2013 Boston mayoral election
Election in Massachusetts, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2013 Boston mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. Incumbent mayor Thomas Menino had declined to run for re-election to a sixth term. A non-partisan preliminary election was held on Tuesday, September 24, 2013. 12 candidates made the ballot to replace Menino, with state representative Marty Walsh and at-large city councilor John R. Connolly advancing to the general election. Walsh was elected to his first term, defeating Connolly by 3% of the vote, and was inaugurated on Monday, January 6, 2014.[2]
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November 5, 2013
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| Turnout | 37.85% [1] | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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  Walsh:
40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Connolly: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Tie: 40–50% | ||||||||||||||||
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_(a).jpg)
Walsh and Connolly advanced to the general election after outperforming a crowded field in the nonpartisan primary. Other candidates in the primary included Charlotte Golar Richie (former state representative and former city chief of housing & neighborhood development), Daniel F. Conley (Suffolk County district attorney and former district city councilor), Felix G. Arroyo (at-large city councilor), John Barros (civic organizer and former Boston School Committee member), Robert Consalvo (state representative), Michael P. Ross (district city councilor), Bill Walczak (community activist), and Charles Yancey (district city councilor).
Background
Incumbent mayor Thomas Menino had held office ever since ascending to the mayoralty following the resignation of Raymond Flynn in 1993. In 2013, Menino opted against seeking what would have been his sixth elected term as mayor. He announced his decision not to seek reelection on March 27, 2013.[3]
Without an incumbent seeking reelection, this made the 2013 election the first open election since 1984, thirty years earlier.[3] Menino did not endorse a candidate.[4]
Candidates
Candidates who advanced to general election
| Candidate | Experience | Announced | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| The following candidates advanced to the general election held on November 5. | [5] | ||
_(1).jpg) John Connolly |
Boston City Councilor at-large (2008-2014) | February 26, 2013 |
[6] |
.jpg) Marty Walsh |
Massachusetts state representative from the 13th Suffolk district (1997-2014) |
May 4, 2013 |
[7] |
Candidates eliminated in the primary
| Candidate | Experience | Announced | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| The following candidates were eliminated in the primary election and did not advance to the general election. | [8] | ||
.jpg) Felix G. Arroyo |
Boston city councilor at-large (2010-2014) | June 15, 2013 | [9] |
.jpg) John Barros |
Former Boston School Committee member (2010–2013) Former executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative |
April 25, 2013.png) |
[10][11] |
| Charles Clemons | Co-owner of TOUCH 106.1FM Former police officer |
August 21, 2011 | [8][12] |
.jpg) Daniel F. Conley |
Suffolk County district attorney (2002-2018) | April 3, 2013.png){kind=logo} |
[13] |
.jpg) Robert Consalvo |
Boston city councilor from District 5 (2002-2014) | April 4, 2013.png){kind=logo} |
[14] |
_3x4.jpg) Charlotte Golar Richie |
Former Massachusetts state representative from the 5th Suffolk district (1995–1999) | May 1, 2013.png) |
[15] |
_(3x4a).png) Michael P. Ross |
Boston city councilor from District 8 (2000-2013) Former president of the Boston City Council (2009–2010) |
April 11, 2013 |
[16] |
| Bill Walczak | Co-founder of the Codman Square Health Center Community organizer |
April 6, 2013 |
[8][17] |
| David James Wyatt | Candidate for Boston City Council in 2007 | [8] | |
.jpg) Charles Yancey |
Boston city councilor from District 4 (1984-2015) | July 1, 2013 | [18] |
Withdrew/disqualified
- Frank John Addivinola, Jr., candidate for state senate in 2010 and U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 (ran for councilor-at-large)[19]
- Lee Buckley[19]
- Robert Cappucci, former Boston School Committee member and retired Boston Police officer (failed to get enough signatures)[8]
- Miniard Culpepper, reverend[19]
- Will Dorcena, activist and at-large candidate for city council in 2011, brother of State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry (failed to get enough signatures)[20][21]
- Althea Garrison, former state representative (ran for councilor-at-large)[19]
- John Laing, businessman (failed to get enough signatures)[22]
- Divo Rodrigues Monteiro, educator and poet[23] (ran for city council in District 4)[19]
- Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports (failed to get enough signatures)[22]
- Gareth R. Saunders, former city councilor (ran for councilor-at-large)[19]
- Hassan A. Williams, candidate for state senate in 2010[19]
- Christopher G. Womack[19]
Declined
- Andrea Cabral, Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety and Security and former Suffolk County sheriff[24]
