The Revolutionary & Progressive 1911 Charter of Pueblo City: A Timeline
"I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation. [Y]our sex are naturally tyrannical is a truth so thoroughly established as to admit of no dispute." ~Abigail
On November 15, 1777, after 16 months of debate, the United States (2nd Continental Congress) pass their 1st Charter (i.e. Constitution): The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. A guiding principle of the 1st American Charter Convention was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the lucky individual 13 states. The federal government received only those powers which the colonies had recognized as belonging to the monarchy.
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The 2nd US Charter Convention
On September 17, 1787, after 4,000 farmer-American-Revolutionary-War-soldiers rightly & justly rebelled against the corporate banks who were foreclosing on their western Massachusetts homes, a brand new United States codified their 2nd Charter in Philadelphia to make sure that shit never happens again. The proposed Constitution would be ratified by all 13 states by 1790.
Thomas Jefferson right observed that, really, "What signify a few lives lost in a century or two?", regarding Shays Rebellion. "God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion," the slave owner mused.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
"It is its natural manure."
"Let them take arms."
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"One man with courage makes a majority." ~Johnathan Masters, 2018 (falsely attributed to Andrew Jackson)
In 1851, the first European settlement in Colorado was settled in San Luis.
On December 25, 1854, after negotiating treaties with Native American groups prove unsatisfactory, this results in conflict as the Utes kill fifteen inhabitants of Fort Pueblo on Christmas Day.
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Colorado's 1st Charter Convention
In April 1859, a small preliminary charter convention was held at Wootton's Hall in Auraria to discuss creating a brand spanking new US State called Jefferson in order to govern the gold fields.
On June 6, 1859, the first real Colorado Charter Convention began.
On August 1, 1859, the 167 representatives from 37 districts finally adopts a constitution for Jefferson State. This proposed state constitution is a modified version of the 2nd Constitution of Iowa State that was drafted in 1857.
On September 24, 1859, the voters of Colorado rejected the Jefferson State constitution, being in favor of creating Jefferson Territory instead.
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Colorado's 2nd Charter Convention
On October 3, 1859, the second Jefferson Constitutional Convention meeting in Denver City adopts a proposed Constitution of the Territory of Jefferson. This proposed territorial constitution is a modified version of the rejected state constitution that was drafted two months earlier.
Afterwards, the government of the Jefferson Territory grant a charter to the consolidated City of Denver, Auraria, and Highland, more commonly known as Denver City, as the territorial capital and seat of Arrappahoe County. The government of Jefferson Territory is organized without permission from Washington DC.
The Jefferson Territory is mostly concerned with governing the gold camps. Officers are elected, and prospectors spread throughout the Rocky mountains and establish camps at Boulder, Colorado City, Gold Hill, Hamilton, Tarryall, and in Pueblo City.
From October 24, 1859 to 1861, the Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was self-organized & freely administered the region.
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Denver City's 1st Charter Convention
On October 1, 1860, Denver City voters approved the Constitution of the People's Government of Denver, an independent municipal government. It only took Denver 1 time to get it right. IT would take Colorado 6 times. Denver City was created to service those on their way to mine gold in the Rockies.
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Colorado's 3rd Charter Convention
On February 28, 1861, President James Buchanan signed the organic act creating the Territory of Colorado during the Southern states secession that precipitated the American Civil War. The boundaries of the Colorado Territory were identical with those of the current State of Colorado. The territory had its capital first at Colorado City (1861–62).
In 1861, the Colorado Territorial Legislature creates 17 counties: Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, Costilla, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Gilpin, Guadalupe, Huerfano, Jefferson, Lake, Larimer, Park, Pueblo (named after Pueblo City), Summit, and Weld County.
In 1862, Pueblo County, named after Pueblo City, is established, one year after the creation of the Colorado Territory.
From 1861 to 1876, the Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States. Over its short lifespan, the territory had seven separate governors (holding eight separate appointments), including William Gilpin (1861-1862), John Evans (1862-1865), Samuel Hitt Elbert (1873–1874), and John Long Routt (1875).
From 1862 to 1867, the capital of the Colorado Territorial Legislature was at Golden City.
From 1867 to 1876, the capital of the Colorado Territorial Legislature was at Denver City (1867–76). The capital’s move to Denver was hotly debated and allegedly settled by a narrow one-vote margin.
