National Affairs: The Battle for City Hall

Scores of mayoralty elections in the U.S. last week generated all the excitement and drama of oldfashioned, blare-and-bunting campaigns that always bring out the best and worst in local officeholders. Among the battles for City Hall that gave the voters their ballot's worth:

Boston. Upsetting all the predictions, Democrat John F. Collins, 40, wheelchair-ridden (polio) Suffolk County Register of Probate soundly (24,000-vote majority) whipped Democrat John E. Powers, 49, Massachusetts' Senate president, in a nonpartisan election. Though both candidates preached the same sermon—revitalize Boston's sagging economy—Underdog Collins made his gains by continuous attacks...