Mayor of Dallas

Mayor of Dallas
Seal of the City of Dallas
Incumbent Eric Johnson since 2019
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Dallas, Texas
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Dr. Samuel B. Pryor 1856
Formation	Dallas City Charter
Salary	$80,000
Website	City of Dallas - Mayor Eric Johnson

Elections in Texas
General elections 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Federal government Presidential elections 1848 1852 1856 1860 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate 1846 1847 1851 1853 1857 1859 1859 sp 1870 1871 1875 1876 1881 1882 1887 1888 1892 sp 1893 1894 1899 1901 1905 1907 1911 1913 1913 sp 1916 1918 1922 1924 1928 1930 1934 1936 1940 1941 sp 1942 1946 1948 1952 1954 1957 sp 1958 1960 1961 sp 1964 1966 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1993 sp 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 2020 2024 2026 U.S. House of Representatives 1846 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1866 1869 1870 1871 1872 1874 1876 1878 1879 6th sp 1880 1882 1884 1886 1887 2nd sp 1888 1890 1892 9th sp 1894 1896 11th sp 1898 1900 1901 6th sp 1902 4th sp 1903 8th sp 1904 1905 8th sp 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 10th sp 1914 1916 1918 1919 12th sp 1920 1922 13th sp 1924 1926 1928 1930 17th sp 1931 14th sp 1932 1933 7th sp 8th sp 15th sp 1934 1936 1937 10th sp 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 6th sp 1947 9th sp 16th sp 1948 15th sp 1950 18th sp 1951 13th sp 1952 7th sp 1954 1956 1958 1960 1961 20th sp 1962 4th sp 13th sp 1963 10th sp 1964 1966 8th sp 1968 3rd sp 1970 1972 1974 1976 1st sp 22nd sp 1978 1980 1982 1983 6th sp 1984 1985 1st sp 1986 1988 1989 12th sp 18th sp 1990 1991 3rd sp 1992 1994 1996 1997 28th sp 1998 2000 2002 2003 19th sp 2004 2006 22nd 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 27th sp 2020 2021 6th sp 2022 34th sp 2024 18th sp
State government Gubernatorial elections 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1866 1866 1869 1873 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Comptroller elections 2022 Senate elections 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 House of Representatives elections 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Constitutional amendments 1972 2005 2007 2021 2023
Austin Mayoral elections 2003 2006 2009 2012 2014 2018 2022 2024 Austin municipal elections 2022 2024
Corpus Christi Mayoral elections 2012 2014 2016 2017 sp 2018 2020
Dallas–Fort Worth Arlington mayoral elections 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 Dallas mayoral elections 1856 1857 1875 1904 1925 1961 1963 1965 1995 1999 2002 sp 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 Dallas municipal elections 2015 2019 2021 Fort Worth mayoral elections 2003 2007 2009 2011 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 Denton mayoral elections 2020 2022 Plano municipal elections 2017 2019 2021
El Paso Mayoral elections 2001 2003 2005 2009 2013 2017 2020 2024 Municipal elections 2017 2020 2024
Houston Mayoral elections 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2019 2023 Municipal elections 2005 2007 2009
Laredo Mayoral elections 2018 2022
Lubbock Mayoral elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
San Antonio Mayoral elections 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025
Government
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The Mayor of the City of Dallas is a member of the Dallas City Council and its presiding officer. The current mayor is Eric Johnson, who has served one term since 2019 and is the 60th mayor to serve in the position. Dallas operates under a city charter that designates the mayor as the official head of city government and a council-manager system where a city council-appointed city manager serves as the chief operating officer of the city.

The city of Dallas operates under a council-manager government type, putting the city of Dallas in a unique position as being one of the largest cities in the United States to utilize this municipal government structure. Unlike the more common form of government used by large cities known as the mayor-council government - where the mayor serves the chief-executive position of the city - the council-manager government of the city of Dallas gives the operational responsibility to the appointed City Manager. The mayor presides over city council meetings and official ceremonies and serves as a representative of the City of Dallas at the local, state, national, and international level. Likewise, it is not uncommon for mayors of the city of Dallas to simultaneously serve as members or heads of other committees while in office, further representing the interests of the people and city of Dallas in organizations and committees.

The Office of Mayor was created with the formation of the Dallas City Charter in 1856, also providing for the mayor six aldermen, a treasurer, recorder and a constable. In the charter, it was stated that each office would be elected for a term of one year.^[1] In the reorganization of 1876, the mayor was elected to the office for a term of two years.^[2] The office was first filled in the election of 1856, in which Dr. Samuel B. Pryor defeated A. D. Rice for the position.^[3] A. D. Rice would run for office again and go on to serve as the 4th mayor of the city.

