In 1795, the
North Carolina General Assembly established the office of
Intendant of Police of Raleigh, North Carolina. The first person to hold the office of intendant of police was
John Haywood. Officeholders were elected by the Raleigh Board of Commissioners, who were themselves appointed by the General Assembly. Starting in 1803, intendants of police were elected annually by all
freemen (including free
African-Americans) owning land within the city limits. The name Mayor was not adopted until 1856. The current mayor is
Democrat Janet Cowell, former
state treasurer, who was first elected in
2024. The longest-serving mayors in Raleigh's history are
Avery C. Upchurch, who was in office for ten years between 1983 and 1993, and
Charles Meeker, who served from 2001 through 2011. Four mayors have served for eight years. Elections are held every two years. A
nonpartisan blanket primary is held in October. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the two candidates that received the most votes progress to the
general election run-off election in November. In
2009, for the first time, the election was
nonpartisan, in that the candidates did not have formal party affiliation denoted on the ballot. Incumbent Charles Meeker won 62% in the first round, making a run-off election unnecessary. ==References==