Before the conquest, Californios served as Mayor of San Jose during the Spanish and Mexican eras since 1777.

The current mayor is Democrat Matt Mahan, who took office in January 2023.

[1] Since 1967, San Jose has elected its mayors by popular vote.

If no person gets over 50% of the popular vote, the top two candidates automatically move to a runoff election.

All elected mayors of San Jose have been members of the Democratic Party.