Thomas S. McMurry
| Thomas S. McMurry | |
|---|---|
| 23rd Mayor of Denver | |
|
In office 1895–1899 |
|
| Preceded by | M. D. Van Horn |
| Succeeded by | Henry V. Johnson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1855 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 1918 (aged 62–63) Denver, Colorado |
Thomas S. McMurry (1855–1918) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Denver, Colorado from 1895 to 1899. A lawyer by trade, McMurry came to Denver in 1885.
In 1893 Denver received a new municipal charter by the state legislature that decentralized much of the mayor's powers into six different administrative departments, two of which were elected, two appointed by the mayor, and the remaining two appointed by the governor. Clyde Lyndon King, in his doctoral thesis writes "The plan gave the maximum of opportunity for [political] party groups and corporate control." The municipal board members appointed by the governor had complete financial control over the police, fire, and excise departments. Over half the expenditures of the city went through this board which gave the governor and his party much direct control over Denver. That the governor, elected by the entire state, had so much power over the workings of Denver was not lost on the citizens of the city.
One of the other key issues leading up to the Denver mayoral election of 1895 was Denver Tramway's monopoly over the public transportation in the city. In 1885 Denver Tramway had revised its charter so that it was no longer required to add extensions or provide better service, but while there was competition it still did so. In 1893 it merged with the only other public transportation firm in the city and came into a monopoly. Resentment began to grow as the city took actions which favorably impacted Denver Tramway but received no financial compensation in return.
In 1895, Thomas McMurry ran for mayor of Denver on a political platform of "divorcing the city's government from the city's public-service corporations." Previous to this election, Denver had always voted for straight Democrat or Republican tickets. McMurry was the first non-partisan mayor elected in Denver's history. Denver Tramway offered the city a token sum of $50,000 but McMurry vetoed this offering, wanting instead a small percentage of the company's yearly profits.
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