1993 Boston mayoral election

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1993 Boston mayoral election
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←  1991 November 2, 1993 1997  →
  Mayor Thomas Menino at swearing in ceremony as Acting Mayor in July of 1993 (15674913102) (2).jpg 1983 James Brett Massachusetts House of Representatives.png
Candidate Thomas Menino James T. Brett
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote74,44841,052
Percentage64.45%35.54%
Boston mayor election, 1993.svg
Results by ward
Menino:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Brett:      50–60%     60–70%
Mayor before election

Thomas Menino (acting)

Elected mayor

Thomas Menino

The Boston mayoral election of 1993 occurred on Tuesday, November 2, 1993, between Acting Mayor Thomas Menino and State Representative James T. Brett. Menino was elected to his first term.

Contents

This early election came just two years after the prior mayoral election (1991. This was because Raymond Flynn, who had been mayor of Boston since 1984, resigned as mayor to become United States ambassador to the Holy See. Following Flynn's resignation in July 1993, Boston City Council president Menino became acting mayor until a permanent successor to Flynn would be elected. [1]

The nonpartisan municipal preliminary election was held on September 21, 1993. [1]

Menino became the city's first Italian American mayor and the first mayor not of Irish descent since 1930. [2]

Candidates

Candidates eliminated in preliminary

Preliminary election

The nonpartisan primary lacked a clear front-runner, [1] and was described by Virginia A. Triant of The Harvard Crimson as, "one the decade's most competitive mayoral races [in Boston]." Key matters of discussion on the campaign trail were included crime, education, and employment. [4] The campaign saw the candidates agree with each other on many issues. All candidates promised to crackdown on crime and improve the city's troubled public school system. Racial issues did not prove to be a major matter in the campaign. The tone of the campaign was peaceful, with Sara Rimer of The New York Times writing that it had been a, "strikingly civil, some might even say dull, campaign waged in a city with a history of truculent politics." [1]

Menino campaign

Menino initially ran a low-profile campaign, having informally indicated his intentions ahead of taking office as acting mayor. During this time, he quietly raised significant amounts in contributions for his campaign. [5] After taking office as acting mayor, Menino ran a sort of "Rose Garden campaign" that played up his acting incumbency and used the perks of the office. [6] His campaign was seen as greatly benefiting from his incumbency. [1] He formally declared himself as a candidate for mayor on August 16, 1993, after many other candidates had already formally entered the race. [7]

Menino was regarded to be a political liberal. [1] Menino was one of three Italian American candidates running in the primary. [1] The city had never had an Italian American mayor. [8]

Brett campaign

Brett highlighted his Irish-American roots and his personal links to former mayor Flynn, noting that his mother (who had immigrated from Ireland) had once been employed alongside Flynn's own mother as a custodial worker. Like Menino, Brett was regarded to be politically liberal. An exception to Brett's generally liberal politics was that he held anti-abortion stances. [1]

Brett was one of four Irish-American candidates running in the primary. The city had seen an uninterrupted stretch of Irish-American mayors ever since 1930. [2] [9]

Other campaigns

Ahead of the vote, Salerno had been seen as one of the front-runners. [4]

Rufo ran with the campaign slogan "safety first". [4]

Bolling was the only African American candidate. [1]

Results

Placing first and second in the primary, respectively, Menino and Brett advanced to the general election. Despite inclement weather on election day, turnout in the primary was over 50% of eligible voters. [4]

Menino was said to have benefited from high voter turnout East Boston, South Boston, and West Roxbury, which were regarded as part of his "home base" of support. Robert Rufo was said to have been hurt by low turnout in his "home base" of Allston and Brighton [4]

1993 Boston Mayoral Election [10]
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Thomas Menino (acting incumbent) 30,060 26.89
Nonpartisan James T. Brett 25,052 22.41
Nonpartisan Robert Rufo 22,51720.14
Nonpartisan Rosaria Salerno 19,60517.54
Nonpartisan Bruce Bolling 6,4645.87
Nonpartisan Christopher Lydon 3,6303.25
Nonpartisan Francis Roache 3,3623.08
Nonpartisan Diane Moriarty 9910.89
Total votes111,781 100%

General election

Endorsements

Thomas Menino

State officials

  • Mel King, state representative and candidate for mayor in 1983 [11]

Newspapers and publications

Results

1993 Boston mayoral general election [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Thomas Menino (acting incumbent) 74,448 64.45
Nonpartisan James T. Brett 41,05235.54
Total votes111,500 100%

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rimer, Sara (September 22, 1993). "Boston Whittles Mayoral Field To 2 for Runoff". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  2. 1 2 McNamara, Eileen (November 3, 2021). "Michelle Wu Proved That Boston Isn't the Same Old Boston Anymore". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  3. ↑ 1991–1992 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Triant, Virginia A. (September 22, 1993). "Mayoral Finalists Are Menino, Brett". www.thecrimson.com. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  5. ↑ McGrory, Brian (July 13, 1993). "Menino, 'a neighborhood guy,' now at center stage" . Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  6. ↑ Vennochi, Joan (September 16, 2021). "It was Kim Janey's race to lose and she lost it". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  7. ↑ Walker, Adrian (August 17, 1993). "Menino declares, citing record as acting mayor" . Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  8. ↑ Crouch, Ian (March 28, 2013). "Thomas Menino's Greatest Feat". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  9. ↑ Baker, Matthew Reed (September 24, 2013). "Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino: A Timeline". Boston Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Election Results". Cityofboston.gov. The City of Boston. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  11. ↑ Weir, Richard (August 11, 2009). "Sam Yoon gains Mel King's favor". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  12. 1 2 Ross, Elizabeth (November 1, 1993). "Boston Mayoral Hopefuls Take High Road". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
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