Mayor of Portland, Oregon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mayor of Portland, Oregon |
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Style | Mayor |
Term length | Four years |
Inaugural holder | Hugh O'Bryant |
Formation | 1851 |
Salary | $175,463 |
The mayor of Portland, Oregon is the official leader of the city of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The mayor is chosen by voters for a four-year term. There is no limit to how many terms a person can serve. In Portland, all elections are nonpartisan, which means candidates do not officially run as members of a political party. The current mayor is Keith Wilson. He started his term on January 1, 2025, after being elected in the 2024 election.
The mayor's term in Portland is four years long. This was changed from two years in 1913. Before 2024, mayoral elections happened in May during US presidential election years. If no candidate won more than half the votes, the top two candidates would have a second election in November. However, starting in 2024, a new system is used. Now, there is one general election in November of presidential election years. This election uses a method called Instant Runoff ranked choice voting. The person elected mayor officially takes office the following January.
What the Mayor Does
Before 2025, Portland used a special type of government called a city commission government. This was unusual for a big city. In this system, the mayor and other leaders, called commissioners, made the city's laws. They also managed different city departments that handled daily tasks. The mayor was the head of this group and decided which departments each commissioner would oversee. The mayor could also declare an emergency and acted as the head of the police.
Starting with the mayor's term in 2025, Portland changed its government style. It now uses a Council-Mayor system. The mayor is the main executive leader. They work with a professional city administrator to carry out the laws made by the city council. The mayor also manages the city's departments, employees, buildings, and money. The mayor creates the city's budget and suggests it to the council for approval. They can also propose new laws to the council and break tie votes if the council members are split.
How Mayors Are Elected
The mayor is elected by all voters in the city. Elections now use the instant runoff ranked choice voting method. This system began with the 2024 general election. The city's rules also allow people to vote for write-in candidates. These are people whose names are not officially on the ballot. The mayor serves a four-year term and can be re-elected many times. Even though the office is officially nonpartisan, most candidates do share their political party preference. Mayoral elections happen at the same time as the United States presidential election.
The most recent election was in 2024. In that election, businessman Keith Wilson won against 19 other candidates.
Past Mayors of Portland
# | Image | Name
(Born–Died) |
Term | Election | Previous Job or Role |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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) |
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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) |
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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) |
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25 | ![]() |
J. A. Chapman
(1821–1885) |
1882–1885 | 17th and 22nd Mayor of Portland
(1867-1868, 1875-1877) |
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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) |
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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) |
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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 |
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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, and teal for the People's Party (Populist). Gray means Independent. Even so, mayors officially run and serve without a party label.
The mayor's office in City Hall has portraits of all the mayors so far. As of February 2024, two mayors are missing from this collection. They are William H. Farrar (who served from 1862–1863) and Hamilton Boyd (who served from 1868–1869).