The Mayor of the City of Dallas is the head of government for the city. The current mayor is The Honorable Mike Rawlings, who has served as mayor for two consecutive terms since 2011 and is the 59th elected mayor to serve the position.
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 chief-executive position to the appointed City Manager. As a result, the mayor is elected at-largeserves a largely ceremonious position fulfilling a handful of key duties. The mayor serves as a member of the city council, presides over city council meetings and official ceremonies, and serves as a representative to the City of Dallas at a 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. In the reorganization of 1876, the mayor was elected to the office for a term of two years. The office was first elected in the election of 1856, in which Dr. Samuel B. Pryor defeated A. D. Rice for the position. 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 only served as much as one term, even after the reorganization of 1876. This precedence was broken at the end of Winship C. Connor's term, who - after serving three consecutive terms from 1887 to 1894 - was the longest serving mayor of the city at the time. His success was accredited to the development of the city's first water, power, and streetcar systems.
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