The Seven Wise Men and the Municipal League
Local politics are in flux as the city's power brokers and the Democratic party vie for control ahead of the municipal elections.
The Democratic city convention is set to convene at Ranke's Hall to nominate a municipal ticket, with tensions running high. The process has been complicated by the rise of a 'Citizens' Municipal League' and its committee of 'seven wise men,' who have been accused of being an un-American, elitist group that excludes the masses. Meanwhile, the Republican ticket is being praised by business figures, and the German-American Club has officially condemned the Municipal League for its exclusionary, back-room deal-making. As the convention approaches, candidates are scrambling to secure nominations while navigating the shifting alliances between party regulars and reformers.
“We find that said league was organized behind closed doors, excluding, with the assistance of police officers, the mass of the citizens.”
The rhetoric here—about bankers and wealthy owners controlling nominations 'behind closed doors' versus the will of the common citizen—is a timeless feature of Seattle's populist vs. establishment political battles.
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