Mayor of Boston

The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan, and elect a mayor to a four-year term; there are no term limits. The mayor's office is in Boston City Hall, in Government Center.
The current mayor of Boston is Michelle Wu.

History

Prior to 1822, there was no mayor of Boston, because Boston was incorporated as a town. In Massachusetts, a town is typically governed by a town meeting, with a board of selectmen handling regular business. Boston was the first community in Massachusetts to receive a city charter, which was granted in 1822. Under the terms of the new charter, the mayor was elected annually. In June 1895, the charter was amended, and the mayor's term was increased to two years.
In 1909, the Republican-controlled state legislature enacted strong-mayor charter changes it hoped would dampen the rising power of Democratic Irish Americans. Adopted by public vote in the November 1909 general election, changes included extending the mayoral term to four years, and making the post formally non-partisan. The reforms did not have the intended effect; the first mayor elected under the new charter was Democrat John F. Fitzgerald, and every mayor since Republican Malcolm Nichols has been known to be a Democrat.
In a bid to temper the rising power of James Michael Curley, the state legislature in 1918 passed legislation barring the mayor of Boston from serving consecutive terms in office; Curley was prevented from running for re-election twice by this law. The law was repealed in 1939, after Curley's political career appeared to be in decline.
Another charter change was enacted in 1949, partly in response to Curley's fourth term, during which he served prison time for crimes committed in an earlier term. Changes included adding a preliminary election to narrow the field to two mayoral candidates in advance of the general election, changing the Boston City Council from having 22 members to having nine members, and giving the council ability to override some mayoral vetoes. These changes went into effect in 1951, resulting in the first term of John B. Hynes being shortened to two years.
From 1951 through 1991, Boston mayoral elections were held the year before presidential elections. Starting in 1993, due to the election held following Raymond Flynn's appointment as United States Ambassador to the Holy See, Boston mayoral elections are held the year following presidential elections.

Salary

In June 2018, the council voted to increase the salary of the mayor to $207,000, effective after the mayoral election of November 2021 ; this increased the salary of councillors to $103,500, effective after the council elections of November 2019. In October 2022, the council voted to increase the salary of the mayor to $250,000.

Numbering

There is no official count of Boston's mayors. The City of Boston does not number its mayors and numbering has been inconsistent over time. For example, Thomas Menino was referred to as the 47th mayor at the time he was sworn in, yet his successor, Marty Walsh, was identified as the 54th. The Walsh administration cited Wikipedia for its use of 54. That numbering scheme counted persons who served as elected mayors and counted those who served non-consecutive terms more than once, however, for reasons that are unclear, Leonard R. Cutter, who served as acting mayor in late 1873, was also included in the count. Kim Janey, who became acting mayor in March 2021, referred to herself as the 55th mayor.

of mayors

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

Acting mayors

Boston's city charter stipulates that the City Council president serves as acting mayor whenever the mayor is absent from the city, unable to serve, or the office is vacant. An acting mayor cannot make permanent appointments, and can only perform urgent tasks "not admitting of delay".
The following individuals served as acting mayor during a vacancy in the office.

Year	Name	Explanation	Ref.
1845	William Parker	Served as acting mayor during multiple deadlocked elections.
1845	Benson Leavitt	Served as acting mayor following the death of Thomas A. Davis.
1853	Benjamin L. Allen	Served as acting mayor during multiple deadlocked elections.
1873	Leonard R. Cutter	Served as acting mayor following Henry L. Pierce's election to Congress. Was not a candidate in the 1873 Boston mayoral election.
1905	Daniel A. Whelton	Served as acting mayor following the death of Patrick Collins. Was not a candidate in the 1905 Boston mayoral election.
1945	John E. Kerrigan	Served as acting mayor upon Maurice J. Tobin becoming Governor of Massachusetts. Subsequently lost the 1945 Boston mayoral election.
1947	John B. Hynes	Served as acting mayor during the absence of James M. Curley. Subsequently won the 1949 Boston mayoral election.
1993	Thomas Menino	Served as acting mayor upon Raymond Flynn becoming Ambassador to the Holy See. Subsequently won the 1993 Boston mayoral election.
2021	Kim Janey	Served as acting mayor upon Marty Walsh becoming United States Secretary of Labor. Eliminated in preliminary stage of the 2021 Boston mayoral election.