Joy Cooper

Joy Cooper serves as Mayor of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, a nonpartisan elected office she has held after first being elected to the City Commission in 1999 and subsequently becoming the city's first directly elected mayor. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, and raised in Levittown, Pennsylvania, she attended Bucks County Community College, earning a degree in Business Management with an accounting focus. During college, she worked for three years within the New Jersey Division of Taxation's Audit Division before relocating to South Florida. Her long-standing tenure was briefly interrupted by a January 2018 gubernatorial suspension following campaign allegations; however, she was fully acquitted of all charges by a federal jury in November 2019 and immediately reinstated to office. Most recently re-elected to her executive seat in November 2024, Cooper is a past President of both the Broward League of Cities and the Florida League of Cities. As one of the original 2005 signatories of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, her ongoing priorities center on national climate network initiatives, municipal sustainability, and maintaining "Clean & Green" community spaces.

The Mayor of Hallandale Beach is the chief elected executive of a municipal government in Broward County, Florida, and the city's first position to be chosen through direct popular election. The Mayor presides over the City Commission, represents the city in intergovernmental and civic affairs, and works to set policy priorities and provide executive leadership for city operations.