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71 stories matching veto
- One Day Late: The Veto That May Hang a Man
A clerk's date stamp, a messenger who cannot recall which day he ran an errand, and a condemned Italian at Tacoma whose last chance at a new appeal may have expired in the paperwork.
- The First Veto: A Stand Against Seattle's Risky Debt
Mayor White halts an ordinance that would have saddled the city with private developers' debts under the guise of street improvement bonds.
- The Governor Vetoes the Anti-Vivisection Bill
Washington's governor refuses to sign a sweeping ban on animal dissection in public schools, arguing that medical progress and anatomy lessons depend on it.
- Ballard’s Ousted Councilman Refuses to Give Up His Seat
Thomas Winsor was removed for selling lumber to the city. He showed up at council with a lawyer, the mayor vetoed the removal, and the council overrode him. Now a judge will decide who sits.
- Governor McGraw Says No to Cheap Textbooks and a Cascade Road
Washington’s governor vetoes a state textbook scheme and a Naches Pass road appropriation, warning that both would waste public money—and that cheap books are not the same as good ones.
- The Governor’s Veto: A Political Backstory
A defense of Governor Henry McBride’s 1903 veto of a local option bill, shifting blame from his personal stance to legislative corruption.
- The Cable Car Veto: How a 1889 Power Struggle Defined Seattle’s Streets
Mayor Robert Moran’s refusal to approve a cable railway franchise on Front Street—citing private greed over public interest—mirrors Seattle’s century-long battle with developers and transit infrastructure.
- The Railway Scheme That Failed
A phantom freight tariff, designed to crush independent grocers, is exposed and vetoed by the railroad manager himself.
- City Hall Says Yes to the Dove: Seattle Licenses a Notorious Dive
The council overrode Mayor Ronald's veto to license a saloon the Post-Intelligencer called one of the city's worst dives—then argued over a dance house and the police chief's word.
- The Mayor’s Sealed Envelope: A City Holds Its Breath
Mayor Humes returns the saloon redistricting ordinance to the City Council in a sealed envelope, sparking wild speculation about whether he has vetoed the measure or simply signed it into law.
- The Price of Proving Up on Timber Land
A reader argues that the President’s veto of a relief bill makes it nearly impossible for average settlers to acquire government land without losing everything to travel costs and lawyers.
- Governor's Veto Shuts Down Puyallup Experiment Station
A $12,000 legislative appropriation for the branch agricultural station is vetoed, forcing the college to lease the land and sell the livestock.
- The Council Strikes Back: Seattle Turns on Its Own Power Company
Mayor Humes vetoes saloon restrictions, but the City Council is far more concerned with a corporate power grab. They launch an investigation into the Snoqualmie Falls Power Co., accusing it of using legal injunctions to block the city’s water supply contracts and protect its private interests.
- Washington State Bans Private Mercenary Guards
New legislation makes it a serious crime for companies to employ private detective agencies like the Pinkertons to suppress strikes or intimidate employees.
- Washington Bans Armed Mercenaries
Legislators override a veto to criminalize the employment of private armed bodies, a move targeting industrial labor conflicts.
- A Farm Paper Accuses Olympia of Auctioning a Senate Seat
After the 1903 legislature adjourned, The Ranch blasted lawmakers for graft, railroad favoritism, a $3.25 million budget and $125,000 in fair appropriations.
- The Governor’s Violin Fell Silent at the Bohemian Club
Charles B. Laughton—former acting governor, lawyer, and celebrated fiddler—died mid-sentence in Tacoma after a legislative session, leaving behind a career tangled in vetoes and a school-book scandal.
- The Fight to Tighten the Initiative Process
A landmark legislative struggle to regulate how Washingtonians propose and recall laws and public officials.
- The Governor, the Corporations, and the Session He Wouldn't Call
A leaked cabinet meeting shows Governor Ferry weighing an extra legislative session against the wrath of corporations—and his own officials split over whether the state can wait.
- The Fight to Keep Cheney Normal School Open
Students petition Governor McGraw to honor their contract with the state after the institution faces closure due to budget cuts.
- The Mayor's Veto of Arbitrary Police Power
Mayor Ronald strikes down a vehicle regulation ordinance, arguing that delegating absolute control to police officers oversteps the law.
- The Railroad Lobby's Quiet Plan to Buy a Governor and Kill the Commission
A Walla Walla editor warns that railroad interests will avoid an open fight over regulation by nominating a friendly, colorless candidate—then using him to veto the commission bill.
- The Governor's 1895 Warning: Washington Is Spending Itself Into Debt
A message to the legislature tallies a looming deficit, runaway appropriations and a public-land system under pressure — while urging lawmakers to lease harbor areas cheaply and defend taxpayers.
- The Governor Vetoes Debtor Relief—and Warns It Would Speed Foreclosures
Gov. McGraw kills a bill meant to shield struggling debtors, arguing it cannot apply to existing contracts and may trigger the mortgage sales it was supposed to prevent.
- The Veto That Put Outside Capital Ahead of Debt Relief
Governor McGraw kills a deficiency-judgment bill, warning it would drive investors away and leave desperate borrowers to “greedy money-seekers.”
Also about this, in other words
- The Mayor's Veto: A Battle Over City Bonds
Mayor J. T. Ronald blocks a city council ordinance requiring a bond from a waterworks cashier, citing legal advice from the city's corporation counsel.
- The Mayor's Veto: When Seattle Tried to Make the City Pay for Street Improvements
A 1892 legal battle over funding street infrastructure shows that Seattle’s struggle with municipal debt and civic improvement bonds has been brewing for over a century.
- City Council Vetoes Payment to Liquor Dealer's Widow
Mayor H. G. Struve declines an appropriation for a deceased saloonkeeper’s family, citing strict legal and corporate boundaries for public funds.
- The Governor Vetoes Debt Relief, and the Paper Cheers
A bill meant to soften deficiency judgments after foreclosure is killed — on the theory that frightened capital would simply stop lending, hurting the very debtors it was meant to save.
- The House Rejects Treason Resolution
Tensions reach a boiling point in the territorial legislature as members debate the loyalty of Delegate Isaac I. Stevens during the onset of the Civil War.
- The Governor’s Veto and the State’s Looming Deficit
Governor McGraw slashes funding for two new normal schools, citing a constitutional mandate to keep the state's spending within its revenue.
- The Mayor's Battle Against the Saloon
Mayor J. T. Ronald vetoes a retail liquor license, charging the council with 'gerrymandering' and favoring special interests over the well-being of residential neighborhoods and schools.
- Seattle's Mayor Vetoes Boiler Safety Bill Over a Clerical Error
Mayor J. T. Ronald sends a steam-boiler inspection ordinance back to the House of Delegates because a duplicated section would not survive court—and warns that a $3 inspection fee has already stirred opposition.