The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive of the Government of Los Angeles as set in the city charter. The current officeholder, the 43rd in the sequence of regular mayors, is Karen Bass, a member of the Democratic Party, though the office has been nonpartisan since 1909.
When Los Angeles was founded as a small town, a comisionado (Military Commissioner) was appointed before the title was changed to alcalde (Mayor) in 1786. Between 1841 and 1844, there were two mayors called the Jueces de Paz (Justices of Peace). When the United States took control, the office was renamed to Mayor.
