Mark Funkhouser (born October 4, 1949) is an American academic, author, and former politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, serving one four-year term from May 1, 2007, until May 2, 2011. Prior to serving as the city's mayor, Funkhouser served as Kansas City's city auditor. He also served as the publisher of Governing magazine. He is also the author of the blog "Bring on the Funk," and the book Honest, Competent Government: The Promise of Performance Auditing. In 2016, Funkhouser was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Born and raised in Paden City, West Virginia, Funkhouser graduated from Paden City High School. He earned his B.A. in political science from Thiel College, his M.A. in business administration from Tennessee State University, M.A. in social work from West Virginia University and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Funkhouser was the founding editor of the Local Government Auditing Quarterly and served in that capacity for ten years. He has taught at Salem College, Salem, West Virginia, Park University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Kansas and Tulane University. He was the Director of State Audit in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1978 to 1988, leaving that post to become the Kansas City Auditor in 1988, and relinquishing that post in 2006 to run for mayor.

Announcing his candidacy for mayor of Kansas City, Missouri in late 2006, Funkhouser was endorsed early by the Kansas City Star and emerged as one of two candidates following the February mayoral primary fielding 13 candidates. Funkhouser won the mayoral election on March 27, 2007.

Funkhouser's campaign motto was "A city that works for regular folks." He had campaigned on a promise to pay more attention to neighborhoods and to end corrupt TIF deals with special-interest developers. During his mayoral campaign in 2007, he became known by the citizens of Kansas City by his nickname, "The Funk".

Funkhouser's wife, Gloria Squitiro, ran his campaign. Funkhouser wore an orange tie in reference to the Ukrainian Orange Revolution and as a symbol of his desire for change. From his campaign website: "I've chosen orange as my official campaign color because it is fast becoming a symbol for change in politics – a shift away from back-room deal making and toward an open style of governance that respects and listens to citizens." Funkhouser was also critical of project spending during the Kay Barnes administration. In a KCTV interview he said, "We've been buying stuff," he said. "What we don't know is whether what we bought is what is worth what we paid for it."

Implementation of Funkhouser's campaign pledges of fiscal conservatism while cleaning up local government received national headlines early in his administration when Funkhouser announced his intention to reject the costly city-provided Lincoln Continental, with two attending security drivers, and accept a new leased Honda Civic Hybrid from a Northland auto dealer. The city's law department approved the offer, which would have been reported to the Missouri Ethics Commission. Funkhouser believed that by being transparent about the transaction, he could avoid any appearance of impropriety and save the city $160,000 a year by rejecting the city-owned car, with its attendant driver and police security detail. However, critics questioned the "gift." City Councilman John Sharp said "It sure doesn't pass the smell test...It's nice that the mayor is providing so much free publicity to a foreign auto company." Funkhouser never took possession of the hybrid, choosing instead to drive his privately owned vehicle himself.

Funkhouser became embroiled in another controversy when it was discovered his appointed co-commissioner for the Parks and Recreation Board Frances Semler was a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. Critics insisted that Semler resign the board or the Minutemen. This controversy attracted national attention, prompting two national civil rights organizations (La Raza and the NAACP) to withdraw their conventions from Kansas City in protest of Funkhouser's refusal to ask for Semler's resignation from an organization they call a "hate group."