A mayor is the head of a city, in charge of governing that city completely. The job’s specific details can differ slightly from town to town, and it’s common for larger cities to impose more complex responsibilities on their mayors. Additionally, the mayor may or may not have significant influence in that town’s political scene, again depending on the location and size of the town. Common duties for mayors include managing the town’s services, maintaining the budget, as well as securing new funding for the development of the town as it grows.
Becoming a mayor is different everywhere. To get to the top of some of the largest cities in the world, a candidate would need a significant political background and typically at least one degree in a field related to politics in some way. On the other hand, it’s not so difficult to get the job in some smaller towns, where there are also fewer candidates running for the position in the elections, and it can be beneficial to newcomers to the political game to raise in popularity by starting out on such smaller positions.
A mayor’s salary can be between $41,000 – $65,000, and the primary deciding factor is the size of the city being governed – naturally, large cities can pay their mayors substantially higher salaries than smaller ones, and it’s not uncommon for mayors to choose to progress from smaller cities to large ones gradually in order to keep increasing their salary and getting better options in the political field.