The Republican City Convention
Byron Phelps nominated for Mayor in a swift and orderly convention held at the Armory.
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 wisdom of affording plenty of time to discuss the merits of candidates was shown conspicuously by the good feeling displayed in the Republican city convention. Glancing over the list of delegates, nobody familiar with municipal affairs can fail to recognize the fact that they comprise every station in life, every calling in business, and every phase of the Republican party. There was at no time a sign of friction. The choice for mayor fell on Byron Phelps. Mr. Phelps has had a remarkable career as a public official and a singularly unblemished reputation in private life. The enthusiasm with which the gallant cavalryman was received was not due to his record as a soldier, but to his virtues as a man and a peaceable citizen. He was the first choice of several members of the Citizens' committee, but declined the offered nomination, and only consented to run after repeated appeals by prominent citizens. The convention was one of the shortest on record. It assembled at 10 o'clock and adjourned within an hour, so that committees might prepare their reports. Soon after 1 o'clock it re-convened, and soon after 4 o'clock the convention had concluded its task.
“Never before, I believe, in the history of the city of Seattle have its people been so thoroughly aroused to the necessity of energetic and decisive action in the direction of municipal reform.”
This 1894 convention highlights the early role of the 'Citizens' committee' in Seattle's political history, showing how local elites curated municipal candidates long before our modern non-partisan system. The event took place at the Armory, a frequent site for early civic gatherings in the city's growth era.
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