Career
Wilkinson was elected Mayor of, Massachusetts in 1950 and re-elected in 1952, 1954, and 1956. During his tenure as Mayor, celebrated its 325th anniversary, hosted World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Rocky Marciano, hosted two Sports Carolina Club of America auto racing events, and built two new schools. In 1953, Wilkinson was a candidate for State Representative, but lost in the Republican primary to Herbert Tuckerman.
In 1955, Wilkinson received a type-written letter containing a threat to kill him if he did not pay four million dollars.
An investigation by police revealed that the letter was written by a fourteen-year-old boy at a junior high school. Wilkinson was elected State Representative in 1956.
He served as State Representative and Mayor simultaneously during his final year as Mayor. He was reelected in 1958, but lost the 1960 Republican primary to George L. Allen.
In 1962, Wilkinson was named Associate State Commissioner of Public Works.
In 1966, the town offered 207 acres of land abutting Municipal Airport to Boeing in attempt to convince them to build a proposed multimillion-dollar plant in Wilkinson served as the town"s liaison officer in the ultimately unsuccessful project In 1967, Wilkinson ran again for Mayor, but finished third in the primary behind James A. Vitale and Herbert Grimes. On October 14, 1968, Wilkinson was named Town Manager of, Massachusetts.
He had previously been a finalist for the job in 1962, but the Board of Selectmen decided to give the job to John O. Stinson.
Wilkinson resigned as Town Manager in 1970 to take the same position in, Maine. He remained as "s Town Manager until his retirement in 1975.
