The Unhappy Cities of the First Class
Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane contemplate a joint legal strategy to fix their failing municipal charters and secure expanded city powers.
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.
Mayor Ronald of Seattle has received a communication from Mayor Huson of Tacoma proposing a convention of five citizens from each of the three first-class cities of the state—Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane—to cooperate on legislative needs. Mayor Huson notes that Tacoma’s city council found their current charter to be a failure and entirely inadequate. Chief among the requested powers are rights of eminent domain, the ability to compel property owners to abate nuisances, and improved mechanisms for street grades and tax assessments. President Coryell of the Seattle city council suggested hiring a noted legal expert, such as Judge Dillon of New York or John C. Bullitt of Philadelphia, to draft a robust charter that could be adopted by all three cities simultaneously. Such a collaborative charter, if framed to align with Washington’s constitution, would provide a uniform legal basis for municipal powers and save individual cities the expense of independent legal battles.
“It is not necessary to go into the desirability of such legislation. I have no doubt your city has found itself hindered by lack of adequate legislation and adequate powers under our laws.”
This 1892 push for 'home rule' and specialized municipal authority underscores a perennial tension between Washington's major cities and the state legislature. The desire for a model charter that could be shared across jurisdictions foreshadows modern inter-city collaboration on housing, infrastructure, and regional transit policy.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.