# African American mayors in California

The following is a list of current and former African American mayors in the State of California. Since Edward P. Duplex was elected in 1888 as mayor of Wheatland, California, numerous African Americans have been elected or appointed to the post of mayor in California.

## Antioch

Population (2020): 115,921
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Wade Harper | 2012–2016 | First African-American mayor of Antioch |
| | Lamar Thorpe | 2020–Present | |

## Berkeley

Population (2020): 124,321
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Warren Widener | 1971–1979 | First African-American mayor of Berkeley |
| | Gus Newport | 1979–1986 | |

## Carson

Population (2020): 95,558
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Gilbert D. Smith | 1970–1971 1974–1975 | First African-American mayor of Carson |
| Clarence A. Bridgers | 1975–1976 1980–1981 | |
| Thomas G. Mills | 1982–1986 | |
| Daryl W. Sweeney | 2001–2003 | |
| Lula Davis-Holmes | 2020–Present | |

## Compton

Population (2020): 95,740
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Douglas Dollarhide | 1969–1973 | First African-American American mayor of Compton |
| Doris A. Davis | 1973–1977 | |
| Lionel Cade | 1977–1981 | |
| Walter R. Tucker Jr. | 1981–1993 | |
| Walter R. Tucker III | 1993–1995 | |
| Omar Bradley | 1993–2001 | |
| Eric J. Perrodin | 2001–2013 | |
| Aja Brown | 2013–2021 | |
| Emma Sharif | 2021–Present | |

## Cotati

Population (2020): 7,584
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Robert Coleman-Senghor | 2010–2011 | First African-American mayor of Cotati |

## East Palo Alto

Population (2020): 30,034
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Barbara Mouton | 1983–1986 | First African American mayor of East Palo Alto |
| James E. Blakey Jr. | May 1, 1987 – 1988 | |
| John Bostic | 1988–1989 | |
| William Vines | 1989–1990 | |
| Warnell Coats | 1991 | |
| Pat Johnson | 1992 | |
| Sharifa Wilson | 1992–1995 1999–2000 | |
| Rose Jacobs Gibson | 1995–1997 | |
| R.B. Jones | 1997–1998 | |
| Myrtle Walker | 2001 | |
| Duane G. Bay | 2002 | |
| Patricia Foster | 2003 2008 | |
| Donna Rutherford | 2004 2016 | |
| David E. Woods | 2005 2007 2010 | |
| Lisa Yarbrough-Gauthier | 2015 2019 2023 | |
| Regina Wallace-Jones | 2020 | |

## El Centro

Population (2020): 44,322
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | DuBois McGee | 1966–1972 | First African-American mayor of El Centro |

## Fontana

Population (2020): 212,704
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Acquanetta Warren | 2010–Present | First female and African-American mayor of Fontana |

## Hawthorne

Population (2020): 88,083
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Chris Brown | 2013–2015 | First African-American mayor of Hawthorne |

## Inglewood

Population (2020): 107,762
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Edward Vincent Jr. | 1983–1997 | First African-American Mayor of Inglewood |
| Roosevelt F. Dorn | 1997–2010 | |
| Danny Tabor | 2010–2011 | |
| James T. Butts Jr. | 2011–Present | |

## Lake Elsinore

Population (2020): 70,265
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Thomas R. Yarborough | 1966–1968 | First African-American mayor |

## Lemon Grove

Population (2020): 27,627
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Racquel Vasquez | 2016–Present | First African-American female mayor in San Diego County |

## Lynwood

Population (2020): 67,265
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Robert Henning | 1985–1986 1991–1992 | First African-American mayor of Lynwood |
| Evelyn Wells | 1986 1989–1990 | |
| Paul Richards | 1986–2003 | |
| Louis Byrd | 1999–2000 2006–2007 | |

## Oakland

Population (2020): 440,646
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Lionel Wilson | 1979–1993 | First African-American mayor of Oakland |
| Elihu Harris | 1993–1999 | |
| Ron Dellums | 2007–2011 | |

## Los Angeles

Population (2020): 3,898,747
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Tom Bradley | 1973–1993 | First African-American mayor of Los Angeles |
| | Karen Bass | 2022–Present | First female African-American mayor of Los Angeles 2nd African-American mayor |

## Menlo Park

Population (2020): 33,780
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Billy Ray White | 1980–1981 1982–1983 1985–1986 | First African-American mayor of Menlo Park |
| Cecilia Taylor | 2019–2020 | |
| Drew Combs | 2020–2021 | |

## Milpitas

Population (2020): 80,273
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Ben F. Gross | 1966–1968 | First African-American mayor of Milpitas |

## Oceanside

Population (2020): 174,068
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Terry Johnson | 2000–2004 | First African-American mayor of Oceanside |

## Palm Springs

Population (2020): 44,575
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Ron Oden | 2003–2007 | First African-American mayor of Palm Springs |

## Pasadena

Population (2020): 138,699
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Loretta Thompson-Glickman | 1982–1984 | First African-American mayor of Pasadena |
| | Chris Holden | 2014–2016 | |

## Richmond

Population (2020): 116,448
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| George D. Carroll | 1964–1965 | First African-American mayor of Richmond |
| George Livingston | 1969–1970 1985–1993 | First elected African-American mayor of Richmond |
| Nat Bates | 1971–1972 1976–1977 | |
| Booker T. Anderson | 1973–1974 | |
| Lonnie Washington | 1978–1979 | |
| George Livingston | 1985–1989* 1989–1993 | First elected African-American mayor of Richmond *appointed in 1985 to finish Thomas Corcoran's term. Won election in 1989 becoming Richmond's elected first African-American mayor |
| Irma Anderson | 2001–2006 | First elected African-American female mayor of Richmond |

## Sacramento

Population (2020): 524,943
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Kevin Johnson | 2008–2016 | First African-American mayor of Sacramento |

## Santa Monica

Population (2020): 93,076
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Nat Trives | 1975–1977 | First African-American mayor of Santa Monica |

## San Francisco

Population (2020): 873,965
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Willie Brown | 1996–2004 | First African-American mayor of San Francisco |
| | London Breed | 2017–2018 | First African-American woman mayor of San Francisco |

## San Ramon

Population (2020): 84,605
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | H. Abram Wilson | 2002–2008 | First African-American mayor of San Ramon |

## Seaside

Population (2020): 32,366
| Mayor | Years | Notes |
| Oscar Lawson | 1976–1978 | First African-American mayor of Seaside |
| Stephen E. Ross | 1978–1980 | |
| Lancelot McClair | 1982–1994 | |
| Don R. Jordan | 1994–1998 | |
| Jerry C. Smith | 1998–2004 | |
| Ian Oglesby | 2018–Present | |

## Stockton

Population (2020): 320,804
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Michael Tubbs | 2017–2021 | First African-American mayor of Stockton |
| | Kevin Lincoln | 2021–2025 | |

## Thousand Oaks

Population (2020): 126,966
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Lawrence E. Horner | 1976–1977 1981–1982 1984–1885 1988–1989 | |

## Wheatland

Population (2020): 3,712
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes |
| | Edward P. Duplex | 1888 | First African American mayor in the state of California |