County Executive - wikipedia County Executive See also : County judge A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a voting member of the elected county government, or may have veto power similar to other elected executives such as a governor, president or mayor. When appointed, the executive is usually hired for a specific period of time, but frequently can be dismissed prior to this. The position of an appointed county executive is analogous to that of a city manager ( rather than that of an appointed governor common outside the US ), and is similar to a chief administrative officer, depending on the state. The executive is generally given full responsibility for the total operation of all departments based on general directives provided by the elected county government that hired the executive. States with County executives The title for a person holding this position is `` County Executive '' in many states but other titles are used, including County Judge ( in Arkansas and Texas, and historically in Missouri and Tennessee ), County Judge / Executive in Kentucky, and Mayor in some counties. State Counties Applicable law Alaska Aleutians East, Anchorage Municipality, Bristol Bay, Denali, Fairbanks North Star, Haines, Juneau ( City & Borough ), Kenai Peninsula, Ketchikan Gateway, Kodiak Island, Lake and Peninsula, Matanuska - Susitna, North Slope, Northwest Arctic, Sitka ( City & Borough ), Skagway ( City & Borough ), Wrangell ( City & Borough ), Yakutat ( City & Borough ) Alaska State Constitution, Article X Arkansas Title is `` county judge '' in all counties ( list ) California Los Angeles ( CEO ), Orange ( County Executive Officer ), Sacramento, Santa Clara Delaware New Castle Georgia Athens - Clarke ( Mayor ), DeKalb ( CEO ) Illinois Will Kentucky Counties are headed by an elected executive known as the County Judge / Executive. Kentucky Constitution, Section 144 Maryland Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George 's, Wicomico Michigan Bay, Macomb, Oakland, Wayne Optional Unified Form of County Government, Charter Counties Missouri Jefferson Jackson St. Charles St. Louis ( County ) New Jersey Atlantic County Executive Bergen County Executive, Essex County Executive, Hudson County Executive, and Mercer are elected county executives ; Union County has an appointed county manager. Optional County Charter Law New York Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Chemung, Dutchess, Erie, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schenectady ( Manager ), Suffolk, Ulster, Westchester Municipal Home Rule Law Ohio Cuyahoga, Summit Alternative County Government Law Pennsylvania Allegheny, Erie, Lehigh, Northampton Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law Tennessee State law provides that counties are headed by an elected county executive who uses the title of `` county mayor. '' Exceptions are the three counties ( Davidson, Moore, and Trousdale ) that have consolidated city - county government, where the position is not used, and certain counties where a private act of the state legislature authorizes the executive to use the previous title of `` county executive. '' Historically, the position was called `` county judge. '' Tennessee Code Annotated 5 - 6 - 101 Texas Title is `` county judge '' in all counties ( list ) Utah Salt Lake ( Mayor ) Virginia Albemarle, Fairfax, Prince William Code of Virginia Title 15.2 Chapters 5 - 8 Washington King, Pierce, Snohomish, Whatcom Wisconsin Brown, Dane, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Portage, Racine, Waukesha, Winnebago Wisconsin Constitution, Article IV, sections 23 and 23a See also County commission References Jump up ^ `` Article 10 : Local Government ''. Archived from the original on 2008 - 12 - 23. Retrieved 2009 - 01 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Los Angeles County Chief Executive website ''. Archived from the original on 2010 - 02 - 10. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Orange County Executive website ''. Archived from the original on 2009 - 09 - 01. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Sacramento County Executive website ''. Archived from the original on 2008 - 05 - 13. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 20. 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Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=County_executive&oldid=839991727 '' Categories : County executives in the United States County officers in the United States Government occupations Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from January 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Webarchive template wayback links All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2009 Talk About Wikipedia Français Magyar Edit links This page was last edited on 7 May 2018, at 01 : 17. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the highest ranking official in a county
Answer: A county executive