A Heated Clash at City Hall
A contractor and a former mayor trade sharp words before the Tacoma City Council over stalled infrastructure payments.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A scene of considerable warmth occurred in the Tacoma city council chamber on Monday evening when a dispute arose between Mr. Boyd, a contractor, and ex-mayor J. C. Mann. Mr. Boyd complained that the council did not think it best to pay for certain street improvements, and he was quite offended by the turn of events. He insisted that the city had entered into an agreement with him for the work, and he felt it should be honored. A friend with Mr. Mann suggested he be more temperate, but the sparks flew regardless. Mr. Boyd had been vocal about the payment he was owed, claiming he had built the work with the purpose of improving his city, but felt he was being ignored by the local government.
“A friend with Mr. Mann suggested he be more temperate, but the sparks flew regardless.”
The perennial struggle between independent contractors and municipal bureaucracy regarding payment for public works remains a flashpoint in Seattle and Tacoma city politics, echoing the same frustrations over civic accountability seen here in 1887.
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