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Colorado's 4th Charter Convention
Before Lincoln was shot & killed, on July 11, 1864, the 4th Colorado Constitutional Convention meeting in Denver City adopted a proposed Constitution of the State of Colorado. This proposed state constitution was inspired by the Wyandotte Constitution of the State of Kansas drafted in 1859.
On October 11, 1864, by 3,000 votes, by a vote of 1520 to 4672, by a ratio of 1-to-3, Colorado voters reject the proposed Colorado State Constitution, just like they rejected the Jefferson State constitution on September 24, 1859.
In 1864, the voters of Colorado didn't like how the proposed Colorado State constitution already had a preselected slate of candidates for state and national office, and that's the main reason they rejected it.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House.
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Colorado's 5th Charter Convention
On August 12, 1865, nearly 4 months after Republican Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head & killed by John Wilkes Booth, the 5th Colorado Charter Convention adopted a second proposed Constitution of the State of Colorado.
On September 1, 1865, Colorado voters approve the second proposed Constitution for the State of Colorado. The people of Colorado rejoice.
Andrew Johnson furious that a pro-Union territory such as Colorado wanted to exist that he refused to declare Colorado's statehood.
On May 15, 1866 & January 1, 1867, the Radical Republicans in Congress passed 2 Colorado Statehood Bills, but Confederate-sympathizer Andrew Johnson vetoed them both.
In 1868, the Pueblo Chieftain is established by Dr. M. Beshoar.
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38 Years of extreme Mayoral Corruption, Pueblo-style
The word “Alderman” goes back to the Anglo-Saxon ealdorman, which was a nobleman, and/or royal official with authority over all of the people, only accountable to the head chief absolutist autocratic Queen monarch dictator herself.
In 1870, Pueblo Township is established under the Colorado Territory Legislature. 5 trustees run the whole show.
On March 22, 1870, Pueblo town trustees are appointed.
On April 4, 1870, an election for Pueblo town's trustees happened. 110 Puebloans vote. The 1st 5 democratically-elected Trustees for Pueblo township is: George A. Hinsdale, Lewis Conley, Sam McBride, Calvin P. Peabody, and Oliver H.P. Baxter. Amongst those 5, Lewis Conley is elected President. Pueblo’s weekly newspaper, the Colorado Chieftain, said of the election: There were two tickets in the field, one denominated the "People’s Ticket", and the other bearing the metropolitan title of "City Ticket." The first was composed entirely of Republicans, as was also the latter, with the exception of two candidates. Considerable feeling was manifested during the day, but the election passed off quietly and with entire good nature. There were one hundred and ten ballots cast, which resulted in the election of the following officers all of whom ran on the “City Ticket,” except Messrs. Baxter and Cooper: Trustees—George A. Hinsdale, Lewis Conley, Sam McBride, C.P. Peabody, and O.H.P. Baxter. Town Clerk—Aug. Beach. Constable—J.F. Smith. Supervisor of Streets—H.H. Cooper. Only Hinsdale remained on the board following the election; Cooper ran for, and won, the supervisor of streets position, while Rice, Thatcher, and Bradford received the fewest amount of votes among candidates. The same Chieftain article explained a light turnout due to “many citizens being absent from town” (page 6, "Among the Elites").
From 1870 to 1872, 5 town trustees, elected annually, ran Pueblo township. "The population of Pueblo almost doubled from 1870 to 1871 due to the anticipation of the railroad" (page 6). The Mayor did not control jack shit for the Mayor did not exist.
In 1871, Germany is founded, 5 years before Colorado State is founded, 1 year after Pueblo township was founded.
In 1873 (the year of the Panic), the City of Pueblo transitioned from a board-of-trustees system to a "council-mayor" form of government, aka the Mayor & Alderman system, which we kept until 1911 (the year of the Charter).
On October 27, 1873, "South Pueblo is incorporated as a town under the laws of the Colorado Territory" (page 7).
From 1873 to 1880, South Pueblo township is ran by 5 Trustees.
In 1873, Pueblo Township's Mayoral system is established. James Rice is elected Pueblo's first Mayor.
On April 7, 1873, Pueblo voters elected their first mayor, James Rice, and 4 accompanying Aldermen from 4 wards: George P. Hayslip, Oliver H.P. Baxter, John J. Thomas, and Weldon Keeling. (page 6).
