1983 Boston City Council election

Boston City Council elections were held on November 15, 1983, with preliminary elections on October 11, 1983.[1] This election transitioned the Council from having 9 members (all at-large) to having 13 members (9 district representatives and 4 at-large). All 13 seats were contested in both the preliminary and general election.

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Incumbents

Each of the nine incumbent at-large councillors ran for Boston public office.

Name Position contested for Result
Bruce Bolling Councillor, District 7 won
Raymond Flynn Mayor of Boston won
Maura Hennigan Councillor, District 6 won
Christopher A. Iannella Councillor at-large elected
Frederick C. Langone Mayor of Boston lost, 6th
Michael J. McCormack Councillor at-large elected
Terence P. McDermott Councillor at-large lost, 5th
Dapper O'Neil Councillor at-large elected
Joseph M. Tierney Councillor at-large elected

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.[2]

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.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[4][5] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
Michael J. McCormack 52,315 12.3% 87,143 16.0%
Christopher A. Iannella 66,647 15.6% 85,204 15.7%
Joseph M. Tierney 62,850 14.7% 82,600 15.2%
Dapper O'Neil 64,410 15.1% 79,086 14.6%
Terence P. McDermott 61,436 14.4% 77,096 14.2%
Jean Sullivan McKeigue 48,265 11.3% 73,064 13.4%
Willie Mae Allen 21,369 5.0% 32,556 6.0%
Althea Garrison 19,908 4.7% 26,564 4.9%
Joseph Mirisola 14,914 3.5%  
Leslie F. Payne 14,199 3.3%  

District 1

Robert Travaglini was elected.

Candidates[3][7] Preliminary Election[8] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
Robert Travaglini 5001 26.8% 11,663 53.0%
Diane J. Modica 3704 19.9% 10,343 47.0%
Robert M. Cappucci 3444 18.5%  
Michael J. Reardon 3081 16.5%  
Joseph V. Cinseruli 1999 10.7%  
Neil P. Brennan 773 4.1%  
Joseph Sablone 372 2.0%  
Carl J. Salvi Jr. 272 1.5%  

District 2

James M. Kelly was elected.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[9] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
James M. Kelly 8615 41.9% 11,815 51.7%
Michael Taylor 6284 30.5% 11,026 48.3%
Christopher F. Hayes 4400 21.4%  
William P. Foley 718 3.5%  
Stephen M. Palmer 281 1.4%  
Ali J. Fiumedoro 272 1.3%  

District 3

James E. Byrne was elected.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[10] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
James E. Byrne 5231 25.7% 11,544 50.5%
John E. Garland 5319 26.2% 11,295 49.5%
Stephen M. Cidlevich 3944 19.4%  
Richard Livingston 2339 11.5%  
Carol Nee Geyer 2145 10.6%  
Walter R. Campbell 997 4.9%  
Debra Gelber 347 1.7%  

District 4

Charles Yancey was elected.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[11] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
Charles Yancey 4239 32.4% 7898 51.7%
Bill Owens Jr. 4405 33.7% 7364 48.3%
Gerald Anderson 1889 14.4%  
Locksley H. Bryan 980 7.5%  
Benjamin F. Thompson 601 4.6%  
Carter D. Kimbrel 469 3.6%  
Bobby J. Wallace 254 1.9%  
Arthur Williams 241 1.8%  

District 5

Thomas Menino was elected.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[12] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
Thomas Menino 11,375 57.8% 17,554 74.7%
Richard E. Kenney 3126 15.9% 5945 25.3%
William G. Broderick 3123 15.9%  
Robert MacGregor 1124 5.7%  
Constance L. Brown 467 2.4%  
George L. Richmond 461 2.3%  

District 6

At-large councillor Maura Hennigan was elected.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[13] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
Maura Hennigan 10,772 52.6% 14,390 59.8%
Francis X. Coppinger 6557 32.0% 9654 40.2%
Edmund McNamara 3139 15.3%  

District 7

At-large councillor Bruce Bolling was elected.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[14] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
Bruce Bolling 7556 59.1% 9049 63.9%
Elizabeth (Betty) Jones 1907 14.9% 5121 36.1%
Ben Haith 1315 10.3%  
Roy A. Owens 1146 9.0%  
Steven A. Wise 567 4.4%  
James Joseph 302 2.4%  

District 8

David Scondras was elected, becoming the first openly gay Boston City Council member.[15]

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[16] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
David Scondras 3720 30.6% 7207 50.4%
Mark Roosevelt 4136 34.0% 7104 49.6%
Dennis A. Quilty 3150 25.9%  
Eugenie Beal 1165 9.6%  

District 9

Brian J. McLaughlin was elected.

Candidates[3] Preliminary Election[17] General Election[6]
Votes % Votes %
Brian J. McLaughlin 2969 20.5% 9071 53.8%
Helene Solomon 3470 24.0% 7782 46.2%
Richard M. Izzo 2489 17.2%  
John F. Melia 2456 17.0%  
Joseph H. Hogan Jr. 1451 10.0%  
Jerome P. MacDonald 917 6.3%  
George Franklin 534 3.7%  
Jean Farrell 162 1.1%  

See also

References
  1. Black, Chris; Kenney, Charles (August 19, 1983). "NEW DATES SET FOR BOSTON ELECTIONS". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  2. "THE BOSTON PRELIMINARY BALLOT". The Boston Globe. October 4, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  3. "CANDIDATES AS THEY APPEAR ON THE BALLOT". The Boston Globe. October 10, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  4. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTION FOR COUNCILOR AT-LARGE; 2 YEARS". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  5. "5 INCUMBENTS TOP AT-LARGE COUNCIL RACE". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  6. "BOSTON ELECTION RESULTS". The Boston Globe. November 16, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  7. "BOSTON'S VOTING DISTRICTS; DISTRICT 1: SIMILAR PEOPLE, SIMILAR PROBLEMS". The Boston Globe. September 5, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  8. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 1". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  9. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTION: DISTRICT 2". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  10. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTION: DISTRICT 3". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  11. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 4". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  12. "FINAL ELECTION RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 5". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  13. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 6". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  14. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 7". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  15. Krone, Mark (October 10, 2013). "Boston Mayor's Race: Then and Now". bostonspiritmagazine.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  16. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 8". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
  17. "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 9". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.

Further reading
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