The mayor of Chico, CA is Kasey Reynolds, selected by her fellow City Council members on December 4, 2024 to a two-year term.1City of Chico. City Council Directory Reynolds represents District 2 and was first elected to the council in 2018, then re-elected in 2022. Dale Bennett of District 3 serves as vice mayor. In Chico, the mayor is a council member chosen to preside, not a separately elected executive who runs the city.
How Chico Picks Its Mayor
Chico voters do not vote for mayor. They elect seven council members, one from each district, and those council members choose the mayor and vice mayor from among themselves. The Chico City Charter establishes this council-manager form of government.2American Legal Publishing. The Charter of the City of Chico – Section 300 Council-Manager Form of Government
The selection happens at the council’s first meeting after newly elected or re-elected members are sworn in, on the first Tuesday of December in even-numbered years. Whoever wins a majority of the council’s votes becomes mayor. The vice mayor is filled the same way.3City of Chico. City Council
What the Mayor Does
Chico operates under what political scientists call a weak-mayor arrangement, though the charter itself does not use that label. The mayor has no independent executive authority: no power to hire department heads, no line-item control over the budget, and no veto over council decisions. On any policy vote, the mayor’s ballot counts the same as any other council member’s.
What the mayor does carry is a procedural and ceremonial role. That means presiding over council meetings, keeping order through public comment and deliberation, signing ordinances and contracts the full council has authorized, and representing Chico at public events and in dealings with other governments.
Who Actually Runs the City
Day-to-day operation of Chico’s government is the city manager’s job, not the mayor’s. The city manager is a professional administrator appointed by the council to run departments, supervise staff, and carry out the policies and budgets the council adopts. That split, elected members setting direction and a hired administrator executing it, is the defining feature of the council-manager system.2American Legal Publishing. The Charter of the City of Chico – Section 300 Council-Manager Form of Government
Mark Sorensen currently holds that city manager job. The name causes confusion because Sorensen previously sat on the council and served a term as mayor before moving into the appointed administrative role. He has announced he will retire from the city manager position in June 2026, which will prompt a council-led search for a replacement.4Chico Enterprise-Record. Mark Sorensen Announces Retirement5Action News Now. Chico City Manager Sorensen Announces June 2026 Retirement
Term Length and the 2026 Election
The mayor serves a two-year term, matching the council’s biennial reorganization cycle. Council members themselves serve four-year terms, with elections every November in even-numbered years. A council member can serve as mayor more than once if colleagues keep selecting them.3City of Chico. City Council
Chico’s next general municipal election falls on November 3, 2026, with Districts 2, 4, and 6 on the ballot.6City of Chico. City of Chico Elections District 2 is Reynolds’ seat, so her future as mayor depends on whether she seeks re-election and wins. Whatever happens at the ballot box, the council will hold its reorganization meeting in December 2026 and pick a mayor and vice mayor from the seated members.
Can the Mayor Be Recalled?
Because the mayor is simply a council member in a leadership chair, removal follows the standard California recall process for local elected officials. The threshold is set by the number of registered voters in the official’s jurisdiction, and for a district council seat that means the voters of that district, not the city at large.7California Secretary of State. Procedures for Recalling State and Local Officials
- Under 1,000 registered voters: 30% must sign
- 1,000 to 9,999: 25%
- 10,000 to 49,999: 20%
- 50,000 to 99,999: 15%
- 100,000 or more: 10%
A successful recall removes the person from the council entirely, not just from the mayor’s chair. The remaining council members would then fill the vacancy and select a new mayor from the seated members.