martin Brimmer | January 2, 1843 | January 6, 1845 | 2 | 2 years | Whig | |
![]() |
William Parker ![]() |
January 6, 1845 | February 27, 1845 | — | 2 months | Whig | |
![]() |
Thomas Aspinwall Davis ![]() |
February 27, 1845 | November 22, 1845 | 1 | 9 months | Native American | |
![]() |
Benson Leavitt ![]() |
November 22, 1845 | December 11, 1845 | — | 1 month | Whig | |
![]() |
Josiah Quincy IV. | December 11, 1845 | January 1, 1849 | 3 | 3 years, 1 month | Whig | |
![]() |
John P. Bigelow | January 1, 1849 | January 5, 1852 | 3 | 3 years | Whig | |
![]() |
Benjamin Seaver | January 5, 1852 | January 2, 1854 | 2 | 2 years | Whig | |
![]() |
Jerome V. C. Smith | January 2, 1854 | January 7, 1856 | 2 | 2 years | American | |
![]() |
Alexander H. Rice | January 7, 1856 | January 4, 1858 | 2 | 2 years | Independent | |
![]() |
Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. | January 4, 1858 | January 7, 1861 | 3 | 3 years | Republican | |
![]() |
Joseph Wightman | January 7, 1861 | January 5, 1863 | 2 | 2 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. | January 5, 1863 | January 7, 1867 | 4 | 4 years | Republican | |
![]() |
Otis Norcross | January 7, 1867 | January 6, 1868 | 1 | 1 year | Republican | |
![]() |
Nathaniel B. Shurtleff | January 6, 1868 | January 2, 1871 | 3 | 3 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
William Gaston | January 2, 1871 | January 6, 1873 | 2 | 2 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Henry L. Pierce | January 6, 1873 | November 29, 1873 | 1 | 11 months | None | |
![]() |
Leonard R. Cutter ![]() |
November 29, 1873 | January 5, 1874 | — | 1 month | Democratic | |
![]() |
Samuel C. Cobb | January 5, 1874 | January 1, 1877 | 3 | 3 years | None | |
![]() |
Frederick O. Prince | January 1, 1877 | January 7, 1878 | 1 | 1 year | Democratic | |
![]() |
Henry L. Pierce | January 7, 1878 | January 6, 1879 | 1 | 1 year | Republican | |
![]() |
Frederick O. Prince | January 6, 1879 | January 2, 1882 | 3 | 3 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Samuel A. Green | January 2, 1882 | January 1, 1883 | 1 | 1 year | Republican | |
![]() |
Albert Palmer | January 1, 1883 | January 7, 1884 | 1 | 1 year | Democratic | |
![]() |
Augustus Pearl Martin | January 7, 1884 | January 5, 1885 | 1 | 1 year | Republican | |
![]() |
Hugh O'Brien | January 5, 1885 | January 7, 1889 | 4 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Thomas N. Hart | January 7, 1889 | December 31, 1890 | 2 | 2 years | Republican | |
![]() |
Nathan Matthews Jr. | January 1, 1891 | January 7, 1895 | 4 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Edwin Upton Curtis | January 7, 1895 | January 6, 1896 | 1 | 1 year | Republican | |
|
|||||||
![]() |
Josiah Quincy | January 6, 1896 | January 1, 1900 | 2 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Thomas N. Hart | January 1, 1900 | January 6, 1902 | 1 | 2 years | Republican | |
![]() |
Patrick Collins ![]() |
January 6, 1902 | September 13, 1905 | 2 | 3 years, 9 months | Democratic | |
![]() |
Daniel A. Whelton ![]() |
September 15, 1905 | January 1, 1906 | — | 3 months | Democratic | |
![]() |
John F. Fitzgerald | January 1, 1906 | January 6, 1908 | 1 | 2 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
George A. Hibbard | January 6, 1908 | February 7, 1910 | 1 | 2 years | Republican | |
|
|||||||
![]() |
John F. Fitzgerald | February 7, 1910 | February 2, 1914 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
James Michael Curley | February 2, 1914 | February 4, 1918 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Andrew J. Peters | February 4, 1918 | February 6, 1922 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
James Michael Curley | February 6, 1922 | January 4, 1926 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Malcolm Nichols | January 4, 1926 | January 6, 1930 | 1 | 4 years | Republican | |
