1993 Boston mayoral election

The Boston mayoral election of 1993 occurred on Tuesday, November 2, 1993, between Acting Mayor Thomas Menino and State Representative James T. Brett. Menino was elected to his first term.

This early election came just two years after the prior mayoral election (1991. This was because Raymond Flynn, who had been mayor of Boston since 1984, resigned as mayor to become United States ambassador to the Holy See. Following Flynn's resignation in July 1993, Boston City Council 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 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, Acting Mayor of Boston 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, WGBH-TV host
 * Diane Moriarty, attorney and Republican Party member
 * Francis Roache, 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, and was described by Virginia A. Triant of The Harvard Crimson as, "one the decade's most competitive mayoral races [in Boston] ." 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 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 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 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 stances.

Brett was one of four Italian American candidates running in the primary. The city had seen an uninterrupted stretch of Italian 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 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, South Boston, and West Roxbury, 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 and Brighton