The City Hall Printing Squabble
Seattle's Board of Aldermen stalls on a contract, sparking a debate over government transparency, political favoritism, and the true meaning of 'general circulation.'
The story, cleaned up
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The board of aldermen met last night to award the contract for city printing but adjourned without taking final action. Indications pointed toward the selection of the Post-Intelligencer and the Telegraph, though the legal grounds for this remain unclear. The city charter mandates that the contract go to the lowest and best bidder that is a newspaper of general circulation, with a preference for the second official paper to hold different political views. The Post-Intelligencer argues that while it would be glad to receive the public printing, it does not wish to profit if the city can save hundreds of dollars by accepting bids from the Press-Times or the Evening Call. The paper maintains that the Populist-leaning Evening Call is a valid candidate for the second spot, whereas the Telegraph is an unjustifiably expensive choice.
“If the bids of the Press-Times and the Call, however, are accepted, hundreds of dollars will be saved to the city, and this amount is worth saving.”
Local government printing contracts were the lifeblood of early Seattle newspapers, serving as both political prizes and reliable revenue streams. Today, the debate over government transparency has moved from printing notices in the back of the paper to the digital accessibility of public records, but the struggle to balance cost-efficiency with fair competition in city procurement remains a persistent theme.
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