See also: Mayoral election in Austin, Texas (2022)

Kirk Watson defeated Celia Israel in the December 13, 2022, nonpartisan general runoff election for mayor of Austin, Texas. Israel and Watson, who have both served in the state legislature as Democrats, were the top-two vote-getters in the November 8, 2022, general election. Israel received 40% of the vote and Watson received 35% of the vote. To win, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. This page covers the general runoff election. For coverage of the general election, click here.

Incumbent Stephen Adler did not run for re-election.

At the time of the election, Israel served in the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 50 as a Democrat. She assumed office in 2014. Israel said, "I have a reputation for having an open door and open mind, and I have the experience and tenacious leadership to help us find common ground at every opportunity."^[1] Israel made housing affordability a central focus of her campaign. Israel said the city should use its unutilized public space to build more housing: "Austin could be doing more with its public space. It owns 6,000 tracts of land. That could be teacher housing, 911 operator housing, police housing."^[2] Israel also campaigned on providing rental relief to renters, reducing parking requirements and increasing density, and making it easier for people to build accessory dwelling units on their property.^[3] Israel's campaign has also focused on transportation and mobility, including pushing to "create bus lanes, and build protected bike lanes and sidewalks so everyone has a safe, affordable, and pollution-free option of moving around Austin."^[4]

Watson served in the Texas State Senate, representing District 14 as a Democrat, from 2007 to 2020. He served as the mayor of Austin from 1997 to 2001. Watson ran his record as mayor, saying, "I have a proven record of success in getting big things done for Austin and we're in a point in time we're no longer becoming a big city — we're a big city and we need to do big things."^[5] Watson's campaign focused on housing affordability. Watson proposed changing the city's development review process to make it faster to build more housing and temporarily halving development fees.^[6] Watson's housing policy plan includes a plank to allow City Council members to propose district-specific housing policies: "What my plan does is it says ‘let’s ask the districts what they want to do in order to get us more housing,’ not to block off any housing."^[7] Watson has also campaigned on expanding childcare options and improving transportation.^[8]

Israel and Watson disagreed on how to spend a $250 million housing bond voters approved on November 8, 2022. Israel said the city should "partner with a nonprofit who’s going to work to take our unhoused off the streets first and put them in a dignified place."^[7] Watson said, "So one of my priorities would be to work with the private industry, the private developers as they're developing their projects, bring in that public money, so we would be able to together be able to buy down those units."^[7]

The winner of the 2022 election will serve a two-year term, instead of the traditional four. In 2021, Austin voters approved Proposition D, a measure that aligns mayoral elections with presidential election years. Following the 2024 election, the mayor will serve a four-year term.^[9]

See also: Mayoral election in Los Angeles, California (2022)

Karen Bass defeated Rick Caruso in the nonpartisan general election for mayor of Los Angeles, California, on November 8, 2022. The candidates advanced from the June 7 primary election since neither received 50% of the vote. Incumbent Mayor Eric Garcetti could not run for re-election due to term limits.

Bass was first elected to public office in 2004 to serve in the California State Assembly. She served in the Assembly from 2005 to 2010 and was speaker from 2008 to 2010. Bass was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 and represented California's 37th Congressional District at the time of the mayoral election.^[10] In a campaign ad, Bass said, “I’m running for mayor to meet today’s challenges: crime, homelessness, and the soaring cost of housing.”^[11]

Caruso was the founder and chief executive officer of a retail complex development company.^[12] He also served on Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power Commission, as the president of Los Angeles’ Police Commission, and on the USC Board of Trustees.^[13] In a campaign ad, Caruso said, “I’m running for mayor because the city we love is in a state of emergency: rampant homelessness, people living in fear for their safety, and politicians at city hall just in it for themselves.”^[14]

Though the election was officially nonpartisan, both candidates were registered Democrats. Caruso announced he changed his party registration from no party preference to Democrat in January 2022.^[15] Bass had held elected office as a Democrat since 2005.

The New York Times' Jennifer Medina wrote that the race “has focused on voters’ worries about public safety and homelessness in the nation’s second-largest city” and could “become a test of whether voters this year favor an experienced politician who has spent nearly two decades in government or an outsider running on his business credentials.”^[16]

Speaking to Axios, Bass spokeswoman Anna Bahr said, “Voters have a choice in this race — between a billionaire real estate developer who has never built a single unit of affordable housing despite 50,000 people living on our streets, and a Black community organizer who has spent her life running toward this city's crises and solving them.”^[17]

Caruso Senior Advisor Peter Ragone said, “Los Angeles is in a crisis: Homeless, crime and corruption are uncontrolled. This is a moment for someone like Rick to come in and clean up City Hall.”^[17]

This was the first even-year election for Los Angeles mayor since the 2015 passage of Charter Amendment 1, which shifted city elections to even-numbered years beginning in 2020.

The city of Los Angeles uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.

Heading into 2022, the mayors of 63 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans held 28 mayoral offices, independents held four, and five mayors were nonpartisan. One mayor's partisan affiliation was unknown. Heading into the election, Los Angeles had a Democratic mayor.

See also: Mayoral election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2022)

Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson defeated Robert Donovan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's special general election for mayor on April 5, 2022.

The special election was called after Mayor Tom Barrett resigned on December 22, 2021, to become the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. Wisconsin Public Radio's Corrinne Hess wrote the special election "could mean a historic change for Milwaukee. Wisconsin’s largest city could have its first elected Black mayor, or with Donovan, have a conservative leader for the first time."^[18]

The office is officially nonpartisan. Johnson said he is a Democrat.^[19] When Donovan ran for mayor in 2016, a campaign representative described him as independent.^[20] When asked in February 2022 if he thought Milwaukee would elect a conservative mayor, Donovan said, "I think the times are to the point where people are open to looking at some changes."^[21]

Johnson first joined the Milwaukee Common Council in 2016. Council members elected him council president in 2020. Johnson said he personally experienced the city's struggles with violence and crime. Johnson emphasized his public safety plan, which he said was comprehensive and included measures to prevent violence. Johnson said he led on securing funds for 200 additional police officers. He criticized Donovan's public safety plan as being outdated.

Donovan served on the council from 2000 to 2020. He lost the 2016 mayoral election to Barrett 30% to 70%. Donovan campaigned on his experience on the council and his past chairmanship of the Public Safety Committee and the Anti-Graffiti Policy Committee. Donovan highlighted his public safety plan, including increasing police staffing and foot and bicycle patrols, and criticized Johnson by saying the city experienced its worst bout of violence during Johnson's time as council president.

The city charter states the council president serves as acting mayor in the event of a vacancy.^[22]