The Mayor's Cozy Contracts
Walla Walla’s mayor is accused of self-dealing, funneling city money into his own foundry while dodging newspaper scrutiny.
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.
Mayor and School Director Hunt, after selling thousands of dollars worth of supplies to the city and the school district in violation of laws he took a solemn oath to uphold, now pretends to suffer from compunctions of conscience. He refuses to allow the Statesman to have the contract for city advertising, to which it is entitled as the lowest bidder, for the alleged reason that he is a stockholder in the Statesman Publishing Company. If Gilbert Hunt is a stockholder, he attained that honor only within the last few days for the express purpose of beating the paper out of the contract. He should make restitution to the city for the money he made out of the Worley contract, the Paine school, repair of the rock crusher for the use of private contractors, and other jobs of which he knows more than anybody else. He acknowledged that the iron bands and rods made by his foundry for Worley could have been made by any blacksmith in the city, confessing there was no excuse for his violation of the law.
“He should bring forth fruits meet for repentance.”
Conflicts of interest and the 'cozy' relationship between local officials and their own business ventures remain a perennial concern in municipal politics. The struggle between the press and a powerful political machine over public contracts highlights the role of newspapers as essential watchdogs against institutional graft.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.