Lakeland, Florida

===Mayor===
The City of Lakeland was incorporated on January 1, 1885. The mayor is one of seven members of the City Commission, acting as the board chair and performing mostly ceremonial and procedural duties beyond the powers of the other six. Prior to 1988, the City Commission selected Lakeland's mayor from among its members. Mayors can be on the board for up to 12 years in a lifetime, or 16 years in combination with holding a regular commission position. Lakeland's first mayor was J.W. Trammell.

The first female mayor was Lois Q. Searl, who served in 1965.
The 1970 municipal election placed the first African-American on the City Commission, Dr. [[John S. Jackson (Florida politician)|John S. Jackson]].<ref>{{Cite news|first= Garth|last=Germond |authorlink=   |title= Jackson Wins Runoff for City Commission Post  |newspaper=[[The Tampa Tribune  ]]|date= November 27, 1968|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/135396400/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</ref>  In 1972, he became the first black mayor for the city.
In 1980, [[Carrie R. Oldham]] became Lakeland's first African-American female mayor.

Since 1988, the mayor has been elected by the city's voters.