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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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| Name | George F. Cotterill |
| Address |
Seattle, Washington , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
November 18, 1865
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| Died | October 13, 1958
(92 years)
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| Contributor | Wishful Thinking |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Nov 19, 2015 06:13pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | George Fletcher Cotterill served Seattle and the state of Washington for more than 40 years as a civil servant and elected official. He advocated woman suffrage, parks, port districts, Prohibition, and public ownership of utilities. He was a leader among Democrats and progressive Republicans.
Originally a Republican, in 1900, Cotterill supported Democrat William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925). Cotterill ran for mayor in 1900 as a non-partisan candidate, but his movement merged with the Democratic Party. In a city, county, and state dominated by Republicans, Cotterill lost. He resigned as assistant city engineer and resumed private practice.
Cotterill also supported the public ownership of utilities and he became identified as a progressive. In 1902, the Democratic Party urged him to run for congressman-at-large and despite running 3,000 votes ahead of other Democratic candidates, he lost.
In 1906, he ran for the state senate in a strong Republican district, but with the support of progressive Republicans, he won, one of three Democrats in a body of 42. Cotterill became the leader of progressive Republicans, resulting in the passage of a direct primary law in 1907. He used his leadership to back the construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and to preserve shorelines for the University of Washington and for city parks.
In 1909, Cotterill took the lead in drafting the local option law in a step towards prohibition. He framed the constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. Woman suffrage in Washington became reality in 1910, just in time to help him in another campaign. He helped pass the law that provided for the formation of port districts and he helped with the Washington Workman's Compensation Law, which became a model for the nation.
1910 Seattle Mayor Hiram Gill (1869-1919) came under fire for his permissive approach to vice. He declared Seattle "an open city" and he appointed Charles Wappenstein as Chief of Police to implement the policy. Gill was accused of undermining Seattle City Light by secretly cooperating with the privately owned Seattle Electric Company. Voters, with the help of newly enfranchised women, recalled Gill in 1911. Wappenstein later went to prison for his crimes.
Real Estate man George W. Dilling (d. 1951) was elected mayor to replace Gill, and Cotterill ran for the office in 1912. Hiram Gill ran too, as a Republican. Cotterill had long supported the public ownership of utilities and with his stance on Prohibition, he garnered the votes of the "moral" middle class and women.
Cotterill did not seek reelection in 1914 and instead ran for the U.S. Senate, unsuccessfully. Prohibition, which he supported, finally succeeded in 1914 when the state of Washington banned the manufacture, sale, and possession of alcohol.
In 1922, he was elected to the first of four terms on the Seattle Port Commission. Cotterill had always supported the development of seaports as public entities. After his service on the Port Commission he took a position in the King County Assessor's Office, which he held until the age of 84 when he retired.
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