The Lakewood City Council is comprised of a mayor and 10 councilors, two from each of the City's five wards. The City conducts its regular municipal election every two years, in odd-numbered years, on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November. The mayoral election is held on the same date, but every four years. Both the mayor and the councilors are elected to four-year terms. Elected officials are limited, by city charter, to two consecutive four-year terms.
Terms of office begin at the first city council meeting following the election.
To run for a seat on City Council, a person must be 21 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the City of Lakewood for at least 12 consecutive months preceding the date of the election, a registered elector, and a resident of the ward he wishes to represent. Any person elected to office must continue to live within the ward from which he was elected throughout the term of office. The mayor need only continue to live within the city. The mayor presides over city council meetings, has no veto power, and has the right to vote and speak at all meetings. The mayor is the recognized head of the municipal government for all ceremonial purposes.