Mayor's Office Digital Photographs

Series

Identifier: 5200-03

Staff Only

Scope and Contents note

Collection includes images of Mayor Ed Murray and others at events including: signing ceremonies for minimum wage bill, Race and Social Justice Initiative, and supporting Planned Parenthood; neighborhood summits; Seahawks Superbowl victory celebration; Pride parade; Indigenous Peoples day; and community events including Vietnamese New Year's celebration.

Images from Mayor Mike McGinn's term includes events such as: town halls and budget hearings; visit to Seattle Sister Cities Chongqing and Beijing, China; signing ceremonies for the panhandling ordinance veto and rental inspection resolution; Books on Bikes program; Bike-to-Work Day; South Lake Union trolley announcement; Muckleshoot Canoe Journey; Seattle's first same-sex marriages at City Hall; Fundraiser at Faith Samoan Church; neighborhood tours; and the City Hall Open House.

Collection also contains images of Mayor Greg Nickels and others at events including: signing of the labor union contract with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; the Mayor’s Scholar Awards program and City of Seattle summer interns; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Summit in 2007, which includes images of other mayors and dignitaries from across the United States as well as heads of business who participated in the annual conference.

Also included are images depicting the following events: the swearing-in ceremonies of Seattle Police Chief John Diaz in 2010 and Kathleen O'Toole in 2014; street demonstration protesting the killing of John T. Williams; 2012 Occupy protests on May Day; 2010 Workers Rally March; same-sex marriage ceremonies at City Hall; Bataan-Corregidor Survivor's Association memorial; Pride parades Seafair; Seattle Department of Transportation’s “pot-hole rangers” completing street repairs; and Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith’s attendance at the viewing of the “Jade Buddha” at Co Lam Temple. Also featured in this collection are dignitaries such as Barack Obama, Al Gore, and the Dalai Lama.

Dates

Creation: 2001-2015

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

837 digital image files

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Photographs of mayoral programs and conferences.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Photographs acquired through the Seattle Municipal Archives Digital Image Management Program.

Accruals note

This series may grow due to continued accessioning through the Digital Image Management Program. This finding aid will be updated to reflect additional accessions.