Alcalde ( /ælˈkældi/; ), or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo (the municipal council) and judge of first instance of a town. Alcaldes were elected annually, without the right to reelection for two or three years, by the regidores (council members) of the municipal council. The office of the alcalde was signified by a staff of office, which they were to take with them when doing their business.
Read more about Alcalde: Medieval Origins, The Classic cabildo, Fifteenth To Nineteenth Centuries, Modern Usage