Racine will elect a new mayor in April 2027. Mayor Cory Mason announced Friday, Nov. 6, that he will not seek a third full term.
Mason said the announcement came 20 years to the day after Racine voters first sent him to the state Assembly on Nov. 7, 2006. He has won eight elections since then, five as a state representative and three as mayor, and said it is time to pass leadership on to the next generation.
Mason became mayor in an October 2017 special election after Mayor John Dickert resigned mid-term, and he was sworn in on Nov. 7, 2017. He won a full term in 2019 and was re-elected in April 2023. His current term ends in April 2027.
For the rest of his term, Mason said he intends to open the new Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and health facilities next to Julian Thomas Elementary School, and to work with the incoming governor and Legislature on shared revenue for the city.
His office pointed to accomplishments including the Lincoln King housing development, the Youth Employment Program, the Racine Works construction-trades program, a home repair grant program, funding to remove lead water pipes, an adult high school diploma program and the creation of the Department of Community Safety. His decision sets up Racine's first open mayoral race since 2017.
