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| Formation | April 4, 1850; 175 years ago (1850-04-04) |
|---|---|
| City charter | Los Angeles City Charter |
| Website | lacity |
| City-wide elected officials | |
| Attorney | Los Angeles City Attorney |
| Comptroller | Los Angeles City Controller |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature | Los Angeles City Council |
| Meeting place | Los Angeles City Hall |
| Executive branch | |
| Mayor | Mayor of Los Angeles |
| Appointed by | Election |
Thegovernment of the City of Los Angeles operates as acharter city (as opposed to a general law city) under the charter of the City ofLos Angeles. Theelected government is composed of theLos Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and themayor of Los Angeles, which operate under amayor–council government, as well as several other elective offices. Under theCalifornia Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan.[1] The current mayor isKaren Bass, the current city attorney isHydee Feldstein Soto and the current city controller isKenneth Mejia.
In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as theLos Angeles Police Department (LAPD), theLos Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), theLos Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), theLos Angeles Public Library (LAPL), the Los Angeles Department of Public Works (LADPW), and theLos Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
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The government of the city of Los Angeles includes the following city officers:[2]
Themayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city.[3] The officeholder is elected for a four-year term,[4] and limited to serving no more than two terms.[5] The 43rd and current mayor isKaren Bass.
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TheLos Angeles City Council is the governing body of Los Angeles. The council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms and limited to three terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the council at the first regular meeting after June 30 in odd-numbered years. An assistant president pro tempore is appointed by the president. The current president of the Los Angeles City Council isPaul Krekorian, the president pro tempore isMarqueece Harris-Dawson and the assistant president pro tempore isBob Blumenfield.
Regular council meetings are held in theCity Hall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 am except on holidays or if decided by special resolution.[6]
TheLos Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police the city of Los Angeles. It is governed by theLos Angeles Board of Police Commissioners and theChief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The city also maintains specialized police agencies; the Port Police, within the Harbor Department (which is responsible for land, air and sea law enforcement services at the Port of Los Angeles),Los Angeles City Park Rangers, within the Parks and Recreation Department (which are responsible for security and fire protection inGriffith Park), and the Airport Police, within theLos Angeles World Airports Department (which is responsible for law enforcement services for the 2 city-owned airports;Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), andVan Nuys Airport (VNY)). TheLos Angeles General Services Police, which provided police coverage for Los Angeles city owned property and parks (except forGriffith Park) was absorbed into the LAPD in 2012. TheLos Angeles Unified School District maintains its own separatepolice department, as do many other school districts and college campuses within the city.
The charter of the City of Los Angeles ratified by voters in 1999 created a system of advisory neighborhood councils that would represent the diversity of stakeholders, defined as those who live, work or own property in the neighborhood.[7] The neighborhood councils are relatively autonomous and spontaneous in that they identify their own boundaries, establish their own bylaws, and elect their own officers.[8] There are currently 99 neighborhood councils.
TheLos Angeles city attorney is an elected official whose job is legal counsel for the city and may prosecute misdemeanor criminal offenses within the city. TheLos Angeles City Clerk is in charge of record-keeping for the city and elections. TheLos Angeles City Controller is the elected auditor and chief accounting officer of the city. The Los Angeles City Treasurer handles financial matters.
The Personnel Department recruits employees, administers competitive examinations, and establishes eligible lists for employment. In addition, the Department recruits and examines sworn police and fire candidates and conducts background investigations. It establishes rules and regulations governing the promotion, transfer, leave of absence, removal, and reinstatement of City employees; administers the City's classification plan; administers the City's affirmative action and equal employment programs; and maintains a variety of employment records for all City employees.[9]
The Personnel Department assists other departments with in-service training, placement, and counseling; administers employee health and dental insurance and other benefit programs; investigates grounds for removal or suspension of employees; investigates discrimination complaints; and conducts hearings. The Department administers pre-employment health examinations; administers a workers' compensation program, including vocational rehabilitation for City employees; and provides medical care for persons in custody of the Police Department. It administers the City's Trip Reduction/Commuter Services Program which includes ridesharing, vanpooling, mass transit subsidies and employee parking.[9]
In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the:
The most recent elections were in May 2013, with13th district city councilmanEric Garcetti defeatingcity controllerWendy Greuel forMayor.[10] Thevoter turnout was about 19% ofregistered voters, one of the lowest turnouts on record, with Garcetti garnering about 54% of the votes.[11][12]
Los Angeles has voted for every Democratic Party candidate for president since at least 1964. In the seven presidential elections since George H.W. Bush's re-election bid in 1992, no Republican candidate has received as much as 30% of the vote in Los Angeles. In 2024, Trump was the first Republican since George W. Bush to surpass 25% in the city, while Harris was the first Democrat since Barack Obama in 2012 to get less than 1 million votes in the city.
| Year | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 70.16%976,781 | 26.49%369,619 |
| 2020 | 76.6%1,223,737 | 21.4%342,545 |
| 2016 | 78.5%1,017,038 | 16.4%212,080 |
| 2012 | 76.4%902,038 | 21.0%248,182 |
| 2008 | 76.3%931,093 | 21.8%265,941 |
| 2004 | 71.4%785,489 | 27.4%301,097 |
| 2000 | 73.1%574,300 | 22.2%174,693 |
| 1996 | 67.2%576,146 | 23.5%201,739 |
| 1992 | 62.4%633,283 | 21.7%220,539 |
| 1988 | 61.3%607,541 | 37.4%370,980 |
| 1984 | 54.9%503,393 | 44.0%404,232 |
| 1980 | 47.6%424,363 | 42.0%374,604 |
| 1976 | 56.3%517,485 | 41.8%383,774 |
| 1972 | 51.2%549,176 | 46.3%496,896 |
| 1968 | 55.7%565,804 | 39.9%405,570 |
| 1964 | 64.5%696,234 | 35.5%383,144 |
The charter of the City of Los Angeles is the founding document of Los Angeles. Pursuant to its charter, all legislative power is vested in the council and is exercised by ordinance subject to a veto by the Mayor.
Pursuant to this power, the council has caused to be promulgated the Administrative Code, consisting of administrative and procedural ordinances, and the Municipal Code, consisting of codified regulatory and penal ordinances. Violations of the ordinances aremisdemeanor crimes unless otherwise specified as aninfraction and may be prosecuted by city authorities.[13][14]
TheLos Angeles Superior Court, which covers the entire county, is not a county department but a division of the State's trial court system. Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county Board of Supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state.
Los Angeles is also part ofLos Angeles County, for which thegovernment of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under theCalifornia Constitution,California law, and the charter of the County of Los Angeles.[15] The county government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. The county government is primarily composed of the elected five-memberBoard of Supervisors, other elected offices including thesheriff,district attorney, andassessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the chief executive officer. The majority ofthe county department headquarters are physically located within the city of Los Angeles.
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