1907 Boston mayoral election

1907 Boston mayoral election

←  1905 December 10, 1907 1910  →

Candidate George A. Hibbard John F. Fitzgerald John A. Coulthurst Party Republican Democratic Independence Popular vote 38,112 35,935 15,811 Percentage 42.4% 40.0% 17.6%

Mayor before election John F. Fitzgerald Democratic Elected mayor George A. Hibbard Republican

The 1907 Boston mayoral electon was held on Tuesday, December 10, ^[1] and saw Republican nominee George A. Hibbard defeat Democratic incumbent John F. Fitzgerald as well as Independence League nominee John A. Coulthurst. Ahead of the general election, primary elections for each party had taken place on Thursday, November 14, 1907.

This was the final Boston mayoral election for a two-year term, and that was partisan in nature; a new city charter adopted in 1909 made the mayoral term four years, and made Boston municipal elections non-partisan. ^[2]

Hibbard was inaugurated on Monday, January 6, 1908. ^[3]

Results

Note: In October, John A. Coulthurst was selected as the Independence League candidate, and he resigned his position as secretary of the Democratic state committee. ^[4] His still garnered some votes in the Democratic primary.

Democratic primary

• John A. Coulthurst, lawyer, former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1902–1904)
• John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor of Boston since 1906, former member of the United States House of Representatives (1895–1901) and the Massachusetts Senate (1892–1894)

Candidates	Primary Election [5]
	Votes	%
John F. Fitzgerald (incumbent)	21,848	96.5%
John A. Coulthurst	425	1.9%
all others	372	1.6%

Republican primary

• Frederic W. Bliss, lawyer, former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1891–1894) ^[6]
• William E. Hannan, Street Commissioner, ^[7] former member of the Boston Common Council (1901)
• George A. Hibbard, Postmaster of Boston since 1899, former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1894–1895)

Candidates	Primary Election [8]
	Votes	%
George A. Hibbard	11,005	73.5%
William E. Hannan	2,637	17.6%
Frederic W. Bliss	1,296	8.7%
all others	37	0.2%

Independence League primary

• John A. Coulthurst, lawyer, former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1902–1904)

Candidates	Primary Election [9]
	Votes	%
John A. Coulthurst	372	99.7%
all others	1	0.3%

General election

Candidates		General Election [1] [10]
		Votes	%
R	George A. Hibbard	38,112	42.4%
D	John F. Fitzgerald (incumbent)	35,935	40.0%
I	John A. Coulthurst	15,811	17.6%
Scattering		13	0.0%
Total vote		89,871	100

See also

• List of mayors of Boston, Massachusetts

References

1. A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown, 1847-1873 and of the Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822: Also of Various Other Town and Municipal Officers. City of Boston Printing Department. 1909. p. 56.
2. "New Boston Charter is the Worst Defeat Ever Given Boss Rule". The Marion Daily Mirror. Marion, Ohio. November 3, 1909. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via newspapers.com.
3. "NEW HAND AT HELM" . The Boston Globe . January 7, 1908. p. 1. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.
4. "COULTHURST FOR MAYOR" . The Boston Globe . October 26, 1907. p. 8. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. "Annual Report of the Board of Election Commissioners". City of Boston. 1907. p. 146. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via archive.org.
6. "Frederic Wright Bliss". usgennet.org. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
7. "MORE ASPIRANTS FOR MAYOR'S JOB" . The Boston Globe . November 10, 1907. p. 4. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. "Annual Report of the Board of Election Commissioners". City of Boston. 1907. p. 182. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via archive.org.
9. "Annual Report of the Board of Election Commissioners". City of Boston. 1907. p. 170. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via archive.org.
10. "Annual Report of the Board of Election Commissioners". City of Boston. 1907. p. 210. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via archive.org.

Further reading

• "Democrats Lose Boston". The Baltimore Sun . December 11, 1907. p. 2. Retrieved March 17, 2018– via newspapers.com.
• "Boston Republican by Hearst Votes". The New York Times . December 11, 1907. p. 1. Retrieved March 19, 2018– via newspapers.com.