A Republican and former postmaster in Boston, he was elected for a two-year term by a plurality of 2,177 over John F. Fitzgerald. This was brought about by the candidacy of a third contestant, John A. Coulthurst, who was nominated by the Non-Partisan and Independence League groups, and received the remarkable vote of 15,811.

Mayor Hibbard's administration was chiefly made notable by the investigations of the Finance Commission, created by chapter 562, Acts of 1908, and expiring by limitation on December 31 of [the] same year. The exhaustive examination made convinced the commission and a large number of citizens that for the improvement of municipal conditions a new charter was imperative.

In 1909 the Legislature enacted the Amended Boston City Charter of 1909. On November 2, 1909, the voters accepted the new charter by a majority of 3,894, which, among other things, provided for a city council of nine members and a mayoralty term of four years. Among the various new features of the charter not included in the popular referendum was that providing for the reestablishing of the City Record as an official weekly publication. In form and make-up this gazette was a reproduction of that issued in 1898-1900.

Mayor Hibbard's determination to give the city a non-partisan and strictly economical administration was realized in a decrease of loans from $11,292,300 for the two years 1906-07 to $8,268,300 for his term, or 1908-09, also in a notable decrease of department expenditures. An average annual increase of such expenditures, amounting to 4.3 per cent had occurred throughout the preceding ten years. Furthermore, the number of city employees (excluding the School and Police departments not in control of the Mayor) was 945 less in 1909 than in 1907."

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