Ballard City Council Deadlocked Over Salary Cuts
Two Populist councilmen boycott city hall meetings to prevent a quorum and block salary reductions for their political allies.
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The city council of Ballard is deadlocked on the question of reducing salaries by the refusal of two Populist members, F. C. Shirtliff and A. McDonald, to attend the meetings, thus preventing a quorum from being secured. There being only $3,000 available for salaries for the next year and the present salary list aggregating $6,000, it became necessary to make a reduction. All the reductions were agreed to except that of the clerk's salary from $50 to $30, which McDonald and Shirtliff opposed. On Tuesday night, only Mayor Pretty and Councilmen W. M. Curtiss, R. W. Baker and A. Looney were present. As four members constitute a quorum, an adjournment was taken. The marshal was instructed to notify Shirtliff and McDonald to be present, but they failed to attend, the marshal reporting that McDonald had gone fishing and that Shirtliff was at a dance. It is believed they are absenting themselves in hopes that their friends, E. O. Marsh and John Keane, will either remain in office or be succeeded by other Populists. When asked by a reporter why he did not attend, Shirtliff boldly declared his object was to defeat the salary ordinance.
“The marshal reported that McDonald had gone fishing and that Shirtliff was at a dance.”
Ballard was an independent city at this time, known for its strong labor and Populist presence. The tactic of boycotting meetings to deny a quorum remains a familiar weapon in local political arsenals, showing that the struggle over city budgets and the protection of municipal staff is a century-old Seattle tradition.
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