Edmonds Elects First Socialist Mayor in Washington State
In a decisive municipal contest, voter support for W.H. Cook signals a sharp shift in local politics.
Edmonds will have a Socialist mayor following the election held Tuesday. Mayor William Keeler, candidate for re-election on the citizens' ticket, was decisively beaten by W.H. Cook, a Socialist. Keeler ran on a 'dry' platform, while Cook had the support of the 'wets.' Cook is the first Socialist to be elected mayor of any city in the state.
“Cook is the first socialist to be elected mayor of any city in the state.”
In 1910, the divide between 'wet' and 'dry' voters was a primary fault line in Washington politics, long before national Prohibition. The election of a Socialist mayor in a small town like Edmonds reflects the period's intense, radical labor-led organizing that briefly redefined the civic landscape of the Pacific Northwest.
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