From 1873 to 1875, James Rice was Mayor for 3 years. Rice and his 4 merry aldermen worked to provide Pueblo her first water system.
In 1875, Pueblo City adds a fifth ward fo herself (page 7).
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Colorado's 6th & Final Charter Convention
On October 25, 1875, Colorado voters elect delegates to Colorado's 6th & Final Charter Convention.
On December 20, 1875, the Charter Convention begins.
In 1876, Mayor John R. Lowther lords over all of the Pueblo lands as head king chief Mayor general.
On March 14, 1876, Colorado's State Constitution was drafted & adopted in Denver. This proposed state constitution was inspired by the 3rd Constitution of the State of Illinois drafted in 1870, the 4th Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania drafted in 1873, and the 3rd Constitution of the State of Missouri drafted in 1875.
On July 1, 1876, after 5 previous attempts, by a vote of 15,443 to 4,039, by over 10,000 votes, by a nearly 4-to-1 ratio, the citizens of the Pikes Peak Territory finally adopted themselves a State Constitution that would be permitted to enter the United States as an equal to the other 37 states.
On August 1, 1876, Republican Ulysses S. Grant declared Colorado an American State. Colorado State is one of only 20 states that retains it's original constitution, it's very long constitution. The Colorado Constitution was, and still is, one of the lengthiest state constitutions in the United States of America, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Universe. The Constitution of the State of Colorado has been amended 152 times from 1876 through 2007.
In 1877, Mayor Mahlon D. Thatcher becomes the new God over Pueblo city. All the citizens bow down to Mahlon, & rejoice their King has returned.
In 1878, the Mayor becomes Weldon Keeling, and he's got 5 merry aldermen from 5 wards, whom Keeling treats like inferior 2nd-class citizens.
From 1879 to 1880, Mayor William H. Hyde adds a 6th ward to the Mayor-Alderman system, and doubled the number of aldermen per district.
After 1880, Pueblo City had 12 representatives on their City Council; 2 per ward, 6 wards total.
From 1880 to 1893, as Griffith notes, "Ethically speaking, the nadir of American city government was probably reached in the years between 1880 and 1893 (page 7)."
From 1881 to 1886, South Pueblo township had 4 Mayors total: Steven Walley, Klaas Wildeboor, Jonothan K. Shireman, & PF Sharp.
In 1881, Pueblo City was ran by Mayor GQ Richmond, and nobody ever talks about the mass-raping that happened under the GQ Richmond regime of 1881.
From 1882 to 1886, Central Pueblo township had 3 Mayors: OG Chase, Dr. CF Taylor, & Henry Rups.
From 1882 to 1884, Mayor John H. Warneke was the God-King-Fuhrer-Absolute-Sovereign-Dictator-of-all-the-lands-of-Pueblo.
From 1885 to 1886, Mayor TG McCarthy had assistance from 12 Aldermens, 2 from each of the 6 wards.
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On February 15, 1886, Pueblo City, South Pueblo, Central Pueblo, & Bessemer decided it was time to consolidate into a single government. After this merger, the new City of Pueblo government consisted of a Mayor, Auditor, City Attorney, City Clerk, City Engineer, Water Trustees, and Aldermen.
On March 9, 1886, voters of the three Pueblo towns approved consolidation in a landslide (page 8). Pueblo residents passed the measure by 337 votes, 537 to 200. Bessemer residents more narrowly passed it, 212 to 176, by 36 votes. At first, four separate towns negotiated their own forms of government but, with consolidation, found common ground in a mayor-council form of government that lasted for decades.
From 1886 to 1911, Pueblo City was ran by Mayor-Aldermens (mayor-council).
In 1886, the 1st Mayor of Consolidated Pueblo was Delos Holden, and Delos Holden had himself 14 Aldermen on City Council to help him run Pueblo City. Other Mayors of Pueblo City are: Charles Henkel, Andrew A. Grome, Charles Henkel, WB Hamilton, LB Strait, AT King, James B. Orman, George F. West, & JE Rizer.
From 1886 to 1893, Bessemer had 6 Mayors: JS Stewart, Reese James, LJ Taylor, JK Dempsey, FP Hawke, & WL Shockey.
In 1892, the town of Bessemer is organized as a city of the 2nd (page 8).
