The mayor of Austin is the official head of the city of Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. The office was established in 1840 after Austin incorporated as a city in 1839. The mayor of Austin is elected to a four-year term and limited to serving no more than two terms.

Kirk Watson took office as mayor on January 6, 2023, for a third term and was re-elected to a fourth term in 2024, having served as mayor from 1997 to 2001.

Duties and powers Austin has a council–manager form of government which means day-to-day operations of the city are run by the city manager. The mayor is the head of city government ceremonially. The mayor is technically a member of the city council and is required to preside at all meetings. The mayor is also allowed to vote on all matters that come before the city council, but has no veto powers.

As of fiscal year 2022–2023, the salary for the mayor is set at $134,191.

Election The mayor is elected in a citywide election. Currently, elections occur every four years during even-numbered years. Elections are non-partisan and by majority, but if no candidate receives a majority a run-off election is called between the top two candidates who received the most votes.

Succession Per city code of ordinances, if the mayor is absent or disabled, the Mayor Pro Tem is to act as mayor until the mayor returns or an election is held to fill the vacancy.

The mayor is subject to recall by registered voters if a petition is signed and filed that contains the signatures of 10 percent of the qualified voters. If the petition is verified, a recall election is called at the earliest convenient available date. If the recall passes, the mayor immediately vacates office. There are two limitations to the recall process. First, no recall petition can be filed until the mayor has been in office for at least six months. Second, the mayor will not be subject to more than one recall.

List of mayors of Austin Mayor Took office Left office Tenure Party Election 1 Edwin Waller 6–7 months Unknown TBA 2 Thomas W. Ward 3–4 months Unknown TBA 3 Moses Johnson 1841 1842 1 year Unknown TBA 4 Asa Brigham 1842 1843 1 year Unknown TBA 5 Joseph W. Robertson 1843 1845 2 years Unknown TBA 6 James M. Long 1845 1847 2 years Unknown TBA 7 Jacob M. Harrell 1847 1849 2 years Unknown TBA 8 Samuel G. Haynie 1850 1852 2 years Unknown TBA 9 George J. Durham 1852 1853 1 year Unknown TBA 10 Thomas W. Ward 1853 1853 >1 year Unknown TBA 11 William P. DeNormandie 1853 1854 1 year Unknown TBA 12 John Salmon Ford 1854 1855 1 year Unknown TBA 13 John Treadwell Cleveland 1855 1856 1 year Unknown TBA 14 Edward R. Peck 1856 1857 1 year Unknown TBA 15 Thomas F. Sneed 1857 1858 1 year Unknown TBA 16 Ben F. Carter 1858 1860 2 years Unknown TBA 17 James W. Smith 1860 1863 3 years Unknown TBA 18 Samuel G. Haynie 1863 1865 2 years Unknown TBA 19 Thomas W. Ward 1865 1866 1 year Unknown TBA 20 William H. Carr 1866 1867 1 year Unknown TBA 21 Leander Brown 1867 1871 4 years Unknown TBA 22 John W. Glenn 1871 1872 1 year Unknown TBA 23 Thomas Benton Wheeler 1872 1877 5 years Democratic TBA 24 Jacob Carl DeGress 1877 1879 2 years Unknown TBA 25 William A. Saylor 1879 1881 2 years Unknown TBA 26 L. M. Crooker 1881 1883 2 years Unknown TBA 27 William A. Saylor 1883 1884 1 year Unknown TBA 28 John W. Robertson 1884 1887 3 years Unknown TBA 29 Joseph Nalle 1887 1890 3 years Unknown TBA 30 John McDonald 1890 1895 5 years Unknown TBA 31 Louis Hancock 1896 1897 1 year Unknown TBA 32 John Dodd McCall 1897 1901 4 years Unknown TBA 33 Robert E. White 1901 1905 4 years Unknown TBA 34 William D. Shelley 1905 1907 2 years Unknown TBA 35 Frank M. Maddox 1907 1909 2 years Unknown TBA 36 Alexander Penn Wooldridge 1909 1919 10 years Unknown TBA 37 William D. Yett 1919 1926 7 years Unknown TBA 38 Paul W. McFadden 1926 1933 7 years Unknown TBA 39 Robert Thomas Miller 1933 1949 16 years Unknown TBA 40 Taylor Glass 1949 1951 2 years Unknown TBA 41 William S. Drake Jr. 1951 1953 2 years Unknown TBA 42 Charles A. McAden 1953 1955 2 years Unknown TBA 43 Robert Thomas Miller 1955 1961 6 years Unknown TBA 44 Lester E. Palmer 1961 1967 6 years Unknown TBA 45 Harry Akin 1967 1969 2 years Unknown TBA 46 Travis LaRue 1969 1971 2 years Unknown TBA 47 Roy Butler 1971 1975 4 years Republican TBA 48 Jeffrey Friedman Democratic TBA 49 Carole McClellan Democratic TBA – John Treviño Jr. 3 months Unknown – 50 Ron Mullen 1–2 years Unknown TBA 51 Frank C. Cooksey 2–3 years Democratic TBA 52 Lee Cooke Republican TBA 53 Bruce Todd Democratic TBA 54 Kirk Watson Democratic TBA 55 Gustavo L. Garcia Democratic 2001 special 56 Will Wynn Democratic 2003 2006 57 Lee Leffingwell Democratic 2009 2012 58 Steve Adler Democratic 2014 2018 59 Kirk Watson Incumbent Democratic 2022 2024

Notes

See also Austin City Council Austin City Hall (Austin, Texas)

References