Mayor of Portland, Oregon

The mayor of Portland, Oregon, is the official head of the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and has no term limits. By law, all elections in Portland are nonpartisan. The current mayor is Keith Wilson, who has served since January 1, 2025, and was first elected in the 2024 election.

The current term for mayor of Portland is four years, having been increased from two years in 1913. Mayoral elections were previously held in May of U.S. presidential election years (years divisible by four), during the Oregon primary election, with a runoff between the top two vote-getters held in November of the same year should no candidate garner a majority vote in the May election, however a new system taking effect in 2024 holds a single general election in November of presidential election years using the instant runoff ranked choice voting method. The mayor-elect takes office the following January.

Duties and powers Prior to 2025, Portland used a city commission government, the last major city to do so. The mayor and commissioners were responsible for legislative policy and oversaw the various bureaus tasked with day-to-day operation of the city. The mayor served as chairman of the council, and was responsible for allocating department assignments to his fellow commissioners. The mayor's power included declaring an emergency and acting as police commissioner.

Beginning with the 2025 mayoral term, Portland switched to a Council-Mayor form of government. The executive mayor works with a professional city administrator to implement the laws enacted by council and administer the city’s bureaus, employees, facilities, and resources. The executive mayor develops and proposes the city’s budget to council for review and approval, may introduce measures before the council, and breaks tie votes in the council.

Elections

The mayor is elected in citywide election. Elections utilize the instant runoff ranked choice voting method, beginning with the 2024 general election. The city charter also allows for write-in candidates. The mayor is elected to a four-year term with no term limits. The office of mayor is officially nonpartisan by state law, although most mayoral candidates identify a party preference. Mayoral elections happen in conjunction with the United States presidential election. Elections followed a two-round system prior to 2024 where the first round of the elections was a primary election. If a candidate received a majority of the vote in the primary they were elected outright, however, If no candidate received a majority the top two candidates advance to a runoff election, called the general election.

The most recent election was in 2024, when businessman Keith Wilson defeated 19 other candidates.

List of mayors #ImageName (birth–death)TermElectionPrevious office/occupation1Hugh O'Bryant (1813–1883)1851–1852Lansing, Jewel. (2003). Portland: People, Politics, and Power, 1851–2001, pp. 26–49.Officer in the Oregon Riflemen2A. C. Bonnell (1801–1875)April 1852 – November 18523Simon B. Marye (c. 1810–1868)November 1852 – April 18534Josiah Failing (1806–1877)1853–1854Member of the Portland City Council (1852)5William S. Ladd (1826–1893)1854–1855Member of the Portland City Council (1853)6George W. Vaughn (1809–1877)1855–18567James O'Neill (1824–1901)1856–1857Agent for Wells Fargo & Company8William S. Ladd (1826–1893)1857–18585th Mayor of Portland (1854–1855)9A. M. Starr (c. 1820–1891)1858–1859Member of the Portland City Council (1854, 1856)10S. J. McCormick (1828–1891)1859–1860Delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention from Multnomah County11G. Collier Robbins (1823–19??)1860–1861Member of the Portland City Council (1855, 1858)12John M. Breck (1828–1900)1861–1862City Assessor of Portland13William H. Farrar (1826–1873)1862–1863Delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention from Multnomah County District Attorney for the Oregon Territory