In 1893, women gained the legal right to vote in Colorado. Colorado was the first state in the union to grant this right to women through a popular election. (Wyoming approved the right of women to vote in 1869 through a vote of the territorial legislature.)
"There is every reason why it should be adopted in Pueblo, as it is being adopted in all the progressive cities of the west. Every friend of efficient & economical administrations, every friend of popular government, should work for the adoption of this system here in Pueblo." ~RM M'Clintock, Pueblo Chieftain, February 7, 1911
On March 21, 1894, Pueblo City consolidated & Bessemer certify their vote for annexation. Bessemer becomes the eighth ward of the City of Pueblo, represented by two Aldermen (page 9).
From 1894 to 1911, Pueblo City is ran by a Mayor & 8 Aldermen from 8 wards.
From 1903 to 1904, notable Mayor BB Brown had all of the power. BB Brown is notable for having received over 200 indictments from a Grand Jury.
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Denver City's 2nd Charter Convention
On February 6, 1904, Denver City holds their 2nd Charter Convention.
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From 1905 to 1908, John T. West was Mayor of Pueblo City.
In 1909, Grand Junction chartered herself into autonomous home-rule existence.
In 1909, Colorado Springs declares her municipal independence with brand spanking new charter.
From 1909 to 1910, Alva Blanchard Adams served as the County Attorney for Pueblo County, the same tenure that Abraham Lincoln Fugard was Mayor of Pueblo City.
In 1911, John T. West is Mayor again, for the last time ever. John T. West is Pueblo City's last Mayor. 16 Aldermen were his 16 merry Aldermen from 8 merry wards. Overall, Pueblo City had a total number of 21 individuals who were Mayor, and 23 total regimes. John T. West & Charles Henkel served 2 non-consecutive terms.
In 1911, the Puebloan people grew tired of the Mayor-Aldermen system & the dominance of the local Democrat Party political machine, so they changed it. Frederic C. Howe, chronicler of the city revival, noted the change in sentiment of residents toward their cities:
"I have been told that the city is hopeless. I do not believe that this is true. Rather I should say the city is the most hopeful of our institutions. The change in the past ten years is like a revolution. It is going on in every community, it is working in your city, even though you do not see it. I do not mean the graft prosecutions, the vice crusades, the movement to put bad men out of office and the good ones in. These are insignificant incidents. They are the outward and visible symptoms of something far bigger that is going on in every city in the land (page 10)."
The topics being discussed in Pueblo City in 1911 are the same topics we're still talking about in Pueblo City in 2012. Pueblo was sick of the corrupt Boss Tweed & Tammany Hall-kind of political party machines, sick of the partisan politics, sick of the corrupt spoils system, sick of the grafting, the greasing of palms, sick of the corporatism, sick of the lack of civil service, sick of all the bullshit.
In 1911, Pueblo City needed to get herself an Australian ballot, a Bucklin preferential voting system, & some Civil Service reform in her Charter Convention of 1911.
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Pueblo City's 1st Charter Convention
On February 28, 1911, John Stokes, one of Pueblo's eldest pioneers died. John Stokes moved to Pueblo in the 1860s, and he hadn't gone to a doctor in 50 years.
On April 4, 1911, Pueblo City voted to throw herself a Charter Convention, to draw up a local Constitution for the local municipal government, to change the archaic & corrupt Mayor-Alderman system-of-government. From that Charter Convention, Pueblo City would decided to form ourselves a "Commission" form of government that would be used to government Pueblo City for the next 39 years.
CM M'Clintock, the George Washington of Pueblo City, called for the Charter Convention generally, & the Commission system-of-government specifically, because the "present regime of high taxes and divided responsibility" needed to end, replaced with a "greater, better and more progressive Pueblo".
"IT IS the independent vote, in these days, that decides elections," C.M. M'Clintock declared a truism that still resounds throughout the Coloradoan landscape over a century later.
"When either party fails to nominate good men, the independent voters swing into line against that party and its candidates."
A Commission form of government is a government where the Legislative & Executive Branches are fused together into 1 singular body, 1 sole entity, to chisel the local Checks & Balances down to just 2 branches of government, for efficiency's sake. Instead of having 1 executive Mayor & a pack of legislative City Council folks, now the 5 Commissioners would have Executive Authority to enforce their will, to appropriate funds, to grant corporate licensure, etc., as well as Legislative power to write all of the rules.
