List of mayors of Oakland, California

Mayor of Oakland, California
Seal of Oakland
Flag of Oakland
Incumbent
Barbara Lee
since May 20, 2025
TypeMayor
Term lengthFour-year term, renewable once
FormationApril 17, 1854
First holderHorace W. Carpentier
DeputyRebecca Kaplan (Vice Mayor)

The city of Oakland, California, was founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1854. The city uses a strong mayor form of government. Until the early 20th century, all Oakland mayors served terms of only one or two years each. Oakland mayors now serve 4-year terms and are limited to two terms.

Barbara Lee has served as mayor of Oakland since 2025.

Terms

  • Office terms:
    • 1 year 1854 – mayor elected by fellow city council members
    • 2 years 1893 – mayor elected by fellow city council members
    • 4 years 1953 – mayor elected by popular vote

List of mayors

  Denotes an interim mayor
No. Mayor Took office Left office Tenure Election Party
1 Horace Carpentier
(1824–1918) 		April 17, 1854 March 5, 1855 322 days 1854 Unknown
2 Charles Campbell
(c. 1838–1890) 		March 5, 1855 March 5, 1855 0 days TBA Unknown
3 Samuel H. Robinson
(TBA–TBA) 		March 5, 1855 March 2, 1857 1 year, 362 days 1855 Unknown
1856
4 Andrew Williams
(c. 1800–1876) 		March 2, 1857 March 7, 1859 2 years, 5 days 1857 Unknown
1858
5 Francis K. Shattuck
(1824–1898) 		March 7, 1859 March 7, 1860 1 year, 0 days 1859 Republican
6 James Paine Miller Davis
(1817–1864) 		March 7, 1860 March 5, 1862 1 year, 363 days 1860 Democratic
1861
7 George M. Blake
(?–1875) 		March 5, 1862 March 1863 1 year 1862 Unknown
8 William Henry Bovee
(1823–1894) 		March 1863 March 14, 1864 1 year 1863 Unknown
9 Edward Gibbons
(1816–1886) 		March 14, 1864 March 6, 1865 357 days 1864 Unknown
10 Benjamin F. Ferris
(?–1876) 		March 6, 1865 March 5, 1866 364 days 1865 Unknown
11 John W. Dwinelle
(1816–1881) 		March 5, 1866 March 7, 1867 1 year, 2 days 1866 Unknown
12 William Watrus Crane Jr.
(1831–1883) 		March 7, 1867 November 2, 1867[a] 240 days 1867 Unknown
13 Samuel Merritt
(1822–1890) 		November 3, 1867 March 1, 1869 1 year, 118 days App. Unknown
1868
14 John B. Felton
(1827–1877) 		March 1, 1869 March 5, 1870 1 year, 4 days 1869 Republican
Unknown[b] March 5, 1870 March 1, 1871  
15 Nathan Weston Spaulding
(1829–1903) 		March 1, 1871 March 4, 1873 2 years, 3 days 1871 Republican
1872
16 Henry Durant
(1802–1875) 		March 4, 1873 January 22, 1875[c] 1 year, 324 days 1873 Unknown
1874
Vacant January 22, 1875 February 1, 1875  
17 Mack Webber
(c. 1834–1901) 		February 1, 1875 March 13, 1876 1 year, 41 days App. Unknown
1875
18 Enoch H. Pardee
(1829–1896) 		March 13, 1876 March 25, 1878 2 years, 12 days 1876 Republican
1877
19 Washburne R. Andrus
(1841–1895) 		March 25, 1878 March 8, 1880 1 year, 349 days 1878 Workingmen's
1879
20 James E. Blethen
(1828–1909) 		March 8, 1880 March 13, 1882 2 years, 5 days 1880 Republican
1881
21 Charles K. Robinson
(1835–1887) 		March 13, 1882 March 12, 1883 364 days 1882 Republican
22 J. West Martin
(1822–1899) 		March 12, 1883 March 10, 1884 364 days 1883 Democratic
23 Ashmun Cooke Henry
(1828–1907) 		March 10, 1884 March 9, 1885 364 days 1884 Republican
24 Eli W. Playter
(1819–1893) 		March 9, 1885 March 14, 1887 2 years, 5 days 1885 Republican
1886
25 William R. Davis
(1850–1915) 		March 14, 1887 March 12, 1888 364 days 1887 Republican
26 Charles D. Pierce
(1859–1909) 		March 12, 1888 March 11, 1889 364 days 1888 Democratic
27 John R. Glascock
(1845–1913) 		March 11, 1889 March 9, 1891 1 year, 363 days 1889 Democratic[d]
1890
28 Melvin C. Chapman
(1852–1936) 		March 9, 1891 March 13, 1893 2 years, 4 days 1891 Republican
1892
29 George Pardee
(1857–1941) 		March 13, 1893 March 10, 1895 1 year, 362 days 1893 Republican[e]
30 John L. Davie
(1850–1934)
1st time 		March 10, 1895 March 9, 1897 1 year, 364 days 1895 Populist[f]
31 William R. Thomas
(1842–1930) 		March 9, 1897 March 13, 1899 2 years, 4 days 1897 Republican[g]
32 Roland W. Snow
(1850–1912) 		March 13, 1899 March 11, 1901 1 year, 363 days 1899 Republican[h]
33 Anson Barstow
(1831–1906) 		March 11, 1901 March 9, 1903 1 year, 363 days 1901 Republican
34 Warren Olney
(1841–1921) 		March 9, 1903 March 1905 2 years 1903 Fusion[i]
35 Frank K. Mott
(1866–1958) 		March 1905 July 1, 1915 10 years, 4 months 1905 Fusion[j]
1907
1909
1911
1912 recall[k]
1913
36 John L. Davie
(1850–1934)
2nd time 		July 1, 1915 July 1, 1931 16 years, 0 days 1915 Unknown
1917 recall[l]
1919
1921
1923
1925
1927
1929
37 Fred N. Morcom
(1874–1955) 		July 1, 1931 July 1, 1933 2 years, 0 days 1931 Unknown