- Sonia Chang-Díaz, state senator[25]
- Richard A. Davey, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation[26]
- John Fish, CEO of Suffolk Construction Company[27]
- Michael F. Flaherty, former city councillor (ran for city council at-large)[28]
- Paul Grogan, president of The Boston Foundation[29]
- Maura Hennigan, Suffolk County criminal courts clerk[30]
- Russell Holmes, state representative[31]
- Tito Jackson, city councillor (ran for reelection)[32]
- Bill Linehan, city councillor (ran for reelection)[33]
- Stephen Lynch, U.S. representative[34]
- Ralph Martin, former Suffolk County district attorney[35]
- Thomas Menino, incumbent mayor of Boston[36]
- Stephen J. Murphy, president of the Boston City Council (ran for reelection)[28]
- Matt O'Malley, city councillor (ran for reelection)[33]
- Ayanna Pressley, city councillor (ran for reelection)[37]
- James Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority[32]
- Marie St. Fleur, former state representative[29]
- John M. Tobin, Jr., former city councillor[38]
Primary
Campaign
Incumbent mayor Tom Menino had served since being elected to the position in 1993, making him the longest-serving mayor in Boston's history.[39] The first candidate to announce a campaign for mayor was at-Large Boston City Councillor John R. Connolly in February 2013, who announced an intent to base his campaign on reforming public education and opposing the influence of the Boston Teachers Union.[40] Connolly's campaign was considered to have little chance of succeeding if Menino decided to run for re-election, as the incumbent was highly popular in the city.[40] On March 28, Menino announced that he would not be seeking re-election, stating that health issues were preventing him from carrying out his tasks as mayor to a satisfactory standard.[41]
Soon after Menino's announcement, a field of candidates began to amass. On April 3, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley became the second candidate to join the field (after Connolly).[42] The next day, district city councillor Rob Consalvo (a resident of the Hyde Park neighborhood) announced his candidacy. On April 7, activist Bill Walczak (a resident of the Dorchester neighborhood) entered the field.[43][44] On April 10, state representative Marty Walsh and at-large city councillor Felix G. Arroyo both announced their candidacies.[45] Several other candidates, including City Councillors Michael P. Ross and Charles Yancey, former state representative Charlotte Golar Richie, and Boston School Committee member John Barros announced campaigns over the following weeks. In total, twelve candidates made the ballot for the preliminary election.[46]
Connolly’s status as the only mayoral candidate to have announced a campaign before Menino declared that he would not run for re-election gave him an advantage in that it had given him more time to build a campaign apparatus and political platform.[47]
Upon his entry into the race Walsh had demonstrated organizational strength by gathering the required signatures to get on the ballot in a single day, which impressed political insiders and showcased the influence of the labor unions who were supporting his candidacy.[48] The advantages enjoyed by the two men led to them being considered the frontrunners for the two spots in the general election in the campaign's early stages.[48]
By mid-September, it was suggested by radio station WBUR-FM that a clear top tier of candidates had arisen in the race, consisting of Connolly, Walsh, Golar Richie, Arroyo and Conley.[49] Golar Richie's campaign was viewed as having gained significant momentum by this stage on the race, helped by her status as the most prominent black and only female candidate in the race.[49]
Debates
| 2013 Boston mayoral election primary debates | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date & time | Host | Moderator | Link | Participants | |||||||||||
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee |
||||||||||||||||
| Felix G. Arroyo | John Barros | Charles Clemons | Daniel F. Conley | John R. Connolly | Robert Consalvo | Charlotte Golar Richie | Michael P. Ross | Bill Walczak | Marty Walsh | David Wyatt | Charles Yancey | |||||
| 1[50] | August 7, 2013 |
Matt Lauzon Dante Ramos |
A | A | A | A | A | P | A | P | A | P | A | A | ||
| 2[51] | September 9, 2013 |
Joe Battenfield |
P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | ||
| 3[52] | September 12, 2013 |
Dean Hardin Coleman Alyssa Sarkis |
P | P | P | P | P | A | A | A | A | A | A | P | ||
Endorsements
Felix Arroyo
State officials
- Byron Rushing, state representative[53]
Labor unions
- Boston Teachers Union (co-endorsement with Consalvo)[54]
John Barros
State officials
- Carlos Henriquez, state representative[55]
Newspapers and publications
- The Boston Globe (co-endorsement with Connolly)[56]
Individuals
- Danny Glover, actor[57]
- Kim Janey, community leader[58]
Daniel F. Conley
State officials
Carlo Basile, state representative[55] (switched endorsement to Connolly)[53]
Newspapers and publications
- Boston Herald (co-endorsement with Connolly)[59]
John R. Connolly
State officials
- Carlo Basile, state representative (switched endorsement from Conley)[53]