"Politicians as a rule don't like the commission system, because it absolutely does away with partisan politics in municipal elections. It destroys machines and thrown many an undeserving but clever politician out of a fat job." ~CM M'Clintock, progressive Republican, 1911
For 2 years, Pueblo City was ran by 5 Commissioners, but because of two opposition voters in government who didn't conform with the leadership of the majority, in 1913, an Amendment changed Pueblo City's Commission system down to 3 Commissioners.
In 1911, M'Clintock wrote a series of editorials pushing for the Charter Convention, & the Commission-style of government. Every week M'Clintock wrote several intelligent paragraphs in support of Pueblo City becoming a legal entity unto thyselves.
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During the Mayoral campaign in the spring of 1911, C.M. M'Clintock was backing his boi Dr. King, and was very critical of who would eventually become the last Mayor of Pueblo City: John T. West. According to M'Clintock, John T. West was a "plaything of politics", who was "notoriously intimate with the worst elements of the local Democratic machine", including the "Speer machine with which he is affiliated".
John T. West was opposed to the Charter Convention in previous elections, but in 1911, West was publicly supporting it. M'Clintock wrote in 1911 that opposition to a Charter Convention in Pueblo City were sparse, and "subterranean". "It is so unassailable that even the Democrat party, bitterly as it has opposed the plan in the past, has not dared to oppose it in its present platform." [VOLUME LXIX NUMBER 162 "VOTE FOR THE CHARTER CONVENTION"]
"Men who are serving some interest, or politicians who want to preserve the machine and its rich pickings, are the two classes who object to the commission form of government. In so objecting, naturally, they furnish one of the strongest possible arguments for the system. It is pretty well understood that the corporations and the politicians grow rich off the people's money. They wouldn't object to a scheme that would allow them greater opportunities to annex wealthy. That they do most strenuously object to the commission system is proof positive to discerning observers that the commission system is a bad thing for hem. And, if it is a bad thing for them, is it a sign that it is a good thing for the people."
Shortly before the April 4, 1911 election commenced, John T. West & his Democrat staff nearly "forgot" to put the Charter Convention question on the ballot until a Mr. C.A. Ballreich, a Republican of the Committee of 40, reminded them of their "oversight".
M'Clintock described a Charter Convention style of government as "just plain business". M'Clintock liked the "commission idea" because he wanted government to be ran with the same efficiency that business is ran. "And since, then, the governing of a city is a business proposition, the commission idea is merely an application of business principles to municipal affairs."
"Against the objections of corporations' servants and politicians stands out this one great and incontrovertible argument in favor of the commission system: that out of the now almost one hundred cities that have adopted the system, NOT ONE WOULD RETURN TO THE OLD SYSTEM."
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M'Clintock said that "the holding of a charter convention to adopt a commission system of government" would "lower taxes", "make the government more progressive", eliminate "partisan politics", and "give the people direct control over the granting of every franchise, the passage of every ordinance, the adoption of every appropriation, and the conduct of every official, through the initiative, referendum and the recall."
For M'Clintock, "the holding of a charter convention to adopt a commission system of government" was going "to make Pueblo free". For M'Clintock, either Pueblo City was going "to be as free as the people of Grand Junction are", or "whether they want to continue at the mercy of the grafting of a majority of the aldermen." [VOLUME LXIX NUMBER 164 "MAKE PUEBLO A FREE CITY"]
By having a "charter convention" in order "to adopt a commission system of government", Pueblo City was putting "the government of Pueblo in the hands of the people of Pueblo", and "to make forever impossible the granting of any franchises or contracts by grafting aldermen."
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J. Knox Burton warned Pueblo City in 1911 that the new Charter Commission & subsequent Commission Form of Government is going to result in Absolute Power, i.e. Tyranny. Burton wrote: "The commission plan vests in five men absolute power to run the city; they make the appropriations and then spend the money appropriated; they pass ordinances and then enforce those ordinances; prescribe the terms and conditions on which licenses shall be issued and then issue those licenses, fix the salaries of officers and employes and then appoint those officers and employes."
With unlimited authority, the 5 Commissioners running the system would turn into 5 dictators, at least for 3 years of their 4-year terms (most politicians want to be reelected).
