The Real Estate Board’s Bold Stand: Seattle Votes Against Franchise Extension
In a significant move for municipal control, the Seattle Real Estate Board has passed a resolution favoring public ownership of street railways and opposing the extension of the franchise to the newly consolidated private company.
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At the Real Estate Board’s Saturday afternoon meeting, a resolution was passed favoring municipal ownership of the street railways.
The resolution also opposed granting the new franchise to the new consolidated company.
This 1903 resolution captures an early chapter in Seattle’s long struggle with public transit ownership. Just as modern Seattleites debate Sound Transit funding, light rail expansion, and the privatization of services, this historical moment shows that the tension between private profit and public utility is not a new phenomenon for the city's infrastructure.
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