1899 Boston mayoral election

1899 Boston mayoral election

← 1897 December 12, 1899 1901 →
 
Candidate Thomas N. Hart Patrick Collins
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 40,838 38,557
Percentage 50.2% 47.4%

Mayor before election

Josiah Quincy
Democratic

Elected mayor

Thomas N. Hart
Republican

The Boston mayoral election of 1899 occurred on Tuesday, December 12, 1899. Republican candidate (and former mayor) Thomas N. Hart defeated Democratic nominee Patrick Collins and two other contenders, to become mayor for a second tenure. Incumbent mayor Josiah Quincy (a Democrat) had announced in July 1899 that he would not seek re-election.[1]

Hart benefitted from strife within the Democratic party, where John R. Murphy had lost the nomination to Collins.[2] Murphy subsequently announced his intent to cross party lines and vote for Hart.[3] The votes of Murphy and his followers in support of the Republican candidate contributed to Collins' defeat, and was referred to as a "knifing" in contemporary news reports.[4]

Hart was inaugurated on Monday, January 1, 1900.[5]

  1. ^ "The Week's News – Tuesday, July 11". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. July 13, 1899. p. 2. Retrieved March 24, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Democrats at Odds". The Washington Times. December 4, 1899. p. 2. Retrieved March 21, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Murphy will Vote for Hart". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. December 6, 1899. p. 4. Retrieved March 21, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Hart wins in Boston". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. December 13, 1899. p. 1. Retrieved March 21, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Mayor Hart's Inaugural". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. January 4, 1900. p. 8. Retrieved March 21, 2018 – via newspapers.com.