Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 3:02 AM | Published: June 5, 2023
COLUMBUS, Ohio — At Monday’s Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors in Columbus, the membership elected David Holt, the mayor of Oklahoma City, to serve as the organization’s President for 2025-2026.
Mayor Holt promptly assumes his position as the organization’s second vice president. Holt will become First Vice President in 2024.
In the summer of 2025, Mayor Holt will become the 83rd President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the Annual Meeting.
“I am incredibly grateful and excited for the honor of serving in these roles,” said Mayor Holt. “Mayors are the most visionary, effective, and unifying leaders in our country right now, and the opportunity to represent them is an opportunity I am very grateful to have. I thank my fellow mayors for their belief in me. This also presents an opportunity to tell Oklahoma City’s story, and it’s a reminder to Oklahoma City that we have an incredible platform as America’s 20th-largest city.”
Mayor Holt, a member of the Osage Nation, will be the first Native American to lead the United States Conference of Mayors.
The President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors speaks on behalf of the nation’s mayors and cities during their year in office. From LaGuardia to Daley to Landrieu, some of the most notable names in United States mayoral history have held the position. Holt succeeds Mick Cornett, who served as President from 2016 to 2017.
In 2019, Mayor Holt was elected to the Conference’s Advisory Board, and in 2020, he was elected as a Trustee. In 2021, he served as the national co-chair of efforts by mayors to enact the Bipartisan Instructure Law. He is the Vice Chair of the International Affairs Committee, Co-Chair of the Task Force on Electric Vehicles, a member of the Finance & Audit Committee, and has previously served as the Chair of the Nominating Committee and a member of the Site Selection Committee.
Background
In 2018, Holt was elected mayor of Oklahoma City with 78.5 percent of the vote. In 2022, he was re-elected by a 40-point margin, receiving the most votes for a mayor since 1959. Holt was the youngest mayor of Oklahoma City since 1923 when he assumed office, and he will be among the youngest U.S. Conference of Mayors presidents in history.
Holt is the dean-designate of the Oklahoma City University School of Law in his professional life. The mayor attended George Washington University and Oklahoma City University. Rachel, the executive director of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, is married to Mayor Holt. They have two children; their names are George and Margaret.
The 20th largest city in the United States, Oklahoma City has a population of 694,800.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