RM M'Clintock, the lone cowboy Republican pushing for the Charter Convention, also the Editor of the Pueblo Chieftain, countered that all of the commissioners may be recalled, so therefore, true blue Absolute Power was impossible.
"The five commissioners do, it is true, have charge of all the business of the city, of every kind. That is what makes the commission system so efficient and economical," wrote M'Clintock.
J. Knox Burton argued that the people would grow complacent, not performing their due diligent citizenship duties, like paying attention to their political leadership, and because of that complacency, a tyranny of 5 would result.
M'Clintock argued that by having only 5 men in charge of everything, then "it is easy for the people to keep track" of them, "and to place the responsibility for everything that is done. It is not easy to keep track of the doings of two or three dozen officials, as under the present system, or under the proposed mixed commission & council system."
"The commission idea vests all the business of the city in just five men, each in charge of a certain department. Each man is directly responsible for his own department."
"When the average citizen under the commission system has a kick, he doesn't have to go from his alderman to the chief of police and to the city clerk and to the mayor - being passed on from one to another, with no satisfaction in the end. One man alone is responsible in the commission system and the citizen can go as directly straight to that one responsible man as he can to the head of a mercantile establishment. The commission system concentrates authority, and, by so doing, makes it efficient and economical." ~RM M'Clintock, Pueblo Chieftain, February 7, 1911
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M'Clintock argued that the "Initiative, Referendum & Recall" powers of the people were such a strong & powerful check on government officials, that a Legislative City Council check wasn't necessary: "If the people themselves at all times have an absolute check on the actions of the five commissioners, what is the need of interposing an additional check, in the form of a council, the only effect of which will be to delay the efficient working of the commissioners, to scatter responsibility, and possibly, to give an opening for the building of a political machine?"
"So, while authority is concentrated by the commission system, with consequently greater efficiency and economy, the control of the people over their municipal affairs is made far more direct and complete than at present." ~RM M'Clintock, Pueblo Chieftain, February 7, 1911
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Other opponents of Pueblo's 1st Charter Convention argued the opposite: that the Power of Recall would be abused.
M'Clintock didn't believe that the people of Pueblo City would abuse the power of recall for 2 reasons: 1) "the directors of corporations exercise the recall without abusing it", and; 2) "the recall is in existence in over a hundred cities in the United States, it has, so far as The Chieftain has been informed, been used only three times, twice in Los Angeles and once in Seattle."
"In all three cases the officials recalled had been accused of trafficking in vice. In all cases conditions were vastly improved as a result of the recall of the officials."
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"The council system has been in existence for very many years, and in almost every city of any else has proved itself a fruitful cause of poor and extravagant government, if not of actual corruption."
Pure Democracy.
"The pure commission system allows the people to make their will more directly and more quickly felt than any other governmental system yet devised. That's why The Chieftain, believing implicitly in the ability of the people to govern themselves, - in pure democracy, favors the commission system of government."
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M'Clintock, while being a business man who wanted local city government to be ran as efficient as corporations are ran, was also skeptical of other corporations, specifically, the "franchises" granted power by the Pueblo City Council to exist, live, & breathe amongst us Earthlings.
Progressive Republican M'Clintock believed in having a local check on what corporations were allowed to exist & operate in Pueblo City.
"ONE OF THE BEST FEATURES of the charter commission form of city government is that it removes from the council the power to grant franchises. Perhaps no feature of the present system of government, in the average city, is so vehemently and so persistently criticized as the granting of franchises by the council. Often there is reason for this criticism: often the franchise granted is beneficial to the corporation and the members of the council, and to no one else."
M'Clintock asserted that when the Puebloan people vote for a Charter Convention on April 4, 1911, they will vote to "remove from the council forever all power of granting franchises." Only the Puebloan people - by majority vote - would have the power to grant any & all franchises, i.e. corporations, power to exist, and the power to take that power away.
M'Clintock wrote that "if the referendum is also made a part of the Charter, then no contract may be entered into by the council without the approval of the people."
"These two features of the charter system, the popular vote of the people on all franchises, and the right for a referendum of all contracts, are worth millions of dollars to any city." ~RM M'Clintock
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Volume LXIX Number 123
"The mayor, of course, is usually blamed, but the mayor, under the present system, has but little to do with the administration of the city's affairs. His hands are tied." ~RM M'Clintock, progressive Republican Editor of Pueblo Chieftain, 1911, [Volume LXIX, Number 123].
