The Seattle Municipal Landslide of 1900
Voters reject a fusion ticket of populists and prohibitionists, cementing a 'liberal' policy for Seattle's gambling and liquor trades.
Seattle, March 7.—Complete returns of the city election show that the entire republican ticket was elected by pluralities ranging from 1500 to 2500. Mayor Thomas J. Humes was re-elected by a landslide, defeating the fusionist candidate George F. Cotterill. The issue was clear-cut: Humes represented a 'liberal' policy, allowing gambling and saloons to operate under police supervision while restricting fallen women to one quarter of the city. Cotterill, a populist and prohibitionist, was supported by the church element and had pledged to close public gambling and restrict the sale of liquor. The results indicate that the church people, whom the fusionists confidently predicted would vote for Cotterill, failed to do so in any large numbers.
“Mr. Humes declared he would allow gambling and the saloons to run under police supervision and restrict fallen women to one quarter of the city.”
This election represents a pivotal moment in the Pacific Northwest's struggle between moral reform movements and the rapid, laissez-faire expansion of city commerce. The tension between a 'liberal' urban center and the morality-driven 'fusion' politics of the era echoes modern debates about downtown revitalization and civic zoning.
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