1987 Boston City Council election

Boston City Council elections were held on November 3, 1987. Eleven seats (seven district representatives and four at-large members) were contested in the general election, as the incumbents in districts 3 and 6 were unopposed. Seven seats (the four at-large members, and districts 1, 8, and 9) had also been contested in the preliminary election held on September 22, 1987.

At-large

Councillors Dapper O'Neil, Christopher A. Iannella, and Michael J. McCormack were re-elected. Councillor Joseph M. Tierney did not seek re-election, as he ran for Mayor of Boston; he was defeated by incumbent Raymond Flynn in the general election. Council newcomer Rosaria Salerno won election to an at-large seat.

Candidates [1]	Preliminary election [2] [3]		General election [4]
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Dapper O'Neil (incumbent)	29,052	16.3	47,817	17.0
Christopher A. Iannella (incumbent)	23,906	13.4	45,472	16.1
Rosaria Salerno	19,346	10.8	39,089	13.9
Michael J. McCormack (incumbent)	16,793	9.4	36,326	12.9
Joseph W. Casper	15,694	8.8	32,548	11.5
Frederick C. Langone	19,521	10.9	30,447	10.8
Michael W. Kane	13,678	10.8	27,573	9.8
Stephen J. Murphy	13,309	7.4	22,744	8.1
Kevin A. McCluskey	11,431	6.4
Althea Garrison	6,669	3.7
Edward T. Kelley	5,123	2.9
David J. McKay	4,198	2.3

District 1

Councillor Robert Travaglini was re-elected.

Candidates [1]	Preliminary election [5] [6]		General election [4]
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Robert Travaglini (incumbent)	5,680	54.5	7,977	61.6
Maria DiLibero	3,115	29.9	4,976	38.4
Anthony Picarello	1,629	15.6

District 2

Councillor James M. Kelly was re-elected.

Candidates [1]	General election [4]
	Votes	%
James M. Kelly (incumbent)	10,413	86.7
Ali J. Fiumedoro	1,602	13.3

District 3

Councillor James E. Byrne ran unopposed and was re-elected.

District 4

Councillor Charles Yancey was re-elected.

Candidates [1]	General election [4]
	Votes	%
Charles Yancey (incumbent)	4,828	80.1
Arthur Williams	1,196	19.9

District 5

Councillor Thomas Menino was re-elected.

Candidates [1]	General election [4]
	Votes	%
Thomas Menino (incumbent)	10,437	87.0
Gerald Bagley	1,556	13.0

District 6

Councillor Maura Hennigan ran unopposed and was re-elected.

District 7

Councillor Bruce Bolling was re-elected.

Candidates [1]	General election [4]
	Votes	%
Bruce Bolling (incumbent)	4,264	70.3
Roy A. Owens	1,803	29.7

District 8

Councillor David Scondras was re-elected.

Candidates [1]	Preliminary election [5]		General election [4]
	Votes	%	Votes	%
David Scondras (incumbent)	2,158	69.9	3,386	63.6
Glenn Fiscus	537	17.4	1,942	36.4
Jack E. Molesworth	393	12.7

District 9

Councillor Brian J. McLaughlin was re-elected, with his narrow victory confirmed by a recount.

Candidates [1]	Preliminary election [5]		General election [4]		Recount [7]
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Brian J. McLaughlin (incumbent)	2,090	36.0	4,627	50.7	4,722	50.8
Richard M. Izzo	2,097	36.1	4,506	49.3	4,575	49.2
Paul F. Creighton	1,265	4.4
Brian J. Rielly	255	1.8
Aramis Camps	102	1.8%

See also

• List of members of the Boston City Council
• 1987 Boston mayoral election

References

1. "What To Look For At Polls Today" . The Boston Globe . September 22, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.
2. "Election '87 Salernio, Incumbents Win At-Large Council Slots" . The Boston Globe . September 23, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.
3. "The Boston Vote" . The Boston Globe . September 23, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.
4. "The Boston Vote" . The Boston Globe . November 4, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.
5. "Election '87 McLAughlin Loses In Allston-Brighton City Council Race" . The Boston Globe . September 23, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.
6. "Charlestown Records a 36% Voter Turnout In Tuesday's Primary Election" (PDF). Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle. Vol. 30, no. 4. September 24, 1987. p. 5. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via docdroid.net.
7. "RECOUNT CONFIRMS MCLAUGHLIN VICTORY" . The Boston Globe . November 21, 1987. Retrieved February 27, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.

Further reading

• "BOSTON'S ELECTIONS" . The Boston Globe . October 27, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via pqarchiver.com.
• "Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle" (PDF). Vol. 30, no. 9. October 28, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via docdroid.net.
• "Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle" (PDF). Vol. 30, no. 4. September 24, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via docdroid.net.
• "Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle" (PDF). Vol. 30, no. 3. September 17, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018– via docdroid.net.