"The Chieftain believes the blame for present conditions rests directly upon the people. If taxes are high, and if the city's money is extravagantly expended, the fault is the people's. They decide what the city's government shall be." [Volume LXIX, Number 123].
2 good reasons for the Revolutionary & Progressive 1911 Charter Convention in Pueblo City:
1) The Publication, which requires that all transactions are recorded at stated periods.
"Publicity is one of the greatest possible deterrents to extravagance. Even graft itself quails when confronted with the necessity of publishing its proceedings. There cannot well be too much publicity in municipal affairs. The letting in of the light drives out darkness. Newspaper and printing bills amount to a good deal, of course, - but they save tenfold more than they cost." ~RM M'Clintock, Pueblo Chieftain, 1911, Volume LXIX, Number 123.
2) The Civil Service Commission "for all employes" (sic). Volume LXIX Number 123
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Progressive Republican RM M'Clintock even appealed to the working man.
Grand Junction's charter raised the working man's wages from $2 a day to $2.50 a day.
Des Moines, Iowa, "One of the most lively cities in the middle west today", saved $224,000, and day labor wages rose to $2.25/day, under a Commission system.
"The commission system should receive the support of every laboring man in Pueblo. It lowers taxes, and it increases the wages of those who work for it."
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One major reason (the best reason) why the people of Pueblo City decided to charter herself an autonomous sovereign municipal government, was "the elimination of partisan politics in municipal affairs."
The 107 year legacy of the elimination of partisan politics may be ending by the ressurgence of corrupt Mayoral politics in 2018.
"The business of Pueblo should not be complicated by politics. There is no reason why it should be. The injection of political questions tends to hurt the city, by making necessary the rewarding of political workers and the building up of political machines at the expense of the city. If the commission form of government is carried in Pueblo there will be no more partisan politics here. Machines will be eliminated. Questions purely municipal will be decided on their merits, uncomplicated by national issues." ~M'Clintock
... uncomplicated by national issues ...
"Any person may become a candidate for any office [in commission cities] by securing a certain number of signers to his petition. Then the voters choose their officers from these candidates, through a primary and election, as in the original Des Moines plan, as adopted also in Colorado Springs, or through the preferential voting plan, as adopted in Grand Junction." ... "In either case politics does not enter into the election. There are no party tickets. No man may run as the candidate of any party or faction. On the ballot the names of the candidates are arranged alphabetically, with no party designations. The voter must vote for the man, not for the party." ~M'Clintock
"The more completely partisan politics is eliminated from municipal government, the more efficient and economical that government becomes. It is because Americans have permitted themselves for many years to be bludgeoned into voting party tickets in municipal elections that American city government has become a by-word for corruption & extravagance everywhere. The city's business is like any other business; it is well-nigh ruined when politics is allowed to control it." ~M'Clintock
"By voting for the commission system of city government the people of Pueblo will be able to put an end forever to partisan politics in municipal affairs; to the building of political machines; to the rewarding of ward heelers and cheap politicians." ~M'Clintock
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Once Charter Convention passes, but the John T. West's Democrats are still in power, M'Clintock warns: "The Star Journal probably "slipped up" in giving publicity to the intention of West and his followers to do everything possible to delay the adoption of the charter for two years. West had been giving it out among the friends of commission government that he now favors that system, in spite of the previous opposition he displayed to it. He had been trying to make it appear that he is now friendly to that system which before he so bitterly fought; that he would even join in urging its adoption.
But the Star Journal has inadvertently given this scheme away: has exposed the real purpose of the West supporters, - which is to delay the adoption of the charter for two years more, at least."
"Theoretically there is nothing West could do as mayor to delay the adoption of the charter. Practically, there is no limit to what he may be able to do." "A determined man may even be able to delay the charter for two years. West himself is not such a determined man,- but the men back of him are, and they have the money wherewith to accomplish their desires."
M'Clintock then calls for a continuance of the "clean city government", insisting that "Sunday and midnight closing laws must be enforced, wine romps must go and gambling shall be prohibited. This means nickel in the slot machines as well as other forms of gambling. The Chieftain will take no backward step in the advocacy of clean city government, and it knows the good people of the city will loyally support it in this respect."
