100 years ago in Spokane: The first steps toward Hillyard’s eventual annexation had begun

The political shenanigans in Hillyard had residents thinking about the ultimate solution: annexation into Spokane.

Hillyard’s mayor was in open warfare with the city council because the council refused to pay his appointees.

The Hillyard Chamber of Commerce president succinctly summed up the situation: “This thing can’t go any further,” he said. “It is bringing ridicule to the city and is getting to be a serious matter with taxpayers. There is only one thing to do – demand that everyone of the city council and the mayor and all of them, get out. And then hold a new election in connection with this fall’s congressional vote. If they don’t get out, then annexation is the move, and sentiment here is strong for it today.”

Years earlier, Hillyard held an annexation vote, but it was defeated because of opposition by the Great Northern railroad. The chamber president said the railroad would no longer oppose annexation, and he predicted that the sentiment of Hillyard’s 4,000 citizens would be overwhelmingly in favor.

The current Hillyard mess began earlier in the year when Pat Brown was elected the new mayor, but the city council was adamantly opposed to him. When the mayor appointed new officials, including a clerk and a police chief, the council refused to confirm them.

This resulted in a bizarre civic standoff. At one point, Hillyard had two police chiefs: the mayor’s appointee and the incumbent. The latter refused to hand over the keys.

The latest crisis came about when the city council called a special session while Brown was out of town. It quickly approved pay warrants for the city officials who Brown had refused to approve. The mayor, contacted by phone at Priest River, Idaho, was “in a belligerent mood” when he found out about it and implied that the council had acted illegally. “Those fellows down there must think there is a thin place in the walls at Walla Walla and they’re trying to break in,” he said.

He vowed to come back and confront the council.