As the chief executive, the mayor has the duty to oversee city-county government's various departments, agencies, and municipal corporations.
Indianapolis city elections are partisan, with party affiliations listed alongside candidates' names on the ballot.
John Caven, Caleb S. Denny, Charles A. Bookwalter, Samuel L. Shank, Reginald H. Sullivan, and Philip L. Bayt served two nonconsecutive terms each.
Unigov, the city-county consolidation of Indianapolis and Marion County governments, was enacted on January 1, 1970, exactly two years into Richard Lugar's first term as mayor.
[2] The new governance structure, codified in Indiana Code, mandates that the Mayor of Indianapolis is the chief executive of both the city and Marion County.