The Wild Council Deadlock of Ellensburg
After months of political stalemate, kidnapping threats, and accusations of illegal voting, the founder of Ellensburg is finally ousted from the mayor's office.
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 Ellensburg council deadlock is broken at last, and one-half of the people of that town are mourning, while the other half are exuberant. John Shoudy is no longer mayor, that municipal dignity now investing the young shoulders of H.M. Baldwin, the popular Northern Pacific station agent. The fight started when two council tickets were presented, resulting in a tie vote for mayor and four councilmen from each side. Mayor Shoudy held over until his successor was elected, and each faction had its own pet candidates. Official meetings resulted in a deadlock, and unofficial meetings were held where desperate schemes were broached. Kidnapping was suggested, and might have been carried out had it not been for rumors that Councilman Frank Boasong was not a citizen. Plans were laid to swear out a warrant and have Boasong arrested for illegal voting just before the council met. Boasong concluded he had better resign and take out citizenship papers. This broke up the faction, and Councilman Mike Linder resigned as well. On Saturday night, the council met. Mayor Shoudy sat in the chair, but when the council overruled his ruling on the meeting's legitimacy, he saw he was to be bounced. He drew his resignation, put his hat on over his silk skull cap, and strode out into the darkness. The council then proceeded to fill the vacancies with their own selections.
“Kidnapping was suggested, and might have been carried out had it not been that the rumor gained circulation that Councilman Frank Boasong was not a citizen.”
Local government gridlock remains a staple of civic life, though today it's usually settled by ballot rather than threats of citizen's arrest. The 'founder' status of John Shoudy underscores a time when the power dynamics in nascent Washington towns were often dominated by the men who literally owned the townsite.
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