The Power Struggle Behind City Hall's Doors
Tacoma’s city engineer has been ousted following a refusal to resign, exposing a messy conflict over municipal authority and political control.
Tacoma is without a city engineer. Norton L. Taylor, who has occupied that position for the past five and one-half years, has been ejected. Two weeks ago the mayor asked Mr. Taylor to resign and he refused to heed the mayor's request. Mayor Campbell, when asked in regard to the matter, said: 'Taylor is out. A new appointment will be made in a few days.' The city hall officials are silent regarding the matter. Some think that the commissioner of public works is the power that rules that office, while others think the mayor is. The charter of the city when it was first drafted made the city engineer an appointee of the commissioner of public works. On April 7, 1898, the city amended the charter. That amendment says that the mayor, treasurer and controller shall be elected by the people, the city clerk by the Council, and the city attorney and all other officers shall be appointed by the mayor without confirmation by the council.
“Taylor is out. A new appointment will be made in a few days.”
Municipal charter disputes and struggles over mayoral versus administrative authority are as persistent in 21st-century Tacoma as they were in 1904. The question of who holds the true 'power' in city hall remains a central pillar of local civic debate.
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