Records of the Office of the Mayor

Series

Identifier: 5210-01

Staff Only

Scope and Contents note

Records from the Seattle Mayor's Office mainly from the files of Dorm Braman and Gordon Clinton, but also including material from Floyd Miller's brief term, as well as a small amount from the beginning of Wes Uhlman's time in office. The records reflect a wide variety of issues of public interest in the 1960s. Concerns relating to discrimination, open housing, and civil rights are documented at length. Specifically, photos of the 1964 CORE-sponsored demonstration at realtor office Picture Floor Plans, Inc. Fifty-one photos of this demonstration have been digitized. In total, 97 photos have been digitized. Transportation is another topic covered in depth, including the transit system and METRO, parking issues downtown, I-5, the Lake Washington bridges, I-90, the R.H. Thomson Expressway, and downtown transportation planning. The Century 21 World's Fair in 1962, as well as Seattle Center's transition into a civic campus, is represented as well. The records cover a number of other topics, including urban renewal, environmental issues, civil defense, police actions and complaints, charter amendments, airline service, youth programs, and engineering projects. The files contain a good deal of citizen correspondence reflecting the public's views on a wide variety of issues. There is a small series of other media that includes audio and photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1956-1970

Creator

Seattle (Wash.). Mayor (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access note

Records are open to the public.

Historical Note

The Mayor is the chief executive officer of the City with responsibilities for appointing executive department heads, directing and controlling all subordinate officers and agencies, preparing and executing the City budget, ensuring that the laws of the City are enforced, and maintaining the peace and order in the City. The legal roles and responsibilities of the Mayor are prescribed by the City Charter, state statutes, and municipal ordinances. A candidate for the position must be a citizen of the United States, a qualified elector of the State of Washington, and a registered voter of the City of Seattle at the time of filing his/her declaration of candidacy.

Seattle was incorporated by an act of the Territorial Legislature on December 2, 1869, and the City’s first mayor, Henry A. Atkins, was appointed by the Legislature pending the first City election scheduled for July 1870. The City Charter, granted by the Legislature, set the Mayor’s term of office at one year. Under this first Charter, the Mayor served as ex-officio President of the Common Council. A Charter amendment in 1875 gave the Mayor a vote on Council, but that provision was amended in 1886 to provide for a tie-breaking vote only.

The City's first Freeholders’ Charter (1890) completely separated the Executive and Legislative branches and changed the term of office for the Mayor to two years. Through the first decade of the 20th century, elected offices in Seattle were partisan. A Charter Amendment passed by the voters on March 8, 1910, established non-partisan nominations and elections for all City elective offices. A new Freeholders Charter in 1946 changed the term of the Mayor to four years.

Extent

66.7 Cubic Feet (166 boxes)

97 digital image files

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement note

Chronological

Location of Records

SMA

Associated Digital Objects

href='http://archives.seattle.gov/digital-collections/index.php/Search/objects/search/ca_objects.type_id%253A23+AND+ca_entities.preferred_labels.displayname%253A+PICTURE+FLOOR+PLANS+AND+_fulltext:5210-01'>View 51 digitized CORE-sponsored demonstration photos

Associated Digital Objects

href='http://archives.seattle.gov/digital-collections/index.php/Search/objects/search/ca_objects.type_id%253A23+AND+_fulltext:5210-01'>View all digitized photos in 5210-01