Mayor

Related Topics:
Mayorga,_GG :: Mayor_of_the_Sunset_Strip :: Mayor_of_Casterbridge,_The :: Mayor

''For the Spanish musical term, see major and minor.

A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "larger","greater") is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer.

In many systems, the mayor is an elected politician, who serves as chief executive and/or ceremonial official of many types of municipalities. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs as to the powers and responsibilities of a mayor, as well as the means of becoming mayor.

History

The word derives from Latin maior 'major, greater', which developed like such terms as senior ;'elder' to mean (in) chief.

In spite of its Latin etymology, "mayor" was not a Roman office, as Roman municipia were rather governed by collegial magistrates bearing various titles, such as consul or various terms expressing their numer (e.g. duumvir, two), or even titles of pre-Roman local origin.

Among the nations which arose on the ruins of the Roman empire of the West, and which made use of the Latin spoken by their "Roman" subjects as their official and legal language, maior (and, in some contexts the rarer Low Latin feminine maiorissa) were found to be very convenient terms to describe important officials of both sexes who had the superintendence of others. Any female servant or slave in the household of a barbarian, whose business it was to oversee other female servants or slaves, would be quite naturally called a maiorissa.

The male officer who governed a king's household (and was often the de facto head of government) was the major domus, and tended to make his office hereditary. At the courts of the various realms (resulting from dynastic divisions and unions) of the Frankish kings of the Merovingian line, the major domus, generally known as the "mayor of the palace", also variously known as the gubernator ('helmsman'; the root of Governor), rector (also a gubernatorial title), moderator (idem) or praefectus palatii, was so powerfull that one of their number would evict his master and successfully reunite the realms which his heir Charlemagne would turn into the Holy Roman Empire.

It came into use in the large entourages that followed the barbarian leaders who succeeded to the power of the Emperor of the West. The male officer who governed a king or duke's peripatetic household was the major domus, the "major domo". In the households of the Merovingian Frankish kings, the major domus, or praefectus palatii ("prefect of the palace"), nominally a majordomo comparable to a British household's trusted Butler, became the de facto head of government and even tended to become semi-hereditary, gaining such power (compare an oriental Vizier) that, in the person of Pippin of Herstal, he ended by evicting his master. He was the "mayor of the palace".

Municipal Mayoral types and titles

Anglosaxon mayors and counterparts

In England the mayor is the modern descendant of the feudal lord's bailiff or reeve (see Borough). We find the chief magistrate of London bearing the title of portreeve for considerably more than a century after the Conquest. This official was elected by popular choice, a privilege secured from king John . By the beginning of the nth century the title of portreeve1 gave way to that of mayor as the designation of the chief officer of London, and the adoption of the title by other boroughs followed at various intervals.

A mayor is now in England and America the official head of a municipal government. In the nineteenth century, in the United Kingdom, the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, section 15, regulated the election of mayors. He was to be a fit person elected annually on 9 November by the council of the borough from among the aldermen or councillors or persons qualified to be such. His term of office was one year, but he is eligible for re-election. He may appoint a deputy to act during illness or absence, and such deputy must be either an alderman or councillor. A mayor who was absent from the borough for more than two months becomes disqualified and vacates his office. A mayor is ex officio during his year of office and the next year a justice of the peace for the borough. He receives such remuneration as the council thinks reasonable. These provisons have now been repealed.

The office of mayor in an modern English borough or town does not entail any important administrative duties. It is generally regarded as an honour conferred for local distinction, long service on the Council, or for past services. The mayor (who must be a serving elected councillor)is expected to devote much of his time to civic, ceremionial, and representational functions, and to preside over meetings which have for their object the advancement of the public welfare. His or her administrative duties are to act as returning officer at municipal elections, and as chairman of the meetings of the council.

The mayor of a town council is officially known as Town Mayor, but in popular parlance, the Town is often dropped.

Other European counterparts

In Germany and the Low Countries the chief town magistrate is called burgomaster 'Chief of the Burger, i.e. Burgesses, citizens' (see that article G. Bürgermeister, Dutch burgemeester; French-speaking parts of Belgium use bourgmestre).

