Boston City Council elections were held on November 15, 1983, with
preliminary elections on October 11, 1983. This election transitioned the Council from having 9 members (all
at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
) to having 13 members (9 district representatives and 4 at-large). All 13 seats were contested in both the preliminary and
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
.
Incumbents
Each of the nine incumbent at-large councillors ran for Boston public office.
At-large
In the preliminary election, ten names appeared on the ballot, with voters able to choose four; the top eight vote-getters then appeared on the ballot in the general election.
Voters in the general election could select four of the eight final candidates; Councillors McCormack, Iannella, Tierney, and O'Neil received the most votes, so were re-elected and filled the four at-large seats, while Councillor McDermott finished fifth and was not re-elected.
District 1
Robert Travaglini was elected.
District 2
James M. Kelly was elected.
District 3
James E. Byrne was elected.
District 4
Charles Yancey was elected.
District 5
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...
was elected.
District 6
At-large councillor
Maura Hennigan
Maura A. Hennigan (born 1952) is an American politician who currently serves as the Clerk Magistrate of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Superior Court Criminal/Business Division. She is a former member of the Boston City Council and was a mayoral ...
was elected.
District 7
At-large councillor
Bruce Bolling
Bruce Carlton Bolling (April 29, 1945September 11, 2012) was a politician and businessman in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Boston City Council and served as the council's first black president in the mid-1980s. He unsuccessfully ...
was elected.
District 8
David Scondras was elected, becoming the first openly
gay Boston City Council member.
District 9
Brian J. McLaughlin
Brian J. McLaughlin (born ca.1957) is a former member of the Boston City Council, having held the District 9 seat from 1984 through 1995.
Career
McLaughlin graduated from Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, and before running for offi ...
was elected.
See also
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List of members of Boston City Council
*
Boston mayoral election, 1983
The Boston mayoral election of 1983 occurred on Tuesday, November 15, 1983, between City Councillor Raymond Flynn and former State Representative Mel King. Flynn was elected to his first term, and inaugurated on Monday, January 2, 1984.
The nonp ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{1983 United States elections
City Council election
Boston City Council elections
Boston City Council election
Boston City Council