1959 Boston mayoral election

1959 Boston mayoral election

← 1955 November 3, 1959 1963 →

Candidate John F. Collins John E. Powers Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 114,210 90,142 Percentage 55.89% 44.11%

Results by ward Collins:      50–60%      60–70% Powers:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Mayor before election John B. Hynes Elected mayor John F. Collins

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The Boston mayoral election of 1959 occurred on Tuesday, November 3, 1959, between former Boston City Council member John Frederick Collins and President of the Massachusetts Senate John E. Powers. Collins was elected to his first term, and was inaugurated on Monday, January 4, 1960.^[1]

The nonpartisan municipal preliminary election was held on Tuesday, September 22, 1959.

Collins' victory was considered the biggest upset in city politics in decades.^[2] Boston University political scientist Murray Levin wrote a book on the race, titled The 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 the underdog in the race^[4] and Powers had been regarded as the front-runner, making Collins' victory a political surprise.^[5] Collins had run on the slogan "stop power politics", and was widely seen as independent of any political machine.^[4][6]