The
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
mayoral election of 1993 occurred on Tuesday, November 2, 1993, between Acting Mayor
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 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 mont ...
and
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
James T. Brett. Menino was elected to his first term.
This early election came just two years after the prior mayoral election (
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
. This was because
Raymond Flynn
Raymond Leo Flynn (born July 22, 1939) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1984 until 1993. He also served as United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 1993 to 1997.
Flynn was an A ...
, who had been
mayor of Boston
The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...
since 1984, resigned as mayor to become
United States ambassador to the Holy See
The ambassador of the United States to the Holy See is the Ambassadors of the United States, official representative of the United States, United States of America to the Holy See, the leadership of the Catholic Church. The official representati ...
. Following Flynn's resignation in July 1993,
Boston City Council
The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year ...
president Menino became acting mayor until a permanent successor to Flynn would be elected.
The nonpartisan municipal
preliminary election was held on September 21, 1993.
Menino became the city's first
Italian American
Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
mayor and the first mayor not of
Irish descent since 1930.
Candidates
*
James T. Brett, Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1981, Assistant Secretary of Energy from 1980 to 1981
*
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 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 mont ...
, Acting
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
since July 12, 1993, Boston City Councilor from 1984 to 1993, and Council President in 1993
Candidates eliminated in preliminary
*
Bruce Bolling, Boston City Councilor since 1982, council President from 1986 to 1987
*
Christopher Lydon
Christopher Lydon (born 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American media personality and author. He was the original host of '' The Connection'', produced by WBUR and syndicated to other NPR stations, and created ''Open Source'', a weekly rad ...
,
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Affiliated stations and facilities
WGBH-TV is the Flagship (broadcasting), ...
host
*
Diane Moriarty, attorney and
Republican Party member
*
Francis Roache
Francis Michael Roache (August 3, 1936 – December 17, 2018) was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as the Boston Police Commissioner from 1985 to 1993. He was also a member of the Boston City Council from 1996 to 200 ...
, Boston Police Commissioner
*
Robert Rufo,
Sheriff of Suffolk County
*
Rosaria Salerno, Boston City Councilor since 1988
Preliminary election
The nonpartisan primary lacked a clear
front-runner
In politics, a front-runner (also spelled frontrunner or front runner) is a leader in an electoral race. While the front-runner in athletic events (the namesake of the political concept) is generally clear, a political front-runner, particularly i ...
,
and was described by Virginia A. Triant of ''
The Harvard Crimson
''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students.
His ...
'' as, "one the decade's most competitive mayoral races
n Boston/nowiki>." Key matters of discussion on the campaign trail were included crime, education, and employment. 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
Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...
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
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' writing that it had been a, "strikingly civil, some might even say dull, campaign waged in a city with a history of truculent politics."
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. 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. His campaign was seen as greatly benefiting from his incumbency. He formally declared himself as a candidate for mayor on August 16, 1993, after many other candidates had already formally entered the race.
Menino was regarded to be a political liberal. Menino was one of three Italian American
Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
candidates running in the primary. The city had never had an Italian American mayor.
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
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...
stances.
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.
Other campaigns
Ahead of the vote, Salerno had been seen as one of the front-runners.
Rufo ran with the campaign slogan "safety first".
Bolling was the only African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
candidate.
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.
Menino was said to have benefited from high voter turnout East Boston
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...
, South Boston
South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
, and West Roxbury
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...
, 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
Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...
and Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
General election
Endorsements
Results
See also
* List of mayors of Boston, Massachusetts
The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a may ...
References
{{BostonMA
Mayoral election
Boston mayoral
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
Mayoral elections in Boston
Non-partisan elections
November 1993 in the United States