Socialists Enter Tacoma Municipal Election
Local labor unions mobilize a political challenge with a full municipal ticket aimed at the city 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.
The Socialist party has decided to enter the municipal campaign and will put a full city ticket in the field. The following candidates have been named: For Mayor, J.W. Smith, member of Carpenters' Union No. 471; for Treasurer, Burt Williams; for Controller, George Tritot, member of Carpenters' Union No. 476. Council candidates include V. Musigett (mill worker) for the First Ward; John Seybold (Longshoremen's Union No. 306) for the Second Ward; W.A. Crowle (Blacksmiths' Union No. 417) for the Third Ward; J. Yordy (filer) for the Fourth Ward; and A.H. Bent (moulder) and U.M. Gham (merchant) for the Fifth Ward. A committee consisting of John Seybold and W.A. Crowle was appointed to fill out the balance of the ticket. The nominations were made at a convention held February 21, but the matter was kept quiet at the time to best serve the interests of the party.
“The Socialist party has decided to enter the municipal campaign, and will put a full city ticket in the field.”
The emergence of a labor-focused third ticket in 1904 captures the intense class politics of early 20th-century Tacoma, where union members felt excluded by the two-party system. This struggle for political representation from the shop floor remains a perennial theme in Tacoma's civic life.
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