Massachusetts general election, 1990

A Massachusetts general election was held on November 6, 1990 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The election included:

• statewide elections for United States Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer, and Auditor;
• district elections for U.S. Representatives, State Representatives, State Senators, and Governor's Councillors; and
• ballot questions at the state and local levels.

Democratic and Republican candidates were selected in party primaries held September 19, 1990.

Statewide elections

United States Senator

Further information: Massachusetts United States Senate election, 1990

Democratic incumbent John Kerry was re-elected over Republican Jim Rappaport.

Governor & Lieutenant Governor

Further information: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1990

Republicans William Weld and Paul Cellucci were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, over Democratic candidates John Silber and Marjorie Clapprood. Weld's victory was the first for a Republican since since 1970.

Attorney General

Democrat Scott Harshbarger was elected Attorney General. He defeated incumbent James Shannon in the Democratic primary and Republican William C. Sawyer in the general election.

Massachusetts Attorney General Democratic Primary, 1990 [1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Scott Harshbarger	533,481	53.56%
	Democratic	James Shannon	462,296	46.41%
	Write-in		253	0.03%

Massachusetts Attorney General Republican Primary, 1990 [2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William C. Sawyer	199,567	52.73%
	Republican	Guy Carbone	178,669	47.21%
	Write-in		231	0.00%

Massachusetts Attorney General Election, 1990 [3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Scott Harshbarger	1,442,359	64.06%
	Republican	William C. Sawyer	808,398	35.90%
	Write-in		783	0.04%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth Michael J. Connolly defeated Republican Paul McCarthy and Independent Barbara F. Ahearn in the general election.

Former Celtics star Dave Cowens entered the race as a Republican, but because he did not register by June 5, 1989, he was unable to appear on the primary ballot and dropped out.^[4][5]

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Elect ion, 1990 [6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Michael J. Connolly	1,011,303	45.88%
	Republican	Paul McCarthy	844,085	38.29%
	Independent High Tech	Barbara F. Ahearn	347,703	15.77%
	Write-in		1,129	0.05%

Treasurer and Receiver-General

Incumbent Treasurer and Receiver-General Robert Q. Crane did not run for re-election. Republican Joe Malone defeated Democrat State Representative William F. Galvin and Independent C. David Nash in the general election.

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Democratic Primary, 1990 [7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William F. Galvin	489,512	50.98%
	Democratic	George Keverian	287,626	29.95%
	Democratic	Richard A. Kraus	182,715	19.03%
	Write-in		436	0.05%

Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver-General Election, 1990 [8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joe Malone	1,298,521	57.24%
	Democratic	William F. Galvin	825,808	36.41%
	Independent High Tech	C. David Nash	143,324	6.32%
	Write-in		753	0.03%

Auditor

Democrat A. Joseph DeNucci was re-elected Auditor. He defeated Republican Douglas J. Murray and Independent candidate Steven K. Sherman.

Massachusetts Auditor Election, 1990 [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	A. Joseph DeNucci	1,187,241	54.66%
	Republican	Douglas J. Murray	801,116	36.88%
	Independent High Tech	Steven K. Sherman	183,136	8.43%
	Write-in		607	0.03%

Ballot questions

Question 1

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution – The proposed constitutional amendment would repeal the constitutional provision that a state census be taken and used as the basis for determining state representative, senatorial, and councilor districts. The proposed constitutional amendment would provide that the federal census shall be the basis for determining such districts. ^[10]

Proposed Legislative Amendment to the Constitution [11]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Yes	1,731,341	78.29%
	No	479,999	21.71%

Question 2

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition - The proposed law would place restrictions on the State’s use of consultants. It would place various limits on the amount of profit, overhead charges and expenses that the State could pay consultants. It would limit the duration of consultant contracts to two years and any extension to one year, and it would limit the degree to which such contracts could be changed to require payments in excess of the original contract. The proposed law would limit to $100,000 the amount the State could pay on a consultant contract with an individual and would require all other consultant contracts in excess of $25,000 to be sought through competitive bidding. It would prohibit consultants from supervising State employees, and it would limit the use of consultants as substitutes for State employee positions. ^[12]

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition [13]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
	Yes	1,038,174	45.64%
✓	No	1,236,739	54.36%

Question 3

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition – The proposed law would changed the state income tax rate, affect language contained in certain tax provisions, and regulate the setting of fees by state agencies and authorities. ^[14]

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition [15]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
	Yes	935,337	40.09%
✓	No	1,397,542	59.91%

Question 4

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition – This proposed law would change the state election laws governing the establishment of political parties and the nomination of candidates. ^[16]

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition [17]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Yes	1,134,535	52.46%
	No	1,027,966	47.54%

Question 5

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition – This proposed law would regulate the distribution to cities and towns of the Local Aid Fund, which consists of at least 40% of the revenue generated by the state income, sales, and corporate taxes, as well as the balance of the State Lottery Fund. ^[18]

Law Proposed by Initiative Petition [19]
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Yes	1,242,270	56.68%
	No	949,561	43.32%

References

1. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=557586
2. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/110/mode/2up. 
3. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=558093
4. ^ "Sports Extra: People". Daily News of Los Angeles. January 14, 1990. 
5. ^ Lehigh, Scot (February 23, 1990). "Ex-Celtic Cowens Bows Out of GOP Race for Secretary of State". Boston Globe. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61589566.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT. Retrieved 20 April 2011. 
6. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=553196
7. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=618099
8. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=101364
9. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=553211
10. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/428/mode/2up. 
11. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/428/mode/2up. 
12. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/432/mode/2up. 
13. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/432/mode/2up. 
14. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/438/mode/2up. 
15. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/438/mode/2up. 
16. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/444/mode/2up. 
17. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/444/mode/2up. 
18. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/450/mode/2up. 
19. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1990. http://www.archive.org/stream/massachusettsele1990mass#page/450/mode/2up.