- Nick Collins, state representative[53]
- Edward F. Coppinger, state representative[55]
- Jay Livingstone, state representative[53]
Local officials
- Matt O'Malley, Boston city councillor[60]
Organizations
Newspapers and publications
- The Boston Globe (co-endorsement with Barros)[56]
- Boston Herald (co-endorsement with Conley)[59]
Rob Consalvo
State officials
- Kevin Honan, state representative[53]
- Anthony Petruccelli, state senator[62]
- Angelo Scaccia, state representative[55]
Labor unions
- Boston Teachers Union (co-endorsement with Arroyo)[54]
Charlotte Golar Richie
Federal officials
- Barbara Lee, U.S. representative from CA-13[63]
State officials
- Sonia Chang-Díaz, state senator[53]
- Gloria Fox, state representative[53]
- Russell Holmes, state representative[53]
- Aaron Michlewitz, state representative[62]
- Michael Moran, state representative[62]
Individuals
- Louis Gossett Jr., actor[64]
- Gloria Steinem, journalist and activist[64]
Organizations
Mike Ross
Newspapers and publications
Marty Walsh
State officials
- Liz Malia, state representative[55]
- Eugene O'Flaherty, state representative[55]
Labor unions
Polling
Graphical summary
View source data.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Felix Arroyo |
John Barros |
Daniel Conley |
John Connolly |
Robert Consalvo |
Charlotte Golar Richie |
Michael Ross |
Bill Walczak |
Marty Walsh |
Charles Yancey |
Other/ Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk University/Boston Herald | September 12–17, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 6% | 3% | 12% | 16% | 8% | 10% | 5% | 6% | 12% | 1% | 22%[a] |
| Mass Inc | September 14–16, 2013 | 487 | ± 4.4% | 8% | 3% | 8% | 15% | 5% | 10% | 6% | 4% | 12% | 1% | 27%[b] |
| UNH | September 5–12, 2013 | 411 | ± 4.8% | 6% | 6% | 10% | 15% | 6% | 10% | 5% | 4% | 10% | 3% | 27%[c] |
| Suffolk University/Boston Herald | July 10–15, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 4% | 1% | 9% | 12% | 8% | 5% | 5% | 2% | 11% | 3% | 40%[d] |
Results
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Nonpartisan | Marty Walsh | 20,854 | 18.47 | |
| Nonpartisan | John R. Connolly | 19,435 | 17.21 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charlotte Golar Richie | 15,546 | 13.77 | |
| Nonpartisan | Daniel F. Conley | 12,775 | 11.32 | |
| Nonpartisan | Felix Arroyo | 9,895 | 8.76 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Barros | 9,148 | 8.10 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Consalvo | 8,603 | 7.62 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Ross | 8,164 | 7.23 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bill Walczak | 3,825 | 3.39 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charles Yancey | 2,389 | 2.12 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charles Clemons | 1,800 | 1.59 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Wyatt | 334 | 0.30 | |
| Write-in | 130 | 0.12 | ||
| Total votes | 112,898 | 100 | ||
General election
Campaign
Both Connolly and Walsh were regarded as liberal Democrats, with Connolly being perceived as being focused on education and Walsh having the reputation of being the candidate of organised labor.[71] Connolly was considered the frontrunner as the campaign began, as he was more well-known and was considered to have a superior field organisation to Walsh.[72] However, Walsh's campaign was boosted by large spending by labor unions, who were dissatisfied with Connolly due to his staunch support for charter schools.[72] Connolly raised objections to the support that Walsh had received, arguing that it would make him beholden to the unions if he were to win, but he made sure to temper his criticism to avoid alienating labor unions from his campaign completely.[71] Walsh responded to this criticism by arguing that his ties to labor would make him more effective at negotiating contracts and preventing strikes.[71] Walsh's campaign was also boosted by endorsements from his preliminary rivals Golar Richie, Barros and Arroyo.[73]
The relative lack of policy differences between the candidates led to the election largely coming down to a contest between biographies and personalities. Walsh supporters derided Connolly as a "corporate lawyer" while Connolly supporters characterised Walsh as a puppet of organized labor.[73] Connolly's base of support largely came from his home neighborhood of West Roxbury and the relatively affluent communities in Boston's west, while Walsh had support from both the more working-class, culturally conservative areas in South Boston and from left-wing activists who had been invigorated by Elizabeth Warren's successful campaign for U.S. Senate the previous year.[74][73]
Debates
| 2013 Boston mayoral general election debates | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date & time | Host | Moderator | Link | Participants | |||||||||||
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee |
||||||||||||||||
| John R. Connolly | Marty Walsh | |||||||||||||||
| 1[75] | October 15, 2013 |
Jon Keller Akilah Johnson |
P | P | ||||||||||||
| 2[76] | October 23, 2013 |
Margery Eagan Jim Braude[77] |
P | P | ||||||||||||
Endorsements
Endorsements in bold endorsed after the primary.
