# 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 (as are all municipal elections in Boston), 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 ("Honey Fitz"), and every mayor since Republican Malcolm Nichols (1926–1930) 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 (November 1925 and November 1933). The law was repealed in 1939, after Curley's political career appeared to be in decline.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 (1946–1950), 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 (one from each city ward) to having nine members (elected at-large), 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 (e.g. mayoral election in 1951, presidential election in 1952). 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 (e.g. presidential election in 1992, mayoral election in 1993).

### 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 (term starting in January 2022); this increased the salary of councillors to $103,500, effective after the council elections of November 2019 (terms starting in January 2020). In October 2022, the Council voted to increase the salary of the mayor to $250,000.

## List

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; James Michael Curley served four non-consecutive terms and was counted four times. Kim Janey, who became acting mayor in March 2021, referred to herself as the 55th mayor.
Use of ( ) in the below table denotes non-consecutive terms for a mayor.
| # | Mayor | Mayor | Term | Term | In office | In office | Party |
| # | Mayor | Mayor | Start | End | Terms won | Duration | Party |
| 1 | | John Phillips | May 1, 1822 | May 1, 1823 | 1 | 1 year | Federalist |
| 2 | | Josiah Quincy III | May 1, 1823 | January 5, 1829 | 6 | 5 years, 8 months | Federalist |
| 3 | | Harrison G. Otis | January 5, 1829 | January 2, 1832 | 3 | 3 years | Federalist |
| 4 | | Charles Wells | January 2, 1832 | January 6, 1834 | 2 | 2 years | Whig |
| 5 | | Theodore Lyman | January 6, 1834 | January 4, 1836 | 2 | 2 years | Democratic |
| 6 | | Samuel T. Armstrong | January 4, 1836 | January 1, 1837 | 1 | 1 year | Whig |
| 7 | | Samuel A. Eliot | January 1, 1837 | January 6, 1840 | 3 | 3 years | Whig |
| 8 | | Jonathan Chapman | January 6, 1840 | January 2, 1843 | 3 | 3 years | Whig |
| 9 | | Martin Brimmer | January 2, 1843 | January 6, 1845 | 2 | 2 years | Whig |
| — | | William Parker ‡ | January 6, 1845 | February 27, 1845 | — | 2 months | Whig |
| 10 | | Thomas Aspinwall Davis † | February 27, 1845 | November 22, 1845 | 1 | 9 months | Native American |
| — | | Benson Leavitt ‡ | November 22, 1845 | December 11, 1845 | — | 1 month | Whig |
| 11 | | Josiah Quincy IV. | December 11, 1845 | January 1, 1849 | 3 | 3 years, 1 month | Whig |
| 12 | | John P. Bigelow | January 1, 1849 | January 5, 1852 | 3 | 3 years | Whig |
| 13 | | Benjamin Seaver | January 5, 1852 | January 2, 1854 | 2 | 2 years | Whig |
| 14 | | Jerome V. C. Smith | January 2, 1854 | January 7, 1856 | 2 | 2 years | American |
| 15 | | Alexander H. Rice | January 7, 1856 | January 4, 1858 | 2 | 2 years | Independent |
| 16 (1) | | Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. | January 4, 1858 | January 7, 1861 | 3 | 3 years | Republican |
| 17 | | Joseph Wightman | January 7, 1861 | January 5, 1863 | 2 | 2 years | Democratic |
| 18 (2) | | Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. | January 5, 1863 | January 7, 1867 | 4 | 4 years | Republican |
| 19 | | Otis Norcross | January 7, 1867 | January 6, 1868 | 1 | 1 year | Republican |
| 20 | | Nathaniel B. Shurtleff | January 6, 1868 | January 2, 1871 | 3 | 3 years | Democratic |
| 21 | | William Gaston | January 2, 1871 | January 6, 1873 | 2 | 2 years | Democratic |
| 22 (1) | | Henry L. Pierce | January 6, 1873 | November 29, 1873 | 1 | 11 months | None |
| — | | Leonard R. Cutter ‡ | November 29, 1873 | January 5, 1874 | — | 1 month | Democratic |
| 23 | | Samuel C. Cobb | January 5, 1874 | January 1, 1877 | 3 | 3 years | None |
| 24 (1) | | Frederick O. Prince | January 1, 1877 | January 7, 1878 | 1 | 1 year | Democratic |
| 25 (2) | | Henry L. Pierce | January 7, 1878 | January 6, 1879 | 1 | 1 year | Republican |
| 26 (2) | | Frederick O. Prince | January 6, 1879 | January 2, 1882 | 3 | 3 years | Democratic |
| 27 | | Samuel A. Green | January 2, 1882 | January 1, 1883 | 1 | 1 year | Republican |
| 28 | | Albert Palmer | January 1, 1883 | January 7, 1884 | 1 | 1 year | Democratic |
