Boston mayoral election, 1937

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Boston mayoral election, 1937
Flag of Boston.svg
  1933 November 2, 1937 1941  
  Mjtobin.jpg James Michael Curley.jpg Malcolm E. Nichols former Mayor of Boston.png
Candidate Maurice J. Tobin James Michael Curley Malcolm Nichols
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote105,21280,37655,247
Percentage38.56%29.46%20.25%

  No image.svg
Candidate William J. Foley
Party Nonpartisan
Popular vote28,184
Percentage10.33%

Mayor before election

Frederick Mansfield

Elected Mayor

Maurice J. Tobin

The Boston mayoral election of 1937 occurred on Tuesday, November 2, 1937. Boston School Committee member Maurice J. Tobin defeated five other candidates, including former mayors James Michael Curley and Malcolm Nichols.

Maurice J. Tobin American politician

Maurice Joseph Tobin was a Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, the Governor of Massachusetts, and United States Secretary of Labor. He was a Democrat and a liberal who supported the New Deal and Fair Deal programs, and was outspoken in his support for labor unions. However, he had little success battling against the conservative majorities in the Massachusetts legislature, and the U.S. Congress.

James Michael Curley American politician

James Michael Curley was an American Democratic Party politician from Boston, Massachusetts. One of the most colorful figures in Massachusetts politics in the first half of the 20th century, Curley served four terms as Democratic Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, including part of one while in prison. He also served a single term as Governor of Massachusetts, characterized by one biographer as "a disaster mitigated only by moments of farce", for its free spending and corruption.

Malcolm Nichols American mayor of Boston

Malcolm Edwin Nichols was a journalist and a U.S. political figure. Nichols served as the Mayor of Boston in the late 1920s. He came from a Boston Brahmin family and was the most recent Republican to serve in that post.

Contents

In 1918, the Massachusetts state legislature had passed legislation making the Mayor of Boston ineligible to serve consecutive terms. [1] Thus, incumbent Frederick Mansfield was unable to run for re-election. The law would be changed in 1939, making this the last election where the incumbent mayor could not run for re-election. [2]

Massachusetts General Court legislature of Massachusetts

The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when the colonial assembly, in addition to making laws, sat as a judicial court of appeals. Before the adoption of the state constitution in 1780, it was called the Great and General Court, but the official title was shortened by John Adams, author of the state constitution. It is a bicameral body. The upper house is the Massachusetts Senate which is composed of 40 members. The lower body, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has 160 members. It meets in the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill in Boston.

Mayor of Boston

The Mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor-council system of government. Boston's mayoral elections are non-partisan, and elect a mayor to a four-year term; there are no term limits. The mayor's office is in Boston City Hall, in Government Center.

Frederick Mansfield American politician

Frederick William Mansfield was an American politician and 46th Mayor of Boston.

Tobin was inaugurated on Monday, January 3, 1938. [3]

Candidates

Governor of Massachusetts head of state and of government of the U.S. commonwealth of Massachusetts

The Governor of Massachusetts is the head of the executive branch of the Government of Massachusetts and serves as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces. The current governor is Charlie Baker.

United States House of Representatives lower house of the United States Congress

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they comprise the legislature of the United States.

William J. Foley was an American attorney and politician who served as District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts from 1927 until his death 1952.

Results

CandidatesGeneral Election [4]
Votes%
Maurice J. Tobin 105,21238.56
James Michael Curley 80,37629.46
Malcolm Nichols 55,24720.25
William J. Foley 28,18410.33
Alfred Santosuosso2,9271.07
Carleton L. Brett5430.19
All others3370.12

See also

Related Research Articles

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1951 Boston mayoral election

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1949 Boston mayoral election

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1945 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1945 occurred on Tuesday, November 6, 1945. Former Mayor of Boston James Michael Curley defeated acting mayor John E. Kerrigan and four other candidates.

1941 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1941 occurred on Tuesday, November 4, 1941. Incumbent Mayor Maurice J. Tobin defeated former Mayor James Michael Curley and two others.

1933 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1933 occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1933. Former state treasurer Frederick Mansfield defeated five other candidates to be elected Mayor of Boston.

1929 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1929 occurred on Tuesday, November 5, 1929. Former Mayor of Boston James Michael Curley defeated two other candidates to be elected mayor for the third time.

1925 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1925 occurred on Tuesday, November 3, 1925. Malcolm Nichols, a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts Senate, defeated nine other candidates to be elected mayor.

1921 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1921 occurred on Tuesday, December 13, 1921. James Michael Curley, who had previously served as Mayor of Boston (1914–1918), was elected for the second time, defeating three other candidates.

1917 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1917 occurred on Tuesday, December 18, 1917. Andrew James Peters, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, defeated incumbent Mayor of Boston James Michael Curley and two other candidates.

1914 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1914 occurred on Tuesday, January 13, 1914. James Michael Curley, member of the United States House of Representatives, was elected Mayor of Boston for the first time, defeating Thomas J. Kenny, president of the Boston City Council.

Theodore A. Glynn was an American politician who served as clerk of the Roxbury District Court and commissioner of the Boston Fire Department. He was a candidate for mayor of Boston in 1925.

References

  1. "REPORT BILL TO STOP CONSECUTIVE TERMS" . The Boston Globe . February 26, 1918. p. 6. Retrieved March 12, 2018 via pqarchiver.com.
  2. "SECOND TERM WINS IN BOSTON" . The Boston Globe . November 8, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved March 14, 2018 via pqarchiver.com.
  3. "Tobin Becomes Mayor Today, Notables to Attend Ceremony" . The Boston Globe . January 3, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved March 16, 2018 via pqarchiver.com.
  4. Annual Report of the Election Department. 1937. p. 40.

Further reading

The Sentinel & Enterprise is a morning daily newspaper published in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, with a satellite news bureau in Leominster, Massachusetts. The newspaper covers local news in Fitchburg, Leominster and several nearby towns in northern Worcester County and northwest Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is owned by MediaNews Group of Colorado.