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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 4 |
17 stories matching predecessor
- City Hall's Great Salary Purge
Mayor Byron Phelps fulfills a campaign pledge by slashing the city payroll, cutting departments, and abolishing offices to save over $34,000 annually.
- The Pilot’s Plea for Protection
A Puget Sound pilot is found cutting wood for a living because the lack of regulation has made the profession impossible to sustain.
- The Water Superintendent’s Public Feud
Seattle’s Water Superintendent fires back at claims of mismanagement, launching a sprawling, finger-pointing defense of his department’s books.
- A Mayor's Nomination and the Aldermen Laying Plans to Block It
Mayor Phelps names John J. Scurry to the board of public works, and the same aldermanic combination that fought his predecessor quietly organizes to sink the confirmation.
- The Siege of the City Engineer’s Office
When an incoming engineer faced a stubborn incumbent, it took a locksmith, a drill, and a policeman to settle the power struggle.
- The $40,000-a-Year Makeover of Seattle's Books — and the Treasurer Who Wouldn't Sign
Seattle's new city treasurer says paying off the city's high-interest warrants will save $40,000 a year — while the city prepares to sue his predecessor over money that never made it into the till.
- The Custom House Scandal: A Betrayed Deposit
A missing payment of gold coin in a shipping manifest sparks a corruption investigation in Port Townsend, shaking public faith in the local customs office.
- The Economic Anxiety of the 1888 Seattle Labor Market
A century and a half ago, Seattle’s labor leaders were already wrestling with the volatile intersection of rapid immigration, wage standards, and protectionist sentiment.
- Sudden Death of a Civic Leader: Seattle Mourns George H. Heilbron
A prominent newspaperman's unexpected passing prompts a sermon on mortality, a city funeral, and closed banks.
- The Squatters of Port Angeles
A government land reservation intended for protection is caught in a web of bureaucratic delays, shifting administrations, and local political infighting.
- The Changing of the Guard at the King County Courthouse
As a new Republican administration takes office in 1889, retiring officials hand over the keys to a bustling, rapidly growing county.
- The Wild West of Snohomish City Hall
A small town descends into administrative chaos as rival marshals, contested elections, and judicial flip-flops leave residents wondering who is in charge.
- The City Goes After Its Missing $5,381 — and the Bondsmen Who Signed for It
Seattle sues ex-City Treasurer W. L. Ames over unaccounted street-assessment money, naming ten prominent citizens who pledged $10,000 each. Ames is conveniently away on Whidbey Island.
- Seattle's Chinese New Year: Fireworks, Debt Settling, and a Tartar Emperor
Local Chinese merchants celebrate the new year with fireworks and a week of festivities, while manager Woo Gen voices his opposition to the ruling Tartar dynasty.
- Seattle's Fight to Land the Army Post at Magnolia Bluff
In 1895, the Chamber of Commerce touted a federal garrison as a monthly windfall—if Tacoma did not steal it first.
- The Water Department War: Seattle’s Ex-Superintendent Says the City Burned $15,000
W. E. Wilson takes his successor to task over pumping-station costs, missing pipe miles, and a board of public works appointment he calls the reward for fiscal failure.
- The Gambler’s Shield: How Seattle Saloon Keepers Dodged Mayor Moras’ Purge
When Chief Justice Burke urged the city to revoke liquor licenses from gambling dens, the Common Council refused—citing legal technicalities and protecting the very establishments the mayor wanted shut down.