The Harbor Plan That Won on 214 Votes—and Three Ballots on Nob Hill
A port-district proposition for harbor improvements passed by 22 votes in a listless special election, with one polling place recording only three ballots.
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.
At the Port District election last Saturday, the proposition for harbor improvement carried by a majority of 22 votes, with 214 votes cast. Ingwall Smith was elected commissioner from the third district to succeed G. M. Annis, there being no opposition to his candidacy.
At the polling place on Nob Hill it was a sleepy afternoon for the election officials, as only three votes were cast; two of these were the votes of the election judges. Things were almost as quiet at the other polling places. The vote follows: First ward, 27 for, 13 against; second ward, 62 for, 24 against; third ward, 18 for, 56 against; Highlands, 8 for, none against; Valley, 1 for, 2 against; Gardens, 7 for, 1 against.
Adoption of the plan gives the commissioners authority to make expenditures on the harbor, but the only expenditure contemplated at this time is the purchase of the present dock and some slight repairs on it. This can be done out of funds already raised by the two-mill tax levy.
“Out at the polling place on Nob Hill it was a sleepy afternoon for the election officials, as only three votes were cast, two of these being the votes of the election judges.”
Port districts and special-purpose elections still decide some of the region’s most consequential infrastructure spending, often on thin turnout. Kennewick’s waterfront and industrial land are now central to its identity, but this 1916 vote shows how a 22-vote margin could authorize a public dock and a tax levy.
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