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 Results by ward Collins: 50–60% 60–70% Powers: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||
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TheBoston mayoral election of 1959 occurred on Tuesday, November 3, 1959, between formerBoston City Council memberJohn Frederick Collins andPresident of the Massachusetts SenateJohn E. Powers. Collins was elected to his first term, and was inaugurated on Monday, January 4, 1960.[1]
The nonpartisan municipalpreliminary election was held on Tuesday, September 22, 1959.
Collins' victory was considered the biggestupset victory in city politics in decades.[2]Boston University political scientistMurray Levin wrote a book on the race, titledThe Alienated Voter: Politics in Boston, which attributed Collins' victory to the voters' cynicism and resentment of the city's political elite.[3] Collins had been widely viewed as theunderdog in the race[4] and Powers had been regarded as thefront-runner, making Collins' victory a political surprise.[5] Collins had run on the slogan "stop power politics", and was widely seen as independent of anypolitical machine.[4][6]
| Candidates | Preliminary Election[7] | General Election[8] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| John F. Collins | 28,489 | 21.87 | 114,210 | 55.89 |
| John E. Powers | 44,079 | 33.84 | 90,142 | 44.11 |
| Gabriel F. Piemonte | 25,850 | 19.85 | ||
| James W. Hennigan, Jr. | 19,742 | 15.16 | ||
| John P. McMorrow | 12,100 | 9.29 | ||
John B. Hynes, after serving as mayor 10 years, longer than anyone in the city's history, said he would not run again; the battle to become Boston's 44th mayor began.
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