![]() |
James Michael Curley | January 6, 1930 | January 1, 1934 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Frederick Mansfield | January 1, 1934 | January 3, 1938 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Maurice J. Tobin | January 3, 1938 | January 4, 1945 | 2 | 7 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
John E. Kerrigan ![]() |
January 4, 1945 | January 7, 1946 | — | 1 year | Democratic | |
![]() |
James Michael Curley | January 7, 1946 | January 2, 1950 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
John B. Hynes | January 2, 1950 | January 4, 1960 | 3 | 10 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
John F. Collins | January 4, 1960 | January 1, 1968 | 2 | 8 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Kevin White | January 1, 1968 | January 2, 1984 | 4 | 16 years | Democratic | |
![]() |
Raymond Flynn | January 2, 1984 | July 12, 1993 | 3 | 9 years, 6 months | Democratic | |
![]() |
Thomas Menino | July 12, 1993 | January 6, 2014 | 5 | 20 years, 6 months | Democratic | |
![]() |
Marty Walsh | January 6, 2014 | March 22, 2021 | 2 | 7 years, 2 months | Democratic | |
![]() |
Kim Janey ![]() |
March 22, 2021 | November 16, 2021 | — | 8 months | Democratic | |
![]() |
Michelle Wu | November 16, 2021 | Incumbent | 1 | 3 years, 8 months | Democratic |
died in office
acting mayor only
Native American Party and American Party were formal names of the "Know Nothing" movement.
Mayors Serving Non-Consecutive Terms
Some mayors have served more than one term, but not in a row. This table shows them.
Mayor | Start of first term |
End of final term |
In office | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Terms won | Duration | |||||
Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. | January 4, 1858 | January 7, 1867 | 7 | 7 years | Republican | |
Henry L. Pierce | January 6, 1873 | January 6, 1879 | 2 | 1 year, 11 months | Republican | |
Frederick O. Prince | January 1, 1877 | January 2, 1882 | 4 | 4 years | Democratic | |
Thomas N. Hart | January 7, 1889 | January 7, 1902 | 3 | 4 years | Republican | |
John F. Fitzgerald | January 5, 1906 | February 2, 1914 | 2 | 6 years | Democratic | |
James Michael Curley | February 2, 1914 | January 2, 1950 | 4 | 16 years | Democratic |
Acting Mayors
Sometimes, a mayor might not be able to do their job, or the position might be empty. When this happens, the president of the City Council steps in as the "acting mayor." An acting mayor can only handle urgent tasks and cannot make permanent appointments.
Here are some people who have served as acting mayor when the main mayor's office was empty:
Year | Name | Explanation | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1845 | William Parker | Served as acting mayor when elections were stuck in a tie. | |
1845 | Benson Leavitt | Became acting mayor after Thomas A. Davis passed away. | |
1853 | Benjamin L. Allen | Served as acting mayor during tied elections. | |
1873 | Leonard R. Cutter | Became acting mayor after Henry L. Pierce was elected to Congress. | |
1905 | Daniel A. Whelton | Served as acting mayor after Patrick Collins passed away. | |
1945 | John E. Kerrigan | Became acting mayor when Maurice J. Tobin became the Governor of Massachusetts. | |
1947 | John B. Hynes | Served as acting mayor during the absence of James M. Curley. | |
1993 | Thomas Menino | Became acting mayor when Raymond Flynn became the Ambassador to the Holy See. | |
2021 | Kim Janey | Served as acting mayor when Marty Walsh became the United States Secretary of Labor. |
See also
- Timeline of Boston
- List of elections in Massachusetts
- List of members of the Boston City Council
- List of mayors of Roxbury, Massachusetts
- List of mayors of Charlestown, Massachusetts
- List of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States