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Seattle Mayor's Office Central Files, 1979-2002

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.). Mayor
Title
Seattle Mayor's Office Central Files
Dates
1979-2002 (inclusive)
Quantity
12 cubic feet, (30 boxes)
Collection Number
5200-07
Summary
Central file created and maintained by the Office of the Mayor.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for processing this record series was provided through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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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.

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Content Description

Correspondence, reports, memos, and other records retained in the Office of the Mayor. Rather than being filed with a particular Mayor's subject correspondence, these records were kept for reference purposes, often into succeeding mayoral administrations. Topics covered include ongoing concerns such as homelessness, neighborhoods, and the arts, as well as specific projects such as the sculpture park and the Seattle Commons. The series includes records documenting the city's involvement with the Seattle Mariners baseball team through the 1980s and 1990s, including issues surrounding the sale of the team in 1992. Also included are records relating to domestic partnerships, housing, Sand Point, transit, Weed and Seed, telecommunications, KeyArena, and the Pang warehouse fire.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle Mayor's Office Central Files, Record Series 5200-07. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Separated Materials

Publications were pulled from the collection and are cataloged separately in the Published Documents Index.

Processing Note

The records formerly cataloged as 5272-08 (Norm Rice Central Files) were integrated into this record series.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Arts--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • City planning--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Domestic partner benefits--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Homelessness--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Housing--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • KeyArena (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Land use--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Municipal services--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Neighborhoods--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Seattle Commons (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Telecommunication--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Warren G. Magnuson Park (Seattle, Wash.)

Personal Names

  • Nickels, Greg
  • Rice, Norman B.
  • Royer, Charles, 1939-
  • Schell, Paul, 1937-

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). Mayor
  • Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Wash.)
  • Seattle Mariners (Baseball team)

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Finding aid prepared by Julie Kerssen
2010

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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