The equivalent in Italy is sindaco (historical titles include podestà), in France Maire, in Bohemia starosta, in Portugal Presidente da Câmara Municipal 'President of the Municipal Chamber', and in Spain alcalde, a term derived from a Moorish post's Arabic name.

In the early 20th century, and for the most still, the English method of selecting a mayor by the council was followed for the corresponding functionaries in France (except Paris), the more important cities of Italy, and in Germany, where, however, the central government must confirm the choice of the council. Direct appointment by the central government exists in Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the smaller towns of Italy and Spain. As a rule, too, the term of office is longer in other countries than in the United Kingdom. In France election is for six years, in The Netherlands for six, in Belgium for an indefinite period, and in Germany usually for twelve years, but in some cases for life. In Germany the post may be said to be a professional one, the burgomaster being the head of the city magistracy, and requiring, in order to be eligible, a training in administration. German burgomasters were most frequently elected by promotion from another city. In France the maire, and a number of experienced members termed adjoint au maire 'mayoral adjunct', who assist him as an executive committee, are elected directly by the municipal council from among their own number. Most of the administrative work is left in the hands of the maire and his adjuncts, the full council meeting comparatively seldom. The adjuncts receive no salary.

In Finland, there are no mayors, although plans have been floated to institute the office in Tampere. The highest executive official is not democratically elected, but appointed to a public office by the city council, and is called simply kaupunginjohtaja "city manager" or kunnanjohtaja "municipal manager", depending on whether the municipality defines itself as a city. The term pormestari "mayor", from Swedish borgmästare "master of the castle" confusingly refers to the highest official in the registry office, not the city manager. In addition, pormestari is also a title, which may be given for distinguished service in the post of the city manager. The city manager of Helsinki is called ylipormestari, which translates to "Chief Mayor", for historical reasons. Furthermore, the term "city manager" may be seen translated as "mayor".

United States

In the United States, there are several distinct types of mayors. The first type of mayor is the mayor under the council-manager government. In this form, common among medium sized cities from 25,000 to several hundred thousand, the mayor is a first among equals at the city council, analogous to a head of state for the city. However, the mayor does not have any special legislative powers. This system is suited for rural and suburban cities with a part time mayor and city council. In the second form, under a strong mayor system, the mayor acts as an elected executive with the city council functioning with legislative powers. The mayor may select a chief administrative officer to oversee the different departments. This is the system used in most of the United States' large cities, primarily because mayors serve full time and have a wide range of services that they oversee. In a weak mayor system, the mayor has appointing power for department heads but is subject to checks by the city council. This is common for smaller cities, especially in New England. Charlotte, North Carolina and Minneapolis, Minnesota are two notable large cities with a weak mayor.

Multi-tier local government

In several countries, mayors are often appointed by some branch of the federal or regional government. In some cities, subdivisions such as boroughs, may have their own mayors; this is the case, for example, with the arrondissements of Paris and in Mexico City. In Belgium, only Brussels, the capital, administratively is one of the federation's three regions, subdivided -without the other regions' provincial level- into 19 rather small municipalities, which each have an elected -formally appointed- Burgomaster (i.e. Mayor, responsible to their elected councils); while Antwerp, the other major metropolitan area, has one large city (where the buroughs, former municipalities merged into it, elect a lower level, albeit with very limited comptence) and several smaller surrounding municipalities, each under a normal Burgomaster as in Brussels.

In the People's Republic of China, the Mayor (市長) may be the administrative head of any municipality, be it provincial-, prefectural, or county-level. The Mayor is usually the most recognized official in cities, although the position is the second highest ranking official in charge after the local Communist Party Secretary . In principle, the Mayor (who also serves as the Deputy Communist Party Secretary of the city) is responsible for managing the city administration while the Communist Party Secretary is responsible for general policy and managing the party bureaucacy, but in practice the roles blur frequently causing conflict. In the Republic of China in Taiwan the mayor is the head of a city's government and is completely distinct from the associated city's council which is in charge of legislative affairs. The mayor and city council are elected separately by the city's residents.

Sources and references

(incomplete)

A. Shaw, Municipal Government in Continental Europe
J - A. Fairlie, Municipal Administration
S. and B. Webb, English Local Government
Redlich and Hirst, Local Government in England
A. L. Lowell, The Government of England.

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Mayor