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 DemocraticIrish Americans. Adopted by public vote in the November 1909general election, changes included extending the mayoral term to four years, and making the post formally non-partisan. The reforms did not work; the first mayor elected under the new charter was Democrat John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, and every mayor since RepublicanMalcolm Nichols has been 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. The law was repealed in 1939, after Curley's political career appeared to be in decline.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, 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 to having nine members, 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. 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.
Salary
As of 2018, salary for the mayor is $199,000. Members of the Boston City Council receive a salary that is 50% of that amount, currently $99,500. Every four years, the Council votes on whether or not to raise the mayor's salary, thereby also raising its own salaries or not. In June 2018, the Council voted to increase the salary of the mayor to $207,000, effective after the next mayoral election of November 2021 ; this will increase the salary of councillors to $103,500, effective after the next council elections of November 2019.
List
Use of denotes non-consecutive terms for a mayor. died in office acting mayor Native American Party and American Party were formal names of the "Know Nothing" movement.
Acting mayors
Only Cutter and Menino are listed by the City of Boston as having been "Acting Mayor"; others are said to have "acted as Mayor" or similar verbiage. The former are numbered in a list of Boston's mayors, the latter are not. Hynes' time acting as Mayor is not numbered; his time as elected Mayor is.
