The Mayor, the Contracts, and the Treasurer Who Refused to Pay
Mayor Weatherwax's ties to city contracts raised a legal question: could a business man hold office in the city where he did business? The answer could reshape municipal government across Washington.
There is trouble in Aberdeen over Mayor Weatherwax, who, it is said, is ineligible to the office by reason of his connection with certain contracts between the city and various corporations. It is said the treasurer has refused to honor warrants signed by the mayor. It may result, says the Aberdeen Bulletin, in bringing before the courts that section of the law which prohibits any business man from holding office in the city in which he resides. A decision on this matter will be carefully watched by all municipal corporations in the state.
“It may result ... in bringing before the courts that section of the law which prohibits any business man from holding office in the city in which he resides.”
Conflict-of-interest rules for local officials are now standard, but in 1892 the question of whether a businessman could sit in the mayor's chair was still being tested in court. Aberdeen's fight foreshadows the modern ethics commissions and eligibility challenges that follow officials into office.
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