For much of the 19th century, mayors of the city of Dallas served for only one term. This precedence was broken at the end of Winship C. Connor's term, who – after serving three consecutive terms from 1887 to 1894 – would go on to be the city's longest consecutively serving mayor in the 19th century. His success was accredited to the development of the city's first water, power, and streetcar systems.

The municipal government of Dallas underwent two significant structural changes during its history. The first change was made in 1907 where the city voted to change from an alderman system to a commission form of government. Stephen J. Hay was the first mayor elected in this new form of government, demonstrating the success of the highly debated commission form of government and contributing to the development of White Rock Lake in response to a water shortage in 1910. The second major government change was made in 1930, altering the commission form of government to specifically be a council-manager form. The first mayor to serve following this change was Tom Bradford, a successful grocer who was a significant financial contributor to the Bradford Memorial Hospital for Babies, the preliminary institution to the Children's Medical Center Dallas. He died after suffering a major heart attack in 1932 and was the first mayor of Dallas to die in office.

Woodall Rodgers, serving two 4 year terms from 1939 to 1947, was mayor during World War II and served during the rampant manufacturing of aircraft and weapon goods in a rapidly industrializing Dallas. Rodgers oversaw the initial transformation of Dallas Love Field from a USAAF training ground to a commercial airport. He was also mayor when the Mercantile National Bank Building was constructed, which was the only skyscraper built in the United States during World War II and was the tallest building in the city of Dallas until the completion of Republic Center Tower I in 1954. The economic success brought by his contributions in office are commemorated by several namesakes throughout the city, most notably the Woodall Rodgers Freeway that passes underneath Klyde Warren Park and over the Trinity River along the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.

Earle Cabell served as 48th mayor from 1961 to 1964 and was mayor during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in the city. In the wake of the assassination, Cabell was the target of multiple death threats and accusations of his involvement in the act.

The image of the city of Dallas was immensely tarnished by the assassination of the President, earning the moniker "City of Hate". Following Earle Cabell was Mayor J. Erik Jonsson who funded and supported the then proposed Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. As mayor, he went on to support public works projects such as developing the new Dallas City Hall, the Dallas Convention Center, and the Dallas Central Library - the last of which is now named in his honor. He was followed by Wes Wise who went on to further improve the city's image during his three terms as mayor from 1971 to 1976. However, he stepped down to pursue a political career in United States Congress before the end of his third term. His pro-term mayoral successor, Adlene Harrison, stepped in and became acting mayor for the remainder of his term. She was the city's first female mayor, and the first female Jewish mayor in the United States. Although Dianne Feinstein is officially recognized as the first female Jewish mayor in the United States, Adlene Harrison's position as acting mayor predates Feinstein's start in office by almost two years; Adlene began serving as acting mayor on February 11, 1976, while Feinstein took office on December 4, 1978. Adlene would go on to serve as a member of several environmental committees and organizations after her short tenure, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ron Kirk was the first African-American mayor of the City of Dallas and served two terms from 1995 to 2002. As mayor, he led several efforts advocating for race equality and social welfare, mitigated tension between City Council and the Dallas School Board, advocated for economic development, and oversaw the construction of the American Airlines Center. He would later step down to pursue a seat in the US Senate, where he lost in the 2002 election to John Cornyn. After his defeat, he went on to become a lobbyist before being nominated and appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013.

Laura Miller - the city's third female mayor, following Adlene Harrison and Annette Strauss - was instrumental in renegotiating the Wright Amendment to revise flight restrictions at Love Field Airport, as well as implementing a citywide smoking ban and an ordinance prohibiting sex-based discrimination. The following mayor Tom Leppert would impose a staunch crime-fighting policy, promote the economic development of a modern inland port, and was a vocal supporter of a controversial convention center hotel project at the peak of the 2008 recession. He would later vacate the office to pursue a US Senate campaign in 2012, of which he would place third in the runoff. Following the four-month incumbency of acting mayor Dwaine Caraway, mayor Mike Rawlings would be known for his vocal leadership during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, and the removal of confederate monuments following the Charlottesville riots.

This is the list of people who have held the office of Mayor. Note: municipal elections in Texas are non-partisan. The party affiliation of the Mayor is listed here for informational purposes only. ^[a]

• History of Dallas

• Official page