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On June 1, 1911, Alva Blanchard Adams, the county attorney, made sure he attended Day 1 of Pueblo City's 1st Charter Convention since he was a delegate.
On July 28, 1911, Alva B. Adams finished writing the 1st Charter of Pueblo City up, finally completed, now awaiting voter approval.
On September 19, 1911, the Puebloan voters voted yes for the brand new charter.
On November 20, 1911, the Commission-style of government took power, replacing the Mayor-Aldermen system that had run the city ragged for the last 38 years. The Puebloan people, knowing the evils that travail a corrupt Krampas Mayor, killed that office, and the Aldermens, off, once & for all on November 20, 1911. Pueblo City implemented the Grand Junction "Bucklin" preferential voting system, voting for 5 Commissioners, 1 per each of the 5 wards, and established a civil service commission to hire city workers honestly.
From 1912 to 1913, these were the 5 Commissioners who shared both Legislative & Executive authority: Thomas D Donnelly, Thomas A Duke, CA Lannon, Victor I. Prevost, & J. Knox Burton.
On November 5, 1912, Article 6 of Section XX of Colorado's current 1876 Constitution - The 1912 Home Rule Amendment - specifically was written to protect Pueblo City's Charter by name, as well the city charters of Denver, Colorado Springs, & Grand Junction.
"All provisions of the charters of the city and county of Denver and the cities of Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction, as heretofore certified to and filed with the secretary of state, and of the charter of any other city heretofore approved by a majority of those voting thereon and certified to and filed with the secretary of state, which provisions are not in conflict with this article, and all elections and electoral votes heretofore had under and pursuant thereto, are hereby ratified, affirmed and validated as of their date." (Article 20, Section 6, Clause 7).
In 1912, Durango City, Colorado, declared her Independence with a City Charter.
In 1913, Fort Collins City, Colorado, declared her Independence with a City Charter, and the Bucklin/Grand Junction voting system.
On November 6, 1913, voters approved an amendment, effective in 1914, to the charter that reduced the number of commissioner from five to three due to "a constant three-two split on the five-man commission. Three of the commissioners voted against the other two on practically all measures." (page 12).
From 1914 to 1915, Pueblo City was ran by these 3 Commissioners (2018 Pueblo County has the same 3 commissioner system): Thomas A. Duke, John T. West (Pueblo City's last Mayor), & J. Knox Burton. J. Knox Burton was the man who criticized M'Clintock's Charter Convention & Commission-system of government idea, & yet, Burton became Commissioner for 5 years in a row, from 1912 to 1916.
From 1912 to 1950, for 38 years, Pueblo City was ran by 3 commissioners.
In 1913, the United States ratified the 17th Amendment: popular elections for Senators.
On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was Ratified to the US Constitution. Now American women were allowed to vote like adults, 27 years after Coloradoan women already had the right to vote.
In 1921, Pueblo City flooded.
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"Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." ~RFK on MLK, quoting Aeschylus
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A Council-manager government was elected on December 27, 1949.
Pueblo City's Commission-government ended on January 7, 1950.
John Oliver Hall appointed City Manager of Pueblo City on February 7, 1950.
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THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT
""THE PROGRESSIVE movement is nothing more than the crystalized (sic) determination of the American people to take their own affairs back into their own hands and manage their own business themselves." It would be impossible to find a better definition of the progressive movement than the above, from Gifford Pinchot, who has himself done as much as any man living to waken the people to the necessity of resuming their own government." ~RM M'Clintock, progressive Republican Editor of Pueblo Chieftain, 1911
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References: "Among the Elites of the Great West".
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"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!" ~Winston Churchill, June 18, 1940
President Fuckface McGee is bad DJ at a really good party. He's late on the rent by 3 months & he's really worried.
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"The only objection that can possibly be made is that it gives the people too much power over their own government. Men who make money out of exploiting the people don't like the commission form of government. They don't like to give the people too close supervision because they have schemes for their own selfish advantage that they don't want the people to interfere with."
...
"Nine times out of ten the men who object to the commission form of city government are men who stand to make something from the people through the continuation of the present system. When you hear a man or a newspaper or an organization preaching against the commission system, or say other feature of popular government, just make a quiet search of that man's connections and you will almost invariable find that he has acute corporation affiliation that gives him an interest in keeping the people from ruling." ~RM M'Clintock, Pueblo Chieftain, 1911
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