The Mayor's Moonlighting Problem
A local newspaper accuses Mayor Ronald of neglecting his civic duties to pursue private legal practice—specifically while defending a client in a case investigated by his own police force.
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.
In the late proceedings against Mr. O. H. Heilbron as a member of the board of public works, Mayor Ronald and his partisans urged against Mr. Heilbron the fact that he did not devote all of his time to the interests of the city. In view of Mayor Ronald's widely expressed determination to hold all the city officials closely down to public business, one would naturally suppose that he himself devoted his entire time to the city. Such a supposition would not be altogether correct, however, for it was only on last Tuesday that a proposed official inspection of the city parks was postponed because Mayor Ronald was in court looking after the interests of a client. The truth is that Mayor Ronald is pegging away at his law practice as diligently as he was before greatness was thrust upon him. Dr. Ballard, who was accused of complicity in the Radloff business, serves as an example. Mayor Ronald, who was in constant communication with the Chief of Police regarding the investigation, appeared at the preliminary examination as the attorney for the accused. He had virtually accepted a case against his own police force, using his 'inside knowledge' to cross-examine the prosecution's witness.
“He had virtually accepted a case against his own police force.”
Conflicts of interest for elected officials remain a potent issue in Seattle politics, particularly regarding the intersection of private professional life and public duty. While mayor-as-attorney is less common today, the tension over how much of a public servant's time belongs to the city versus private endeavors remains a standard beat in civic governance reporting.
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