The Boston mayoral election of 1979 occurred on Tuesday, November 6, 1979 between Mayor Kevin White and state senator

Massachusetts Senate

The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...

 Joseph F. Timilty

Joseph F. Timilty (state senator)

Joseph F. Timilty is an American politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1972 to 1985 and was a member of the Boston City Council from 1967 to 1971....

. This was the second election in a row between White and Timilty. White once again defeated Timilty and was elected to a fourth term.

The nonpartisan municipal preliminary election was held on September 25, 1979.

Candidates

• Joseph F. Timilty
  Joseph F. Timilty (state senator)
  Joseph F. Timilty is an American politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1972 to 1985 and was a member of the Boston City Council from 1967 to 1971....
  
  , member of the Massachusetts Senate since 1972. Member of the Boston City Council
  Boston City Council
  The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councilors are elected to two-year terms and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve...
  
   from 1967 to 1971.
• Kevin White, Mayor of Boston since 1968, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
  Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
  The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the state government of the U.S...
  
   from 1961 to 1967.

Candidates eliminated in primary

• Luis F. Castro, member of the Socialist Workers Party
  Socialist Workers Party (United States)
  The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
  
  .
• David Finnegan
  David Finnegan
  David I. Finnegan is an American attorney, talk show host, and politician. He is currently a partner at Finnegan, Underwood, Ryan & Tierney.-Political career:...
  
  , member of the Boston School Committee since 1975.
• Mel King
  Mel King
  Melvin H. King is an American educator, activist, and writer.King has been active across the landscape of neighborhoods and politics of Boston for over fifty-five years, while also being an educator, youth worker, social activist, community organizer and developer, elected politician, author, and...
  
  , Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1973.
• Laurence R. Sherman, member of the U.S. Labor Party
  U.S. Labor Party
  The U.S. Labor Party was a political party formed in 1973 by the National Caucus of Labor Committees . It served as a vehicle for Lyndon LaRouche to run for President of the United States in 1976, but it also sponsored many candidates for local offices and Congressional and Senate seats between...
  
  .

Results

Candidates	Primary Election		General Election
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Kevin White	50,272	42.39	78,048	54.82
Joseph F. Timilty Joseph F. Timilty (state senator) Joseph F. Timilty is an American politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1972 to 1985 and was a member of the Boston City Council from 1967 to 1971....	33,026	27.85	64,269	45.14
Mel King Mel King Melvin H. King is an American educator, activist, and writer.King has been active across the landscape of neighborhoods and politics of Boston for over fifty-five years, while also being an educator, youth worker, social activist, community organizer and developer, elected politician, author, and...	17,490	14.75
David Finnegan David Finnegan David I. Finnegan is an American attorney, talk show host, and politician. He is currently a partner at Finnegan, Underwood, Ryan & Tierney.-Political career:...	17,306	14.59
Laurence R. Sherman	297	0.25
Luis F. Castro	199	0.17