The Outsider Candidate Fighting the Political Ring
Frank W. Bixby of Lynden emerges as a reform-minded candidate for prosecuting attorney, bucking against established county political machines.
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 race for prosecuting attorney of this county has simmered down to a struggle between Frank W. Bixby, of Lynden, and the field. He is an able lawyer, has had much practical experience both in this state and in eastern states, and is the candidate of the people. Nearly every road boss in the county is working against him, but this only goes to show that he is not lined up with the gang that has been dominating the politics of this county for years. For the past two months Mr. Bixby has worked continually in the rural districts, and being a man of maturity and agricultural inclinations, having a sheep farm and a cattle farm, he has aroused a host of friends. Mr. Bixby is not backed by any political ring or machine but on the contrary is being especially fought by the machines.
“Vote for him if you are tired of machine rule politics.”
The rhetoric of the 'outsider' candidate fighting the 'political machine' remains a perennial theme in local elections. Bixby’s campaign highlights how local farmers and business owners often framed their candidacy as a moral corrective to entrenched urban-led bureaucracies.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.