38 William J. McCracken
(1878–1949) 		July 1, 1933 July 1, 1941 8 years, 0 days 1933 Unknown
1935
1937
1939
39 John F. Slavich
(1881–1950) 		July 1, 1941 July 1, 1945 4 years, 0 days 1941 Unknown
1943
40 Herbert L. Beach
(1876–1959) 		July 1, 1945 July 1, 1947 2 years, 0 days 1945 Unknown
41 Joseph E. Smith
(1913–1999) 		July 1, 1947 July 1, 1949 2 years, 0 days 1947 Unknown
42 Clifford E. Rishell
(1890–1971) 		July 1, 1949 July 1, 1961 12 years, 0 days 1949 Republican
1951
1953
1957
43 John C. Houlihan
(1910–1986) 		July 1, 1961 April 30, 1966[m] 4 years, 303 days 1961 Republican
1965
44 John H. Reading
(1917–2003) 		May 1, 1966 July 1, 1977 11 years, 61 days App. Republican
1967 special
1969
1973
45 Lionel Wilson
(1915–1998) 		July 1, 1977 January 3, 1991 13 years, 186 days 1977 Democratic
1981
1985
46 Elihu Harris
(born 1947) 		January 3, 1991 January 4, 1999 8 years, 1 day 1990 Democratic
1994
47 Jerry Brown
(born 1938) 		January 4, 1999 January 8, 2007 8 years, 4 days 1998 Democratic
2002
48 Ron Dellums
(1935–2018) 		January 8, 2007 January 3, 2011 3 years, 360 days 2006 Democratic
49 Jean Quan
(born 1949) 		January 3, 2011 January 5, 2015 4 years, 2 days 2010 Democratic
50 Libby Schaaf
(born 1965) 		January 5, 2015 January 9, 2023 8 years, 4 days 2014 Democratic
2018
51 Sheng Thao
(born 1985)
[1] 		January 9, 2023 December 17, 2024[n] 1 year, 343 days 2022 Democratic
– Nikki Fortunato Bas
(born 1968)
Interim
[4] 		December 17, 2024 January 6, 2025[o] 20 days 2024 recall[n] Democratic
– Kevin Jenkins
(born 1987)
Interim
[5] 		January 6, 2025 May 20, 2025 134 days App. Democratic
52 Barbara Lee
(born 1946)
[6] 		May 20, 2025 Incumbent 344 days 2025 special Democratic
  1. ^ Crane resigned from office.
  2. ^ No data exists for whom was mayor during this time period.
  3. ^ Died in office.
  4. ^ Glascock was endorsed by the Democratic, Independent Republican, and American parties for mayor.
  5. ^ Pardee was a registered Republican, but ran as the candidate for the Citizen's Municipal League party.
  6. ^ Davie was expelled from the Populist Party during his term as mayor, as his pledge to not allow any tax rate above $1 caused all city services to suffer.
  7. ^ Thomas was endorsed by the Republican and Citizen's Municipal League parties for mayor.
  8. ^ Snow was endorsed by the Republican and Citizen's Municipal League parties for mayor.
  9. ^ Olney was endorsed by the Democratic, Republican, and Citizen's Municipal League parties for mayor.
  10. ^ Mott was endorsed by the Democratic, Republican, and Citizen's Municipal League parties for mayor.
  11. ^ Mott survived a recall election.
  12. ^ Davie survived a recall election.
  13. ^ Houlihan resigned after being charged with embezzlement.
  14. ^ a b Thao was recalled after a corruption scandal and later indicted on corruption charges.[2][3] Following Thao's recall, Nikki Fortunato Bas took office as interim mayor.
  15. ^ Fortunato Bas resigned after being elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Singh, Maanvi (November 24, 2022). "From homeless to city hall: the Hmong American mayor making history in Oakland". The Guardian. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  2. ^ Cassidy, Megan; Ravani, Sarah (January 16, 2025). "Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao criminally indicted two months after recall". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  3. ^ Knight, Heather; Qin, Amy (January 17, 2025). "Former Oakland Mayor Is Indicted on Federal Corruption Charges". New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  4. ^ Bay City News (December 17, 2024). "Nikki Fortunato Bas sworn in as temporary Oakland mayor". ABC 7 News. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Ravani., Sarah (January 6, 2025). "Oakland City Council picks Kevin Jenkins as new president and interim mayor". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  6. ^ "Timeline for Selecting New Mayor". City of Oakland. December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.

Sources

  • Conmy, Peter Thomas (1961). The beginnings of Oakland, California, A.U.C. Oakland, Calif.: Oakland Public Library. OCLC 7488215.
  • "From then to now: these were mayors". Oakland Tribune. May 1, 1952. p. W-7, Oakland Centennial special edition.Includes photos
  • Nicolai, David (2002). Mayors of Oakland: 1854 – 2009:Populists, Visionaries, & Self-Promoters: 47 Oakland Mayors.
  • List of mayors, Oakland Public Library
  • Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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