Aberdeen’s New Council Stumbles at the Start
A much-anticipated council meeting ends in a stalemate, leaving citizens waiting for action on municipal appointments.
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 city council was born Tuesday. A large crowd of interested and curious citizens watched the accouchement. It was known that the officers elected by the council would be announced, and the candidates and their friends were at city hall in force. When the motion was made to proceed to the election, the crowd's curiosity remained unrealized; an adjournment prevailed, putting the souls on the anxious seat for another week. The chair appointed Councilmen Linn and Thomas to escort Mayor-elect Weatherwax to the chair, which duty was performed. The new mayor appointed Councilmen Linn and Thomas to swear in the new councilmen, whereupon the ex-members of the council retired without the pale. Clerk Mack administered the oath of office to the mayor and officers in a body.
“A large crowd of interested and curious citizens watched the accouchement.”
Early council meetings in 1892 Aberdeen were spectacles of local patronage, where appointments were closely watched by 'interested' citizens. Today, while council meetings are more formal, the tension between public expectation and political process remains a staple of civic life in Grays Harbor.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.