The City Council’s Late-Night Ordeal over Waterworks
A stormy session of the Seattle City Council lasted until after midnight as members wrestled with the city waterworks contract and debated the appointment of a new sanitary officer.
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The council had a very stormy, snowy evening, lasting until after midnight. Councilmen White and Dent got into a heated dispute over the contract for work on city waterworks, and nearly an hour later, a motion was made to elect a new sanitary officer, but a majority defeated the motion by voting to remain over. A committee was named to visit the building Saturday to visit the city waterworks to check the progress of the work.
“The council had a very stormy, snowy evening, lasting until after midnight.”
The late-night squabbles over municipal infrastructure and sanitary bureaucracy in 1888 mirror the perennial gridlock seen in Seattle City Council chambers today. Whether it is waterworks or light rail, the city's growth has always invited heated, long-winded debates over the mechanics of civic progress.
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