The Pioneer Farmer Who Wanted to Represent King County
In the lead-up to the 1870 election, the local press championed a practical farmer from the Black River valley to bring common sense to government.
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.
Among the candidates for in this election to our next Assembly, our readers will observe the name of Mr. Tibbetts, for years a resident of this county, but for some time past, and now, an occupant of the Flettner Farm, on Black River. Mr. Tibbetts is a man of ordinary culture and a practical man, and one of the best candidates for the position for which he is put forward; and, without saying to the disparagement of any other candidate for that office, we would urge his election upon all who desire to see King County well represented, for the reason that we, as well as many others who know the man, can vouch for his superior fitness and capacity.
“Mr. Tibbetts is a man of ordinary culture and a practical man, and one of the best candidates for the position.”
This 1870 endorsement highlights the perennial tension in Seattle politics between professional politicians and the 'practical man.' It mirrors today’s ongoing debate about whether local government should be staffed by technocrats or citizens with deep, lived ties to the neighborhoods they serve.
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