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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
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| 1893 | 3 |
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| 1895 | 8 |
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| 1900 | 1 |
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11 stories matching referendum
- The Dog on Trial: A Deadlocked Jury in Newport
A man admitted shooting George H. Jones's dog but argued the animal was vicious. The justice court hearing became a referendum on the dog itself—and the jury could not agree.
- City Council Faces Backlash Over Secret Salary Hike
Tacoma politicians attempt to abolish civil service and quadruple their own pay while blocking the popular commission government plan.
- The Political Heist of 1909
Everett’s labor leaders decry a state legislative session that killed pro-worker laws and undermined the direct primary, centralizing power back into the hands of party machines and corporations.
- The Push for Commission Government
As municipal elections approach, the Labor Journal urges Everett voters to weigh the pros and cons of shifting to a commission-style city management.
- Legislators Break Promises to Labor Unions
Despite campaign pledges, Olympia lawmakers stall on key labor legislation, leaving unions with little to show for their efforts.
- The Fading Power of the People's Party
A skeptical report on the state convention of the Populists in Spokane, suggesting the once-mighty movement is now a mere shell.
- The Fight for Public Oversight in Oroville
As the growing town prepares to hand out long-term public service contracts, the Gazette warns citizens to demand a vote on monopolies that could bind the community for a generation.
- The Forgotten Platform for a People's Washington
In 1909, a visionary reformer urged a fractured movement of grangers, socialists, and unionists to put aside their hobbies and unite behind a single platform of 'Majority Rule.'
- The 1909 City Hall Power Grab That Tacoma Voters Were Told to Stop
A fiery Times editorial urged citizens to pack the council chamber against charter amendments it said would gut civil service, raise council pay, and hand city jobs to political loyalists.
- The 1909 Legislature Went Home With a $10 Million Tab and an Unfinished Scandal
Washington's eleventh session adjourned with record spending, a sweeping new criminal code, a local-option liquor law, an equal-suffrage referendum — and an insurance investigation the House only agreed to after the acting governor threatened to drag them back.
- The Last-Week Jam in Olympia: Liquor, Primaries and a Budget Nobody Counted
With the 60-day session expiring, Washington's lawmakers settle local option, rewrite the primary ballot, kill the initiative and abandon the joint budget committee — leaving taxpayers to foot a three-mill levy.