1997 Boston mayoral election

1997 Boston mayoral election

← 1993 November 4, 1997 2001 →

Candidate Thomas Menino Party Nonpartisan Popular vote 48,323 Percentage 71% unopposed

Mayor before election Thomas Menino Elected mayor Thomas Menino

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The Boston mayoral election of 1997 occurred on Tuesday, November 4, 1997. Incumbent Thomas Menino ran unopposed, and was re-elected to his second term;^[1] he received 71 percent of the vote.^[2] Menino only faced write-in opposition.^[3] This was the first time an incumbent mayor of Boston faced no opposition on the ballot in a general election since 1834.

Ahead of the election, four little-known individuals had declared their candidacy for mayor. None managed to collect the 3,000 valid signatures needed to qualify for the ballot, leaving Menino without an opponent on the ballot.^[4] Reasons dissuading more substantial opponents might have been the large campaign funding reserves Menino had and his great popularity, with a 1997 approval poll giving him a 74% approval rating.^[5]