Boston's mayoral candidates yesterday transformed the city's annual Columbus Day parade into an orgy of politicking as they attempted to shore up support for today's nonpartisan preliminary election.

Today's vote will narrow to two a field of eight candidates, with the survivors meeting in a November run-off. A ninth contender, Robert R. Kiley, withdrew from the race last month, but his name will appear on the ballot.

The election will be the official beginning of the end of Boston's love-hate relationship with Mayor Kevin H. White, who announced in May he would not seek an unprecedented fifth term.

White emerged from a similarly large field 16 years ago, and campaign strategists are predicting the same kind of voter turnout that marked that election.

Recent press reports stated that various analysts estimate between 55 to 72 percent of Boston's 264, 223 eligible voters will make it to the polls, their interest heightened by the first tight race since 1967 and sparked by the candidates' election day efforts (see accompanying story, page 3).

Home at Last

Over 50,000 new voters--about 20,000 of them minorities--have been registered in the course of the campaign, largely the result of a new voter drive undertaken in conjunction with candidate Melvin H. King's camp.

Yesterday's rallies and speeches mark the end of a long road for the eight contenders. And for the five given a chance to win today, a clear indication of who was favored and who was trailing came only within the last month.

Several recent polls have placed King, Raymond L. Flynn, and David I. Finnegan in a virtual dead heat with Lawrence S. DiCara '71 and Dennis J. Kearney '72 trailing by more than 10 percentage points.

Kearney, DiCara, and aides to leading candidates have said, however, that the polling has distorted the campaign by squeezing out the two Harvard graduates. Both have claimed that their organization and lengthy campaigning will push them over the top.

Previous Incident

The parade, which started in the Back Bay and wound its way to Faneuil Hall and the North End, turned into a contest of banners, balloons, placards, and shouting matches. It ended in a scuffle between a drunken supporter of Flynn and Boston City Councilor Albert "Dapper" O'Neil, who had just shaken hands with Finnegan.

The incident was indicative of the heated rivalry between Flynn and Finnegan, who clashed verbally on live television Thursday night after Flynn, a city councilor, accused Finnegan of calling him a "racist" and a "chameleon."

Members of both camps have conceded one of the two spots in the November 15 final election to king, and several polls have shown that Flynn and Finnegan are dead even for the second place on the ballot.

Last Days