§ 1. Election, term, etc.

(a) Election and qualifications.

(1) The voters of Baltimore City shall elect a Mayor on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November 2016, and on the same day and month in every succeeding fourth year.

(2) The Mayor shall be a person of known integrity, experience, and sound judgment. The Mayor also shall be over 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the City for at least 1 year next preceding the election and during the term of office.

(b) Term.

The term of Mayor shall commence on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in December succeeding the election and continue for four years and until a successor shall have been elected and qualified.

The salary of the Mayor shall be set as provided in Article VII, §§ 117 through 125 of this Charter.

(d) Term limit.

A Mayor shall not hold office for more than 2 consecutive full terms of office and in no event shall hold the office for more than 8 years during any 12 year period. This provision shall not preclude an elected Mayor from seeking other elected offices within Baltimore City after two consecutive terms as Mayor. In the event that an elected Mayor takes office as a result of a removal, vacancy or absence described in § 2 of this Article, that elected Mayor shall only be eligible to hold that office for the remainder of the predecessor's unexpired term and 1 consecutive full term thereafter.

(Res. 12-003, ratified Nov. 6, 2012; Res. 05-009, ratified Nov. 7, 2006; Res. 04-049, ratified Nov. 2, 2004; Res. 99-016, ratified Nov. 2, 1999; Initiative "Question K", ratified Nov. 8, 2022.)

Cross References

Article VII, § 60(a)

Article VII, § 71(a)

Article VII, § 94(a)

Editor's Notes

§ 9-113 of the Local Government Article (enacted as former Article 24, § 1-108, by Chs. 8 and 9, Acts of 1999) provides that “a candidate for chief executive officer [of a county] shall be a resident of the county for at least 6 months before the general election for chief executive officer” {LG §9-113(c)}. By constricted definition and scope, however, this requirement applies to but two “counties” (Baltimore City and Montgomery County) and two “chief executive officers” (the Mayor of Baltimore City and the County Executive of Montgomery County) {LG § 9-113(a) and (b)}.

The section further provides that a “county” may retain a Charter-imposed residency requirement that is longer than 6 months if that political subdivision “reaffirms the requirement by enactment of an Ordinance effective no later than 4 weeks before the filing deadline specified in § 5-303(a) of the Election Law Article” {LG § 9-113(d)}.

In response to these provisions, the Mayor and City Council enacted Ordinance 99-433, effective June 1, 1999, to “reaffir[m] and retai[n] the residency requirement for Mayor that is imposed by the Baltimore City Charter”.

Subsection (d) was added by Initiative Ballot Question K, ratified November 8, 2022. The final sentence of Question K establishes that subsection (d) will be effective “beginning with persons elected in the 2024 Baltimore City Election.”