The 2022 San Bernardino mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of San Bernardino, California. San Bernardino uses a top-two primary, and the first round of voting was held on June 7, 2022. Candidates could win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote, but no candidate received a majority. Seven candidates took part in the primary election, including incumbent mayor John Valdivia, former City Attorney from 1987 to 2013 Jim Penman, and San Bernardino Director of Human Resources Helen Tran.
In the first round of voting, Tran received a plurality of the vote with 41.65%, but failed to win outright. Penman earned the second-most number of votes and moved forward to the next round. Incumbent mayor John Valdivia, who had been censured by the City Council for misusing public funds, failed to make it past the first round.[1]
Helen Tran and Jim Penman advanced to the general election held on November 8. Penman was formerly the City Attorney from 1987 to 2013 when he was recalled from office.[2] Penman officially conceded on Wednesday, November 8, by phone.[3]
Tran, who formerly served as the city's Director of Human Resources received 62.7% of the vote,[4] becoming the first Asian-American and third female mayor of the city,[5] and the first Vietnamese American woman elected mayor of any American city.[6]