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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 12 |
| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 23 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 10 |
| 1893 | 13 |
| 1894 | 16 |
| 1895 | 13 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 9 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 6 |
| 1916 | 3 |
164 stories matching bidder
- The $8,000 Schoolyard Fight
A losing contractor accuses Seattle’s school board of steering a South School grounds contract to a favored bidder and wasting taxpayer money. The board fires back that the cheapest bids were unsafe and that a $25,000 schoolhouse was at risk of falling.
- The $800 School Contract That Smelled Wrong
A losing bidder says Seattle’s school board changed the bonding rules mid-bid to steer the South School job to a higher bidder—and cost taxpayers hundreds.
- Everett’s Sweetheart Printing Deal: The Supreme Court Said No
In 1894, Everett’s city council awarded its official printing contract to a bid nearly four times higher than a rival’s. The Washington Supreme Court reversed course, warning that public money was not the council’s to give away.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- The Hop Bubble Bursts: Snoqualmie's Famed Ranch Sold at Auction
Once the largest and most profitable hop ranch in the country, the 1,240-acre Meadowbrook Farm goes to the highest bidder for $52,800 after a crash in hop prices and a receivership.
- The $5,400 Handshake
A state land commissioner faces a Supreme Court battle over whether he can bypass a high-dollar bid for school lands in favor of a personal deal.
- Local Contractor Wins Highway Bid Amid Board Debate
County Commissioners grapple with local versus lowest-cost bidding in the construction of the Kennewick-Finley Highway.
- The Struggle Over the Port Orchard Dry Dock
The federal government hesitates to award a massive contract for a key Navy project, citing doubts about the contractor's ability to deliver.
- Seattle’s School Board Said No to $153
Contractors crowded the board meeting, but a fight over $4,000 versus $4,153 left a school addition unbuilt—and a Lake Union petition for 107 children pending.
- A Low Bidder Cries Foul Over Tacoma’s New Water Pipes
Charges of inferior material and work outside the contract were briefly cleared—until affidavits from a lower bidder forced a fresh council inquiry.
- The Foreclosure Auction: Snohomish’s Housing Crisis in 1876
As the Territory of Washington grapples with economic instability, three separate Sheriff's sales are scheduled for January 1877, putting local homes and land on the block for unpaid debts.
- The $37,500 Handshake: How Benton County's Tax Crusaders Blessed a Courthouse Deal
Prosser's anti-tax league swore it would guard the public purse to the last janitor's salary. Then its own man changed his mind on Monday, and the Kennewick editor noticed where the $37,500 went.
- The City Buried Its Own Mistake: Coroner’s Verdict Blames Seattle for Deadly Boiler Explosion
A coroner’s jury has issued a scathing indictment against the city of Seattle, its building inspectors, and a plumber for the negligence that led to a Tuesday night explosion. The verdict fixes blame on the municipality for allowing a dangerous steam heater beneath a public sidewalk without proper oversight.
- The Great City Printing Graft
Seattle’s local newspapers accused the Telegraph of padding city bills, sparking a political firestorm that reached the city council.
- The Great Seattle Printing Conspiracy
When the Dispatch editor exposed a 'plunder' scheme by rival newspapers to inflate public printing costs, he revealed the messy, graft-filled reality of 1878 municipal administration.
- The Eight-Hour Law Scuttles a Navy Yard Bid
A Seattle contractor's low bid for the new Port Orchard dry dock is thrown out by federal officials because of changing labor regulations.
- The Puyallup Reservation Goes on the Auction Block
In a Tacoma storefront, commissioners began selling off 1,000 acres of Puyallup Indian land — and a brick company snatched up the valuable clay first.
- The White-and-Gold Trolleys That Would Link Olympia and Tumwater
In February 1892, Olympia Light & Power awarded a $70,000 contract for a four-mile electric street railway from Ayer's Hill to Tumwater—built with local labor and Pullman-style cars.
- The Great Front Street Fraud: City Council Exposes Fake Petition for Cable Car
In a stunning display of civic integrity, Seattle’s Common Council unmasks a fraudulent petition designed to grant a monopoly cable car franchise, revealing that applicants forged signatures and misrepresented property frontage.
- The Granite War: Why Seattle’s Federal Building Might Not Use Washington Stone
A federal contract for San Francisco's new courthouse has sparked outrage in Seattle. The lowest bidder proposed using granite from the Puget Sound region, but California lobbyists are pushing to force the use of local stone, raising questions about patriotism versus free enterprise.
- The Paper Trail of Patronage
A bold act of civic favoritism in King County sees the Board of Commissioners award a lucrative printing contract to a higher bidder, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.
- The Fight Over Who Gets the Road Contract
Prosser taxpayers challenge Benton County commissioners over the awarding of the Kennewick-Finley road contract to a non-lowest bidder.
- Seattle's Tax Delinquency Sale Draws a Crowd
A rare look at how the city handled unpaid property taxes in 1892, with far fewer lots left on the market than in previous years.
- Whatcom's Democrats Eat Their Own: 'Thieves, Fakirs and Impostors'
A county Democratic club meets to denounce its own officeholders — accusing a candidate of selling his nomination to the highest bidder and the party machine of swapping votes for cash — until a motion to adjourn ends the night in pandemonium.
- The Dangerous Precedent of the 'Lowest Bidder'
The local paper critiques a political candidate for promising to run a public office on a budget that defies fiscal reality.
Also about this, in other words
- The Bitter Battle for the Port Orchard Dry Dock
A failed bid for a federal contract triggers a nasty public feud between a powerful contractor and a U.S. Senator.
- The Alderman Who Wanted the $600 Job
Leander Miller led the fight against John G. Scurry’s confirmation to the board of public works—because Miller wanted the seat himself.
- The Battle of the Wishkah River Bridge
A city’s municipal gridlock and the bizarre arrest of a councilman over anti-bond propaganda.
- The Risks of the 'Shipper’s Order' Grain Hustle
A federal warning exposes how unlicensed speculators were clogging rail yards with hay and grain they couldn't afford to pay for.
- The 'Grafter' of Seattle
A man’s admission of his profession in court highlights the early Seattle obsession with the city’s burgeoning reputation for civic corruption.
- The Bidding War for Public Office
A candidate for County Clerk promises to slash the department's budget, sparking a debate over the ethics of 'auctioning' government services.
- Defending the Aberdeen Steam Skidder
A local inventor faces patent-infringement threats from industry giants in the competitive world of logging machinery.
- The Alder-men's Secret Handshake
The Board of Aldermen ignored the city charter to funnel a printing contract to a favored paper, prompting a scathing accusation of graft.