1987 South Bend, Indiana mayoral election

The 1987 South Bend, Indiana mayoral election was held on November 3, 1987. Joe Kernan defeated Republican Carl Baxmeyer.[1] This is the closest that a Republican has come to the mayorality of South Bend since the last Republican victory in 1967.

1987 South Bend mayoral election

November 3, 1987

Nominee Joe Kernan Carl Baxmeyer Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 17,030 15,104 Percentage 53% 47%

Mayor before election Roger Parent Democratic Elected Mayor Joe Kernan Democratic

Background

Incumbent mayor Roger Parent opted not to seek a third term as mayor.[2][3] Rumors arose that internal polling had shown that, with controversy around the construction of Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium, Parent would not have been able to win a third term.[3] Several allies of Parent on the Common Council with involvement in the stadium construction would ultimately lose their reelection bids in the May primaries.[3]

Primaries

Primaries were held in May.[3]

Democratic primary

Joe Kernan prevailed over several candidates in the Democratic primary.[3] Kernan had previously served as City Compttroller from 1980 to 1984.[4]

The primary was ultimately divisive.[1] Kernan won with 51% of the vote.[5]

Republican primary

Carl Baxmeyer, a city planner,[6] won the Republican nomination, defeating opponent Mike Waite.[3][7][8] Waite was businessman who had never held public office,[8] and had been original opponent of the stadium.[3] Waite had informally withdrawn from the race after his ex-wife was murdered.[8]

General election

Arguably the most recent truly competitive general election in South Bend mayoral history,[1] and arguably the only truly competitive South Bend mayoral election since 1967 (when a Republican, Lloyd M. Allen, was last elected),[1] the election saw Kernan defeat Baxmeyer by a mere 2,000 vote margin.[1] This has been attributed to the Democratic party having been left fractured after a bitter Democratic mayoral primary.[1]

Baxmeyer made a campaign issue out of city attorney Rich Hill, criticizing the city's decision to hire him, “on a part-time basis at almost twice his former salary”.[9] Incumbent mayor Roger Parent disputed Baxmeyer's criticisms, arguing that it made sense to hire Hill due to the fact that he was already caught up on important issues including the city's stadium efforts.[9]

Results

General election results[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Kernan	17,030	53%
	Republican	Carl Baxmeyer	15,104	47%
Total votes			32,134

References

1. "2007 Mayoral" (PDF). Howey Political Report. 14 (7). September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
2. Chval, Craig (September 24, 2010). "MONOGRAM CLUB CORNER – JOE KERNAN". Notre Dame University. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
3. Baines, Don (July 26, 1987). "CLASS A CONTROVERSY". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
4. Hayward, Ethan (October 6, 1995). "Kernan seeks third term" (PDF). The Observer. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
5. "Joseph Kernan Honored Warrior/Civic Leader" (PDF). Indiana Business Journal. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
6. Bednarski, Chtis; Coccia, Regis (November 4, 1987). "ND grad is elected mayor of South Bend" (PDF). The Observer.
7. Heisler, Jamie (November 7, 1995). "Candidates make last day push". The Observer. S2CID 27410599. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
8. Heisler, Jamie (October 6, 1995). "Incumbent runs criticizes incumbent" (PDF). The Observer. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
9. Larsen, Jonathan (September 16, 2019). "Documents: Police Used Buttigieg Donors to Get Him to Fire Black Chief". The Young Turks. Retrieved September 22, 2019.