(1853–1859)14David Logan (1824–1874)1863–1864Member of the Oregon Territorial Legislature from Washington County15Henry Failing (1834–1898)1864 – November 16, 186616Thomas J. Holmes (1819–1867)1866–1867Member of the Portland Public Schools Board of Education17J. A. Chapman (1821–1885)1867–1868Major/Surgeon in the United States Army18Hamilton Boyd1868–1869Multnomah County Commissioner19Bernard Goldsmith (1832–1901)1869–1871Director of the Library Association of Portland Accessed May 17, 2014.20Philip Wasserman (1828–1895)1871–187321Henry Failing (1834–1898)1873–187515th Mayor of Portland (1864–1866)22J. A. Chapman (1821–1885)1875–187717th Mayor of Portland (1867–1868)23William Spencer Newbury (1834–1915)1877–1879Mayor of Iola, Kansas (1870)24David P. Thompson (1834–1901)1879–18826th Governor of the Idaho Territory (1875–1876)25J. A. Chapman (1821–1885)1882–188517th and 22nd Mayor of Portland (1867–1868, 1875–1877)26John Gates (1827–1888)1885 – April 27, 1888 (died in office)President of the Portland National Bank27Van B. DeLashmutt (1842–1921)May 2, 1888 – 189128William S. Mason (1832–1899)1891–189429George P. Frank (1852–1896)1894–189630Sylvester Pennoyer (1831–1902)1896–18988th Governor of Oregon"Oregon governor to United States president: Drop dead", By Finn J.D. John, (August 1, 2010). (1887–1895)31William S. Mason (1832–1899)July 1, 1898"Mason at the Helm". The Morning Oregonian, July 2, 1898, p. 8. – March 27, 1899 (died in office)28th Mayor of Portland (1891–1894)32W. A. Storey (1854–1917)May 17, 1899 –1900Member of the Portland City Council (1898–1899)33Henry S. Rowe (1851–1914)1900–1902190034George Henry Williams (1823–1910)1902–190532nd United States Attorney General (1871–1875)35Harry Lane (1855–1917)1905–1909Superintendent of the Oregon State Insane AsylumJohnston, The Radical Middle Class, p. 31. (1887–1891)36Joseph Simon (1851–1935)1909–1911United States Senator from Oregon (1898–1903)37Allen G. Rushlight (1874–1930)1911–1913Member of the Portland City Council (1905–1911)38H. Russell Albee (1867–1950)June 1913 – July 191739George L. Baker (1868–1941)July 1917 – July 1933Member of the Portland City Commission"George L. Baker is out for Mayor" . The Morning Oregonian, March 20, 1917, p. 20.40Joseph K. Carson (1891–1956)July 1933 – December 31, 194041Earl Riley (1890–1965)January 1, 1941 – December 31, 1948Member of the Portland City Commission (1930–1940)42Dorothy McCullough Lee (1901–1981)January 1, 1949 – December 31, 1952Member of the Portland City Commission (1943–1949)43Fred L. Peterson (1896–1985)January 1, 1953 – December 31, 1956Member of the Portland City Commission (1941–1952)44Terry Schrunk (1913–1975)January 1, 1957 – January 1, 197324th Sheriff of Multnomah County (1949–1956)45Neil Goldschmidt (1940–2024)January 2, 1973 – August 15, 1979Resigned on August 15, 2009, to take office as United States Secretary of Transportation.Member of the Portland City Commission (1970–1973)46Connie McCready (1921–2000)September 5, 1979 – November 23, 1980–Connie McCready was appointed mayor by her fellow city councilors due to the resignation of Mayor Neil Goldschmidt, who resigned after being appointed United States Secretary of Transportation.Member of the Portland City Commission (1970–1979)47Frank Ivancie (1924–2019)November 24, 1980 – January 3, 19851980Ivancie was elected in two concurrent elections. One to fill the seat for the final weeks of the term ending on January 3, 1981, and another for a full term (beginning the same day).Member of the Portland City Commission (1967–1980)48Bud Clark (1931–2022)January 3, 1985 – January 2, 19931984 198849Vera Katz (1933–2017)January 3, 1993 – January 3, 20051992 1996 200057th Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives (1985–1990)50Tom Potter (born 1940)January 3, 2005 – December 31, 2008200438th Chief of the Portland Police Bureau (1990–1990)51Sam Adams (born 1963)January 1, 2009 – December 31, 20122008Member of the Portland City Commission (2005–2009)52Charlie Hales (born 1956)January 1, 2013 – December 31, 20162012Member of the Portland City Commission (1993–2002)53Ted Wheeler (born 1962)January 1, 2017 – December 31, 20242016 202028th Treasurer of Oregon (2010–2017)54Keith WilsonJanuary 1, 2025 – present2024CEO of Titan Freight Systems (2010–2017) Note: The color shown in the number (#) column denotes registered political party (red for Republican, blue for Democratic, teal for the People's Party (Populist), gray for Independent). Officially, Mayors run and serve as nonpartisan.

The City of Portland mayor's office, in the City Hall, contains a collection of mounted portraits of all the mayors to date. As of February 2024, only two mayors are missing from the collection; William H. Farrar (1862–1863) and Hamilton Boyd (1868–1869).

See also

Government of Portland, Oregon History of Portland, Oregon

References

Notes