Editorial Challenges Mayor Hunt Over Plant Contracts
Walla Walla's local paper challenges the Mayor’s business dealings with the city under state anti-corruption laws.
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 Statesman has no personal grudge against Mayor Gilbert Hunt and it has only the most friendly feelings toward his manufacturing plant, which is recognized as one of the solid industries of the city. In opposing the election of Mayor Hunt, the Statesman has endeavored to confine itself to facts taken from the official records. We believe that under a recent decision of the state supreme court, Mr. Hunt as mayor and school director has violated the law prohibiting him in either official capacity from doing business with his private industry. The law plainly says that no city official or school director shall be directly or indirectly interested in the sale of supplies to the city or school district. Every city official and school director takes an oath to obey this and all other laws. Certainly it is not right to place Mr. Hunt in a position where it may seem necessary for him to violate his sacred oath.
“Certainly it is not right to place Mr. Hunt in a position where it may seem necessary for him to violate his sacred oath.”
Conflicts of interest involving local elected officials remain a perennial subject of debate in Walla Walla. The tension between supporting a local business owner and enforcing government ethics laws echoes contemporary civic discourse regarding municipal procurement.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.