The Union Candidates for Everett's New Commission
Labor Journal highlights the three union-card carriers entering the race for city commission under Everett's new 1912 charter.
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 Journal has been asked to state what men among those who have filed for commissionerships under the new charter are union men and what their qualifications are. So far, there are three: W. F. Melang, commissioner of public safety; Hans Solie, commissioner of public works; and R. J. Dinger, commissioner of public safety. Melang, a secretary of the bricklayers' union and an eleven-year Everett resident, is running on his own accord. Hans J. Solie, a carpenter and socialist party candidate, was chosen by referendum vote rather than being 'hand-picked.' R. J. Dinger, an electrician, is also a socialist candidate; the Journal notes his past leadership in the Trades Council and his 'executive ability' in navigating tense negotiations, praising him as an 'uncompromising labor man' who exercises tact.
“He is an uncompromising labor man, but he has good sense enough not to try to lift a two-ton weight with a broom straw.”
Everett’s 1912 transition to a commission-style government triggered a local political push to codify labor representation in City Hall. This tension—who truly represents the working class in city government—remains a core theme in Everett municipal elections today.
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