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 .
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.[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.
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
^ Black, Chris; Kenney, Charles (August 19, 1983). "NEW DATES SET FOR BOSTON ELECTIONS" . The Boston Globe . Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "THE BOSTON PRELIMINARY BALLOT" . The Boston Globe . October 4, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.[permanent dead link ]
^ a b c d e f g h i j "CANDIDATES AS THEY APPEAR ON THE BALLOT" . The Boston Globe . October 10, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.[permanent dead link ]
^ "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.[permanent dead link ]
^ "5 INCUMBENTS TOP AT-LARGE COUNCIL RACE" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.[permanent dead link ]
^ a b c d e f g h i j "BOSTON ELECTION RESULTS" . The Boston Globe . November 16, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "BOSTON'S VOTING DISTRICTS; DISTRICT 1: SIMILAR PEOPLE, SIMILAR PROBLEMS" . The Boston Globe . September 5, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.[permanent dead link ]
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 1" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTION: DISTRICT 2" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTION: DISTRICT 3" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 4" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "FINAL ELECTION RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 5" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 6" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 7" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ Krone, Mark (October 10, 2013). "Boston Mayor's Race: Then and Now" . bostonspiritmagazine.com . Retrieved February 22, 2018 .
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 8" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
^ "FINAL RESULTS OF BOSTON PRELIMINARY ELECTIONS: DISTRICT 9" . The Boston Globe . October 12, 1983. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
Further reading
"FOR CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE" . The Boston Globe . September 27, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
"FOR DISTRICT CITY COUNCIL" . The Boston Globe . September 29, 1983. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
"Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle" (PDF) . Vol. 26, no. 6. October 6, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2018 – via docdroid.net.
"Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle" (PDF) . Vol. 26, no. 11. November 10, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2018 – via docdroid.net.
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