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Preceding Mayors
Incorporation Dates
On January 14, 1865,
the Territorial Legislature approved the incorporation of the Town of Seattle
. However, following submission of a petition by several of the Town's citizens,
Seattle was unincorporated on January 28, 1867. Seattle was again incorporated
in late 1869, this time for good. Republican Henry A. Atkins was appointed
the first mayor by the Territorial Legislature. He was subsequently elected
in July 1870. Until 1910 Seattle Mayors were elected on a partisan basis.
Annexations
Between 1905 and 1910, eight small towns
were annexed to the City of Seattle , nearly doubling the physical area of
the City. The height of annexation was in 1907 when the towns of Southeast
Seattle (5.73 sq. miles), Ravenna (0.62 sq. miles), South Park (0.87 sq. miles),
Columbia City (1.12 sq. miles), Ballard (3.71 sq. miles), West Seattle (16.34
sq. miles) and unincorporated Rainier Beach (3.62 sq. miles) all joined the
City of Seattle.
First Jewish Mayor
In 1875, Independent Bailey Gatzert
was elected the first, and thus far only, Jewish mayor of Seattle . Gatzert
was a leading businessman in early Seattle .
First Woman Mayor
Bertha Knight Landes (1868-1943)
was elected mayor in 1926 and served one two-year term. She was the first woman
elected executive in a major American city and is the only woman, to date,
to serve as mayor of Seattle . She was defeated for reelection in 1928.
First African American Mayor
Norman B. Rice was the
first African American to be elected mayor of Seattle . His tenure began January
1, 1990. Prior to his two terms as mayor, he served on City Council for eleven
years.
Mayors are Recalled
Seattle citizens have used the
power of the recall to remove two mayors from office.
Republican Hiram C. Gill was recalled at the election
of February 2, 1911, after serving only one year. Gill was a supporter of
permissive “open
town” policies. The recall effort began after the construction of a 500
room brothel on Beacon Hill . Gill was recalled three months after women gained
the right to vote -- 20,000 of the 23,000 registered women voters turned out
for the recall election. Gill was subsequently reelected to a second term in
1914 and a third term in 1916 as a proponent of restrictive “closed town” policies.
Frank Edwards was recalled in July 1931, one year into his second term as
mayor after he dismissed popular City Light Superintendent J.D. Ross.
Longest Tenure as Mayor
Charles T. Royer served twelve
years (1978-1989), being elected to three terms. William F. Devin was elected
to four terms, but three of those were two-year terms. His length of service
was ten years.
Strange Mayoral Events
In 1873, Republican Mayor Corliss
P. Stone reportedly embezzles $15,000 from his firm and leaves for San Francisco
with a woman who is married to another man.
Republican Frank D. Black was elected mayor in 1896. He had not actively
sought office, did not actively campaign, and did not want the position; but
he was nominated and elected nonetheless. He resigned after serving just three
weeks. The City Council then selected William D. Wood to serve out Black's
term.
On August 14, 1897, William D. Wood requested a temporary
leave of absence from the City for at least 90 days to take care of unspecified
business. He had caught the gold fever, left Seattle for the Klondike , and
would not return to serve out his term of office. Thomas J. Humes was selected
by City Council on the 65th ballot to fill Wood’s unexpired term.
List of Mayors
Visit this site to see a list of all of Seattle's Mayors.
More Information on Your City Mayors:
Seattle/King County HistoryLink
Seattle Municipal Archives: Mayors of the City of Seattle
The Seattle Times: 100 Years in the Northwest
Political Graveyard, Index to Politicians: Mayors of Seattle, Washington
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