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There are 163 city council elections happening in the 100 most populous cities on Nov. 3

By

Lara Bonatesta

There are 163 city council elections happening in the 100 most populous cities on Nov. 3. This includes elections for 183 seats in 45 cities. An additional 68 seats are also up for election in the 10 state capitals that fall outside of the 100 largest cities.

City councils have different powers and responsibilities depending on the type of municipal government in a locality. These city government structures predominantly fall into one of the following types:

  • Strong mayor: The city council serves as the city's primary legislative body, and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.
  • Council-manager: An elected city council — which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body — appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and to implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.
  • City commission: A city council, composed of an elected mayor and a board of elected commissioners, serves as the city's primary legislative and administrative body.
  • Hybrid: The city council serves as the city's primary legislative body, and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive. The mayor, however, appoints a city manager to oversee the city's day-to-day operations and to implement city policies.

Among the 45 cities in the top 100 that are holding city council elections this year, 29 have council-manager governments, 12 have strong-mayor governments, and four have hybrid governments.

Notable elections:

  • Los Angeles: General elections are taking place for Districts 3 and 9 of the Los Angeles City Council. All of the other districts’ general elections were canceled after candidates won outright in the June 2 primaries. Timothy Gaspar and Barri Worth Girvan are running in District 3. Gaspar’s campaign website lists endorsements from several local police and labor unions. Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa endorsed Worth Girvan. Estuardo Mazariegos and Jose Ugarte are running in District 9. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) endorsed Mazariegos. The Los Angeles Democratic Party endorsed Ugarte.
  • Tallahassee, Florida: Elections are taking place for mayor and Districts 3 and 5 on the City Commission. The mayor also has a vote on the city commission. According to Bolts, “Tallahassee’s five-member city council is split between a bloc of three centrists and two progressives, a divide that’s shown up in votes from policing to real estate development.” In the mayoral election, City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow and former state Sen. Loranne Ausley are running. Tom Derzypolski and PJ Perez are running in District 3, Matlow’s current seat. Incumbent Dianne Williams-Cox and Dorothy Inman-Johnson are running in District 5.
  • Louisville, Kentucky: Thirteen of the 26 seats on the Louisville Metro Council are up for election. Heading into the elections, Democrats have a 14-12 majority on the Council and have had a majority since the Council was formed in 2003. This means Democrats cannot lose any seats and maintain their majority, and Republicans would need to gain two seats to win a majority. This year is also the first time Louisville is holding nonpartisan elections for mayor and metro council. A 2024 law, HB288, required the city to switch to nonpartisan elections.
  • Portland, Oregon: Six of the 12 seats on the Portland City Council – three in District 3 and three in District 4 – are up for election. Twenty-one candidates are running in District 3, and 12 are running in District 4. All six incumbents are running for re-election. According to Bolts, the city council is evenly split “between a moderate faction aligned with the mayor and a progressive or socialist bloc.” Three members of each bloc are up for election. This means if any of the incumbents lose their bids for re-election, ideological control could shift.

Key Trends to watch:

  • Forms of government: Voters in Oakland, California are deciding on a local ballot measure that would change the city's form of government from a hybrid system to a mayor-council (or strong mayor) system and make the mayor the city's chief executive officer. Currently, Oakland is one of seven cities, among the 100 most populous, with a hybrid government. Forty-seven of the 100 largest cities have strong-mayor governments. Forty-six have council-manager governments.
  • Six city council members are facing recalls on Nov. 3. City council members had more recall petitions filed against them than any other office group this year, with 214. As we mentioned in our Oct. 7 edition of the Daily Brew, from 2010 to 2025, city council members had the most recall petitions filed against them, except in 2021 when school board members had the most.
  • On Nov. 3, voters in Irvine, California, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Longmont, Colorado, will decide on ballot measures that would require ranked-choice voting (RCV) in mayoral and city council elections. City councils put all three measures on the ballot.

Recent election history:

Ballotpedia covered an average of about 380 city council elections between 2018 and 2025, and an average of about 1,190 candidates ran in those races each year.

Click here to learn more about our coverage of municipal elections in 2026.