Tacoma Citizens Demand Commission Government
Frustrated by the city council's refusal to act, reformers begin a petition drive to force a charter revision election.
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Having given the city council a fair chance to support the commission plan of government for Tacoma—which the politicians with axes to grind turned down—the people will now cut loose and go it alone. Members of the committee in charge declare they will make no more appeals to the council. They will now press ahead to secure the required number of signatures to a petition, which will force the council to call an election of freeholders to revise the city charter. When this committee is selected, it is expected it will frame a charter that will put the peanut politicians of the council out of business permanently. Meanwhile, legal questions have arisen regarding the state's new primary law, which may force a re-registration of all voters unless the provision requiring party affiliation at registration is struck down by the supreme court.
“When this committee is selected it is expected it will frame a charter that will put the peanut politicians of the council out of business permanently.”
This 1909 fight reflects the long-standing tension in Tacoma between centralized city hall control and grassroots democratic reform. The 'commission plan' was a progressive-era precursor to today's council-manager systems, and debates over voter registration and political 'bossism' remain central to local civic life.
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