John R. Connolly
State officials
- Carlo Basile, state representative[53]
- Nick Collins, state representative[53]
- Edward F. Coppinger, state representative[55]
- Sal DiDomenico, state representative[78]
- Jay Livingstone, state representative[53]
- Aaron Michlewitz, state representative[79]
Local officials
- Mark Ciommo, Boston city councillor[80]
- Salvatore LaMattina, Boston city councillor[79]
- Matt O'Malley, Boston city councillor[60]
Individuals
- Ernie Boch Jr., business executive (Republican)[81]
- Jim Rappaport, former Chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party (Republican)[81]
Organizations
Newspapers and publications
Marty Walsh
Federal officials
- Mike Capuano, U.S. representative from MA-07[84]
State officials
- Linda Dorcena Forry, former state representative[85]
- Mel King, former state representative; candidate for mayor in 1983[86]
- Liz Malia, state representative[55]
- Therese Murray, state senator and president of the Massachusetts Senate[87]
- Eugene O'Flaherty, state representative[55]
- Anthony Petruccelli, state senator[79]
- Charlotte Golar Richie, former state representative; former candidate for mayor[84]
- Marie St. Fleur, former state representative[85]
Local officials
- Felix D. Arroyo, former Boston city councillor[88]
- Felix G. Arroyo, Boston city councillor; former candidate for mayor[88]
- John Barros, former Boston School Committee member; former candidate for mayor[88]
- Tito Jackson, Boston city councillor[86]
Labor unions
Polling
Graphical summary
View source data.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Marty Walsh |
John Connolly |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk University/Boston Herald | October 29–31, 2013 | 555 | ± 4.2% | 46% | 43% | 11% |
| UMass Poll, UMass Amherst | October 22–26, 2013 | 405 | ± 5.9% | 47% | 40% | 13% |
| University of New Hampshire | October 17–22, 2013 | 465 | ± 4.5% | 38% | 47% | 15% |
| Mass Inc | October 19–20, 2013 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 39% | 41% | 20% |
| Sage Systems | October 16–17, 2013 | 375 | ± 3.9% | 36% | 40% | 24% |
| UMass Lowell | October 2–7, 2013 | 375 | ± 6% | 37% | 45% | 18% |
| S.U./Herald | October 2–6, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 34% | 41% | 23% |
| Anderson Robbins ^ | September 28–30, 2013 | 800 | ± ? | 32% | 44% | 24% |
| S.U./Herald | September 12–17, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 29% | 44% | 28% |
- ^ Internal poll for John Connolly campaign
Hypothetical polling
- With Conley
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Daniel Conley |
John Connolly |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.U./Herald | September 12–17, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 29% | 36% | 35% |
- With Consalvo
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
John Connolly |
Robert Consalvo |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.U./Herald | September 12–17, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 47% | 25% | 28% |
- With Golar Richie
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
John Connolly |
Charlotte Golar Richie |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk University/Boston Herald | September 12–17, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 43% | 32% | 25% |
Results
_(a).png)
Walsh defeated Connolly by a narrow margin of 3.5%, with Connolly conceding and stating he believed Walsh would be a successful mayor.[90] There were a total of 560 write-in votes, the largest recipient of these being baseball player David Ortiz.[91]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Marty Walsh | 72,583 | 51.54 | |
| Nonpartisan | John R. Connolly | 67,694 | 48.07 | |
| Write-in | 560 | 0.40 | ||
| Total votes | 140,837 | 100% | ||