Snohomish County Grange Flexes Political Muscle
The regional Grange movement establishes a rigorous questionnaire for legislative candidates, demanding positions on suffrage, direct democracy, and railroad reform.
The Snohomish County Grange held a spirited convention in Edmonds, signaling its emergence as a powerful political factor. The organization adopted a platform advocating for direct legislation, the recall, women's suffrage, and the nomination of Supreme Court judges by popular vote. The legislative committee announced they would grill all candidates for the state legislature on these specific issues, including a pledge to follow the people's choice for United States senator. The Grange is also pushing for state-led agricultural education in high schools and the development of a $250,000 state co-operative enterprise to serve as a central buying and selling depot for farmers.
“It is hot-footing it after grafters and deceptive office seekers.”
The Grange's use of a 'candidate scorecard' was a pioneering tactic in Washington politics. This push for transparency and direct democracy mirrors contemporary voter efforts to hold representatives accountable to specific ideological benchmarks.
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