The City of Tracy has six (6) elected officials. The City Council consists of the Mayor and four (4) Council members and is the City's governing body having primary responsibility for enacting legislation and policies. The City also has an elected City Treasurer.

At the General Municipal Election held on June 5, 1984, two ballot measures were adopted making the office of the Mayor an elective office and setting the term of office at two years.

At the General Municipal Election held on November 4, 2008, a ballot measure was adopted amending the Tracy Municipal Code to add Section 2.04.040 setting a two-term maximum limit for holding office as a City Council Member and a two-term maximum limit for holding office as Mayor. If a person is appointed or elected to fill the remaining term of a Council Member or Mayor, the resulting partial term would count as a full term for the purposes of determining the two year limit. The term limits apply to candidates elected in and after November 2, 2010. The terms held prior to the November 2, 2010 election by Council Members and Mayors shall not be counted in determining the number of terms served.

At the General Municipal Election held on November 2, 2010 a ballot measure was adopted making the office of the City Clerk an appointed rather than an elected office effective in December of 2012.