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. This is the closest that a Republican has come to the mayorality of South Bend since the last Republican victory in 1967.

Background

Incumbent mayor Roger Parent opted not to seek a third term as mayor. 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. Several allies of Parent on the Common Council with involvement in the stadium construction would ultimately lose their reelection bids in the May primaries.

Primaries

Primaries were held in May.

Democratic primary

Joe Kernan prevailed over several candidates in the Democratic primary. Kernan had previously served as City Compttroller from 1980 to 1984.
The primary was ultimately divisive. Kernan won with 51% of the vote.

Republican primary

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 Waite had informally withdrawn from the race after his ex-wife was murdered.

General election

Arguably the most recent truly competitive general election in South Bend mayoral history, and arguably the only truly competitive South Bend mayoral election since 1967, the election saw Kernan defeat Baxmeyer by a mere 2,000 vote margin. This has been attributed to the Democratic party having been left fractured after a bitter Democratic mayoral primary.
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”. 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.

Results