“I don’t think any incumbent mayor has ever lost in the history of Boston,” says longtime City Councillor Francis “Mickey” Roache.

Menino’s predecessor—a then-popular Raymond Flynn—only left his office to become ambassador to the Vatican in 1993. Menino, who then became acting mayor, has since solidified his power with victories in the 1993 and 1997 elections.

Since her entry into the race April 17, Davis-Mullen has sought to increase her name recognition-relatively small compared to the mayor’s.

And now, after a rash of stories in The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald investigating various allegations of wrongdoing—ranging from sitting for the bar exam too early to not filing state income taxes in 1998 and 1999—Davis-Mullen’s name recognition has increased, but her public image has taken a beating.

In early April, Davis-Mullen turned up on a list of Massachusetts public officials who hadn’t paid state income taxes.

Due to privacy laws, officers of the Department of Revenue (DOR) cannot classify a filing as “late.” But in a technical quirk, Timothy Connelly, the DOR’s director of communication, was able to say that Davis-Mullen’s papers weren’t filed two weeks ago, but now are.

“We are very confident in our record-keeping,” Connelly says.

Davis-Mullen’s campaign, however, denies that the returns were late.