On December 10, 2020, Todd Gloria was sworn in as the 37th Mayor of the City of San Diego – America’s eighth largest city. He is the first person-of-color and the first LGBTQ person to ever be elected the city’s Mayor.

A third-generation San Diegan of Filipino, Dutch, Puerto Rican, and Native American descent, Mayor Gloria’s lifelong career in public service was inspired by a lesson his parents – a hotel maid and a gardener – taught him at a young age: if you care about something, then you should leave it better than you found it. That lesson continues to motivate Mayor Gloria to improve San Diego every single day.

Mayor Gloria grew up in the Clairemont neighborhood and attended Madison High School. He was interested in politics from childhood. At age 10, he was runner-up in a "mayor for a day" contest. Thirty-two years later, he was sworn in as San Diego’s 37th Mayor.

After a successful competition last year, Mayor Gloria is excited to host his third annual Mayor for a Day contest!

The “Mayor for a Day” contest aims to foster and encourage leadership in young people living in San Diego. City of San Diego K-12 students are invited to write an essay or submit a video about how they would make San Diego a better place to live if they were Mayor for a day. The selected winner will be given the opportunity to shadow the Mayor for a day and will take part in the State of the City address in January of 2024.