John Hardy Elected Mayor of Selma
From "Selma; Her Institutions, and Her Men" by John Hardy, pub. 1879:
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An election was held by these commissioners, under this act, the vote for Mayor resulting as follows: J. M. Dedman, 851; John Hardy, 1,208. The friends of Col. Dedman entered into a contest against the result of this election, before the commissioners, but after a most searching investigation of the vote of the first, second and third wards, which continued for several days, the contest was abandoned, and the election declared by the commissioners as follows:
Mayor--John Hardy. Councilmen--First Ward--W. A. Brantley, E. I. Morgan, Second ward--Sumter Lea, C. A. Paterson; Third ward--C. J. Clark, A. Elkan; Forth ward--John Silsby, R. B. Thomas; Fifth ward--John C. Waite, Clark Mixon, who assembled in the Council room on the 16th day of April, 1873.
John Hardy as Mayor, John C. Waite, John Silsby, R. B. Thomas, C. Mixon and W. A. Brantley, Councilmen, took the oath of office before the Hon. Geo H. Craig, Judge of the Circuit Court; C. J. Clark, Sumter Lea, C. A. Patterson, A. Elkan and E. I. Morgan, took the oath of office before Col. J. M. Dedman, the ex-Mayor; thus disorganized did this Mayor and Council organize and went into an election for officers. Which was as follows: White & Tillman, Attorneys; A. J. Goodwin, Clerk and Tax Collector; R. M. Moore, Marshal; J. L. Perking, Treasurer; Dr. John H. Henry, Physician; Joseph F. John, Surveyor; Peter Plattenburg. Sexton. The following police were appointed: Alex. Kerr, S. H. Blevins, Henry Loder, James Steele, John Boylan, Grandison Rodgers, W. H. Redpath, John O' Rourke, J. A. Harrell, Henry Tipton, Addison Smith, A. H. Woodson--twelve policemen in all six whit and six colored. W. H. Whitfield was elected Market Clerk. Mike Fitzgerald was elected engineer of the steam fire engine "Little Mechanic." Six Councilmen should constitute a quorum for business. For several meetings of this Council, upon almost all questions, the vote stood five and five, leaving the Mayor to make his own choice, but finally, harmony of opinion was exhibited and things were not so much divided, and the Council went to work in good earnest. The first matter was the financial affairs of the city. The assessors reported the value of the real estate of the city, for the previous year at $5,744, 649, upon which $72,458 had been collected up to April 15th, 1873. On the 5th of May 1873, the following officers were elected for the Fire Department: R. J. Fowler, Chief; C. W. Hooper First Assistant; Geo. A. Stuck, Second Assistant; Wardens--First ward, S. F. Hobbs; Second ward, John Weedon; Third ward, Geo Peacock; Fourth ward, Charles Collier; Fifth ward E. N. Medley. The committee on finance, after a thorough examination into the financial condition of the city, found that there was a judgment against the city, in the United States District Court at Montgomery, of $4,000, and one in the Dallas Circuit Court, for $3,000, for due and unpaid interest on the bonded debt, in addition to the floating debt long past due, of $27,481.97. The taxes had pretty well all been collected, and but little revenue could be expected form that source until fall, and the owners and controllers of these claims were most persistent in their demands for payment. In addition to the payment of the large floating debt of near $30,000, in current expenses necessary to keep up a city government of some $3,000 per month, had to be met, and how to do it was a rather difficult problem, especially when the treasury was as dry as a powder house. The rate of taxation the previous year had been about two per cent. And the people were not resting easy under it. The assessed value of the property of the city had largely declined. To borrow was what all other Mayors and Councils had done, which made bad worse.
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