Hercules has a council-manager city government. The city council effectively acts as a board of directors and appoints a city manager to handle city business.
| Meeting Location |
| City Hall Council Chambers, 111 Civic Drive |
| Hours |
| 6:00PM (closed session), 7:00PM (open session); second and fourth Tuesdays of each month |
| Website |
| http://www.ci.hercules.ca.us/index.aspx?page=48 |
The mayor and vice mayor positions are largely ceremonial. By custom, the candidate that received the most votes in the election will serve as Vice Mayor in the second year and Mayor in the third year of their term. The candidate that received the second-most votes in the election will serve as Vice Mayor in the third year and Mayor in the fourth year of their term. These positions are voted on by the council at the first meeting of the new council following the election. (This custom was most recently not adhered to following the contentious 2011 Recall Election.)
Current council
| Councilperson | First elected | Term ends |
| Sherry McCoy (Mayor) | 2012 | 2016 |
| Dan Romero (Vice Mayor) | 2011 | 2016 |
| Myrna de Vera | 2010 | 2018 |
| Bill Kelly | 2012 | 2016 |
| Chris Kelley | 2014 | 2018 |
Past councilpersons
| Councilperson | Dates served |
| John Delgado | December 2010 - December 2014 |
| Bill Wilkins | July 2011 - December 2012 |
| Gerard Boulanger | July 2011 - December 2012 |
| Joanne Ward | - July 2011 (recalled) |
| Don Kuehne | - July 2011 (recalled) |
| Ed Balico | - January 2011 (resigned) |
| Joe Eddy McDonald | - December 2010 |
| Kris Valstad | - December 2010 |
