Boston mayoral election, 1983
The Boston mayoral election of 1983 occurred on November 15, 1983 between City Councilman Raymond Flynn and former state representative Mel King. Flynn was elected to his first term.
The nonpartisan municipal preliminary election was held on October 7, 1983.
King's victory in the preliminary election made him the first African-American to be a finalist for mayor in city history.
On March 5, 1983, former State Representative Mel King became the first candidate to officially enter the race. The focus of his campaign was decentralizing the city's government and bringing together its racially polarized population. His announcement came on the 213th anniversary of the death of Crispus Attucks during the Boston Massacre.
On March 15, former Deputy Mayor and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager Bob Kiley became the second candidate to enter the race.
On March 20, Mayor Kevin White told WCVB-TV's Frank Avruch that he planned on running for an unprecedented fifth term. However, soon after the announcement, aides to the Mayor retracted his statement, saying that it was "facetious" and "jocular".
On April 19, City Councilman Frederick C. Langone declared his candidacy. Langone was accused of running as a publicity stunt, a charge the Councilman denied. To prove that his campaign was serious he announced that he would not seek another City Council term.
On April 24, Suffolk County Sheriff Dennis J. Kearney declared his candidacy at Faneuil Hall. He promised that if elected he would create an office of internal affairs to investigate "fraud, waste and abuse". He also promised to hire 99 new police officers each year for the next three years, a plan which would cost the city $3 million.
Former School Board President and radio talk show host David Finnegan announced his candidacy on April 21 at the Strand Theatre in Uphams Corner. Finnegan chose to make his announcement in Uphams Corner because White had not fulfilled his promise to rebuild the neighborhood and the man he appointed to run the project was jail. He attempted to portray himself as the best candidate to defeat Mayor White and used the campaign slogan "Finnegan or him again." After White announced that he was not running, Finnegan changed the slogan to "Begin Again with Finnegan".
...
Wikipedia