In the 1990s Boston's government functioned under a mayor elected every four years. Thomas M. Menino began his second term as mayor in January 1998.
Council members elect a president for a one-year term.
Boston has 71 neighborhoods within 15 planning districts. Politically, Boston and a majority of the suburban cities and towns to its north and west have been consistently liberal in political philosophy and supportive of the Democratic Party since the election of U.S. president John F. Kennedy in 1960. A major contemporary issue in Boston is whether or not ethnic groups will share political power as the city moves into the 21st century. The city, once dominated by ethnically Irish politicians, became more politically diverse toward the end of the 20th century. The election of Mayor Thomas Menino in 1993 ended 60 years of unbroken rule by mayors of Irish ancestry.