Mayor of Bakersfield, California

The Mayor of Bakersfield is the elected leader for the city of Bakersfield, California. Prior to 1957, the mayor was appointed by the city council and the head of the executive branch. After that time, the mayor was split into two positions. The city manager would be appointed by the city council and run the executive branch. The mayor would be elected by the citizens and serve as the leader for the city. The mayor is elected to four year terms, under the single-winner voting system. There is no limit on the number of terms they can serve. The office of the mayor is located at City Hall, but has no official residence.

Mayor of Bakersfield
Incumbent
Karen Goh
since January 3, 2017 (2017-01-03)
StyleHonorable
Term length4 years
Formation1915 (1915)
Salary$24,000
WebsiteMayor & City Council Homepage

Powers and duties

The description for the office of mayor is largely described in Article III, Section 20 of the Bakersfield City Charter, although some duties are described elsewhere. The mayor's primary role is to represent the city to other governments and business, as well as participate in ceremonies. There are some official powers, although some are rarely used. The mayor is the presiding member for all city council meetings, although they can not interfere with the proceedings of the council.[1] The mayor also has the power to call special meetings of the city council.[2]

Probably one of the most important roles of the mayor is to cast the deciding vote when the city council is tied.[3] This situation is very rare since the council is made up of seven members, an odd number. The only way for the city council to be deadlocked is either an odd number of abstaining votes, or an odd number of vacancies. This brings the number of possible votes to an even number, and a tie can occur.

Except for a tie, the mayor also votes in three other occasions.[4] They cast a vote on the appointment and removal for the City Manager, and City Attorney.[5][6] The other vote relates to city contract work. After a project has been approved by the city council, and bids have either been rejected or no bids submitted, the mayor may cast a vote for turning over the work to city employees. He can not bring the matter to a vote, but only cast a vote.[7]

List of Mayors

This is a partial list of mayors of Bakersfield by term, name, and other comments.[8]

  • 1918 C. L. Taylor [8]
  • 1919 Jay A. Hinman [8]
  • 1921 E. L. Hougham [8]
  • 1923 George Haberfelde [8]
  • 1925 L. K. Stoner [8]
  • 1937 George E. Wilson [8]
  • 1950 Jake Vanderlei [8]
  • 1952-1953 Frank Sullivan [8]
  • 1954-1956 Manuel J. Carnakis (1911-1997) [8]
  • 1957-1960 Frank Sullivan [8]
  • 1981-1985 Mary K. Shell (1927-2018) - First woman mayor.[9][10]
  • 1992-2001 Robert "Bob" Otis Price (1932-2011) [11]
  • 2001-2017 Harvey Hall (1941-2018) - 25th mayor.[12]
  • 2017-present Karen Goh - First mayor of Asian descent. Second woman mayor.

References
  1. Bakersfield City Charter. Article III, Section 20b.
  2. Bakersfield City Charter. Article III, Section 19.
  3. Bakersfield City Charter. Article III, Section 21.
  4. Bakersfield City Charter. Article III, Section 14.
  5. Bakersfield City Charter. Article IV, Section 34.
  6. Bakersfield City Charter. Article IV. Section 37.5
  7. Bakersfield City Charter. Article X, Section 136.
  8. "Mayors of Bakersfield, 1918-2004". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  9. Price, Robert (June 14, 2018). "Mary K. Shell: Beloved, trailblazing former mayor dies at 91". bakersfield.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  10. "First female mayor of Bakersfield, Mary K Shell has died". turnto23.com. June 14, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  11. "Robert Otis "Bob" Price (1932-2011)". legacy.com. 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  12. "Honorable Mayor Havey L. Hall (Archived copy)". Archived from the original on 2011-05-05. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
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