Wesley C. Uhlman Subject Files

Series

Identifier: 5287-02

Staff Only

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence, reports, and other records related to the issues, programs, and organizations that were part of the work of the Mayor's Office during Uhlman's tenure. Topics range in scale from large transportation projects and the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial to individual parks and fire stations. The records include correspondence with and about local organizations, boards and commissions, and other governmental entities. The records also include routine mayoral correspondence such as thank you letters, congratulations, responses to invitations, condolences, and letters of introduction. The emergence of a number of issues and movements can be traced in these records, including the creation of environmental policy and the codification of historic preservation in the city. Civil rights and related issues are documented in records relating to demonstrations, affirmative action, redlining, school desegregation, the Black Panthers, and the city's first Gay Pride proclamation. Transportation projects are detailed in files about Interstate 90, rapid transit, and freeway projects, and records about Fort Lawton, Sand Point, and the Kingdome relate to major land use issues of the day. Other topics represented in this series include Forward Thrust, drug abuse, housing, city charter amendments, the Burke-Gilman Trail, major league baseball, the municipal building, neighborhood issues, Seafair, sister cities, and the city's animal shelter.

Dates

Creation: 1957-1977

Creator

Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk (Organization)
Uhlman, Wesley C. (Wesley Carl), 1935- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access note

Records are open to the public.

Biographical Note

Wes Uhlman was born in 1935 in Cashmere, Washington. He attended Aberdeen High School, Seattle Pacific College, and the University of Washington, where he served as president of the Young Democrats. He married a classmate, Leila Hammond, and returned to UW for law school in 1956.

In 1958, as a 23-year-old law student, he defeated incumbent Republican Hartney Oakes to represent the 32nd district in the Washington State House of Representatives, becoming the youngest member of the State Legislature. He served four terms before running for, and winning, a seat in the Washington State Senate.

Uhlman was elected Mayor in 1969, the first Democrat in almost 30 years. He was immediately faced with a host of problems ranging from racial tensions and large anti-war demonstrations to a police scandal and an economic downturn. He responded by overhauling the city bureaucracy, encouraging increased citizen participation in government, and expanding social services. He was a strong believer in affirmative action, and the percentage of City workers who were minorities doubled during his time in office.

He left the mayor's office in 1977 after serving two terms that included an unsuccessful run for governor in 1976. After his political career, he worked in law and real estate development.