City Council Chaos in Ballard
A legislative meeting descends into insults and empty chairs as councilmen walk out, leaving city business—and city paychecks—in limbo.
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.
The regular meeting of the city council of Ballard, Tuesday night, was an unusually eventful one. Councilmen Shirtliff and McDonald, Populists, who have been absenting themselves for some time, were present, and a lively row between Councilmen Looney and McDonald, followed by the abrupt departure of Shirtliff and McDonald, who were afterwards unmercifully scored by Mayor A. E. Pretty, made the short session an unusually interesting one. The session began by the presentation of a number of bills, among them one for street work, O.K.'d by Councilman Looney, chairman of the street committee, which caused assertions and denials in hot, angry tones between Looney and McDonald. McDonald stated the work had been ordered upon the authority of Looney alone. Looney in reply said he had consulted the other member of the committee before he resigned. Councilman Looney then moved that a councilman be elected in place of the resigned member. Councilman Shirtliff asked to be excused and, without waiting for permission, abruptly left the room. McDonald then did the same, and the council was left without a quorum. The mayor then sailed into the offending councilmen, stating he wished the whole community could witness their conduct, which he considered an insult to the chair and the intelligence of the community. He noted that laborers on the sewer were waiting for their pay and salary ordinances were pending, yet business was halted by the walkout.
“No better example of the ignorance of these men could be given than what they had just witnessed.”
Local government gridlock fueled by personality clashes and petty procedural warfare remains a recurring theme in Washington’s municipal politics. The frustration of workers waiting on paychecks due to council walkouts echoes similar budgetary standoffs that still occasionally paralyze regional legislative bodies today.
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