The

Chicago mayoral election (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

of 1883 was held on Tuesday April 3, saw incumbent

Carter Harrison Sr. Carter Henry Harrison Sr. (February 15, 1825October 28, 1893) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1879 until 1887; he was subsequently elected to a fifth term in 1893 but was assassinated before completing t ...

defeat Republican Eugene Cary by a double-digit margin. By winning the 1883 election, Harrison became the second mayor in Chicago history to be elected to a third term (after only Francis Cornwall Sherman), and the first to be elected to a third ''consecutive'' term. By the day of the election, Harrison was already the second-longest serving mayor in the city's history, and was only roughly a month shy of surpassing

Monroe Heath Monroe Heath (March 27, 1827October 21, 1894) was a U.S. politician. He served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1876–1879) for the Republican Party, after winning the 1876 election. He was subsequently reelected the following year, defeating ...

as the longest serving mayor. Harrison's 15% margin of victory was the greatest in all of his campaigns for mayor. Harrison's opponent, Eugene Cary, was a member of the

Chicago Common Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

that had previously been county judge and city attorney in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and had also served as a member of the Tennessee Senate.

Campaign

A key issue of the election was the "high licenses" for liquor sales in the city.Labor and Urban Politics: Class Conflict and the Origins of Modern Liberalism in Chicago, 1864-97 Front Cover Richard Schneirov University of Illinois Press, 1998 (page 166-67)
/ref> Cary favored the high license. During the campaign, many reformers, newspapers, and business interests coalesced their support behind a Citizen's Ticket that supported Republican nominee Eugene Cary for mayor.Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago by James L. Merriner
/ref>

Results

64% of the city's German population voted for Harrison.

References

{{Illinois elections Mayoral elections in Chicago Chicago Chicago 1880s in Chicago