1997 Boston mayoral election

1997 Boston mayoral election

←  1993 November 4, 1997 2001  →

Candidate Thomas Menino Party Nonpartisan Popular vote 48,323 Percentage 71% unopposed

Mayor before election Thomas Menino Elected mayor Thomas Menino

The Boston mayoral election of 1997 occurred on Tuesday, November 4, 1997. Incumbent Thomas Menino ran unopposed, and was re-elected to his second term; ^[1] he received 71 percent of the vote. ^[2] Menino only faced write-in opposition. ^[3] This was the first time an incumbent mayor of Boston faced no opposition on the ballot in a general election since 1834.

Ahead of the election, four little-known individuals had declared their candidacy for mayor. None managed to collect the 3,000 valid signatures needed to qualify for the ballot, leaving Menino without an opponent on the ballot. ^[4] Reasons dissuading more substantial opponents might have been the large campaign funding reserves Menino had and his great popularity, with a 1997 approval poll giving him a 74% approval rating. ^[5]

Candidates

• Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston since July 12, 1993, Boston City Councilor from 1984 to 1993, and Council President in 1993.

See also

• List of mayors of Boston, Massachusetts

References

1. Berke, Richard L. (November 5, 1997). "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: MAYORAL RACES; For Incumbents in Cities, Celebrations Came Easily". The New York Times . Retrieved February 14, 2018.
2. "Official results give Menino 71 percent of the vote".^{[ permanent dead link ]} Retrieved on July 29, 2013
3. "AllPolitics - Election '97 - Mayor's Races". CNN. November 1997. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
4. Goldberg, Carey (September 21, 1997). "For the First Time in Memory, Boston Has No Mayoral Contest". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
5. Berke, Richard L. (November 5, 1997). "The 1997 Elections: Mayoral Races; For Incumbents in Cities, Celebrations Came Easily". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2022.