The Political Fight for City Hall
Tacoma councilmen are plotting to dismantle civil service protections to clear the way for their own political appointments.
If the present city council does anything to revise the charter this spring, it will likely be to abolish the civil service so that experienced city employees can be dismissed to make room for political henchmen. Councilman Turnbull and his clique are particularly focused on securing the positions of Fire Chief McAlevy and Engineer Davis. When Mayor Linck took office, councilmen created a path to City Hall to secure jobs for their friends, but they are now unsatisfied with the limitations of the current system. During a charter revision committee meeting, there was discussion of reducing the number of councilmen to nine as a strategic move to undermine the movement for a commission form of government. No formal action was taken, as it remains unclear if the council has enough support to proceed with these partisan goals.
“They want to get the scalp of Fire Chief McAlevy, Engineer Davis and the rest of the heads of departments.”
The tension between professional civil service protections and political patronage remains a fundamental conflict in local governance, echoing modern debates over municipal staffing and administrative transparency.
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