City Council Caught in Illegal Power Play
Local officials in Walla Walla are accused of violating the city charter to oust a veteran from his position as poundmaster.
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Three members of the city council at a special meeting last night, at which only four members were present, passed to the third reading an ordinance abolishing the office of poundmaster. Adjournment was then taken until Monday morning, as it will require a majority vote of the full council to place the ordinance on final passage. This move on the part of the administration was forecasted by the Statesman Wednesday evening. The introduction of this ordinance was a confession on the part of the members of the council who voted to oust B. K. Harding, the Grand Army veteran, from the position to which he was legally elected, that they had violated the law. The special meeting of the council last night was plainly illegal and its action was, therefore, null and void. The mayor and the members of the council voting with him on this proposition will be under the necessity of taking another hitch at their trousers before stepping over the high fence that encloses the city pound.
“A little study of the city charter would save some members of the city's official family from the chagrin that comes from making blunders through ignorance of the law.”
Local political maneuvering often pivots on procedural disputes over hiring and firing, a theme that remains a staple of municipal friction today. The 'poundmaster' role, once a significant civic appointment, highlights the shift in how Walla Walla has managed public infrastructure and local employment through the decades.
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