providing city services in return for their votes.--bosses worked as gang or mob systems providing a service in exchange for something, mostly votes.
Boss systems though corrupt, provided many services to new immigrants such as connections to a home, a job, or finding resources within the city. If a person needed paperwork for example, they could go to a boss and in exchange for votes the boss would get things pushed through the city government. They were powerful and were able to amass large number of votes for their political party.