| 29 | | Augustus Pearl Martin | January 7, 1884 | January 5, 1885 | 1 | 1 year | Republican |
| 30 | | Hugh O'Brien | January 5, 1885 | January 7, 1889 | 4 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 31 (1) | | Thomas N. Hart | January 7, 1889 | December 31, 1890 | 2 | 2 years | Republican |
| 32 | | Nathan Matthews Jr. | January 1, 1891 | January 7, 1895 | 4 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 33 | | Edwin Upton Curtis | January 7, 1895 | January 6, 1896 | 1 | 1 year | Republican |
| | Mayoral term increased to two years. | Mayoral term increased to two years. | Mayoral term increased to two years. | | | |
| 34 | | Josiah Quincy | January 6, 1896 | January 1, 1900 | 2 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 35 (2) | | Thomas N. Hart | January 1, 1900 | January 6, 1902 | 1 | 2 years | Republican |
| 36 | | Patrick Collins † | January 6, 1902 | September 13, 1905 | 2 | 3 years, 9 months | Democratic |
| — | | Daniel A. Whelton ‡ | September 15, 1905 | January 1, 1906 | — | 3 months | Democratic |
| 37 (1) | | John F. Fitzgerald | January 1, 1906 | January 6, 1908 | 1 | 2 years | Democratic |
| 38 | | George A. Hibbard | January 6, 1908 | February 7, 1910 | 1 | 2 years | Republican |
| | Mayoral term increased to four years. | Mayoral term increased to four years. | Mayoral term increased to four years. | | | |
| 39 (2) | | John F. Fitzgerald | February 7, 1910 | February 2, 1914 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 40 (1) | | James Michael Curley | February 2, 1914 | February 4, 1918 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 41 | | Andrew J. Peters | February 4, 1918 | February 6, 1922 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 42 (2) | | James Michael Curley | February 6, 1922 | January 4, 1926 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 43 | | Malcolm Nichols | January 4, 1926 | January 6, 1930 | 1 | 4 years | Republican |
| 44 (3) | | James Michael Curley | January 6, 1930 | January 1, 1934 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 45 | | Frederick Mansfield | January 1, 1934 | January 3, 1938 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 46 | | Maurice J. Tobin | January 3, 1938 | January 4, 1945 | 2 | 7 years | Democratic |
| — | | John E. Kerrigan ‡ | January 4, 1945 | January 7, 1946 | — | 1 year | Democratic |
| 47 (4) | | James Michael Curley | January 7, 1946 | January 2, 1950 | 1 | 4 years | Democratic |
| 48 | | John B. Hynes | January 2, 1950 | January 4, 1960 | 3 | 10 years | Democratic |
| 49 | | John F. Collins | January 4, 1960 | January 1, 1968 | 2 | 8 years | Democratic |
| 50 | | Kevin White | January 1, 1968 | January 2, 1984 | 4 | 16 years | Democratic |
| 51 | | Raymond Flynn | January 2, 1984 | July 12, 1993 | 3 | 9 years, 6 months | Democratic |
| 52 | | Thomas Menino | July 12, 1993 | January 6, 2014 | 5 | 20 years, 6 months | Democratic |
| 53 | | Marty Walsh | January 6, 2014 | March 22, 2021 | 2 | 7 years, 2 months | Democratic |
| — | | Kim Janey ‡ | March 22, 2021 | November 16, 2021 | — | 8 months | Democratic |
| 54 | | Michelle Wu | November 16, 2021 | Incumbent | 1 | 3 years, 1 month | Democratic |

### Mayors serving non-consecutive terms

Mayors serving non-consecutive terms. :
| # | Mayor | Term | Term | In office | In office | Party |
| # | Mayor | Start | End | Terms won | Duration | Party |
| M | Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. | January 4, 1858 | January 7, 1867 | 7 | 7 years | Republican |
| M | Henry L. Pierce | January 6, 1873 | January 6, 1879 | 2 | 1 year, 11 months | Republican |
| M | Frederick O. Prince | January 1, 1877 | January 2, 1882 | 4 | 4 years | Democratic |
| M | Thomas N. Hart | January 7, 1889 | January 7, 1902 | 3 | 4 years | Republican |
| M | John F. Fitzgerald | January 5, 1906 | February 2, 1914 | 2 | 6 years | Democratic |
| M | James Michael Curley | February 2, 1914 | January 2, 1950 | 4 | 16 years | Democratic |
† died in office ‡ acting mayor only ^KN Native American Party and American Party were formal names of the "Know Nothing" movement.

### 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" (which is somewhat open to interpretation).
The following individuals served as acting mayor during a vacancy in the office.
| Year | Name | Explanation |
| 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 (incarceration) 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. |