Ezra Thompson (1850–1923) was the 12th and 14th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, USA, who was elected three times and served two non-consecutive terms. He was mayor from 1900 to 1903 and 1906 to 1907.

Early life

Thompson was born on July 17, 1850 in Salt Lake City in the Provisional State of Deseret, just months before

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

was created. He made his fortune in a

Park City Park City may refer to: a city in Utah. Places * National Park City, London, England, UK; see parks and open spaces in London in the United States * Park City, Illinois * Park City, Kansas * Park City, Kentucky * Park City, Montana * Park City, ...

mining venture with future

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from Utah

Thomas Kearns Thomas Kearns (April 11, 1862 – October 18, 1918) was an American mining, banking, railroad, and newspaper magnate. He was a US Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905. Unlike the predominantly Mormon constituents of his state, Senator Kearns wa ...

. He married Emily Pugsley on February 14, 1885, and they had four children.

Political career

First term

In 1899, he was elected mayor of Salt Lake City on the Republican Party ticket. He was re-elected in 1901 and served until 1903. In January 1903, Thompson was a signatory of an official protest to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

of the

Utah Legislature The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term l ...

's election of Mormon Apostle

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he served ...

as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

for Utah.

Second term

In September 1904, Thompson was one of the founders of the

anti-Mormon Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed against the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term is often used to describe people or literat ...

American Party. The party's principal goal was to eliminate the influence of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) over politics in Utah. In 1905, He was the new party's candidate for mayor, and he was elected; four other elected members of the city council were also members of the American Party. During this term, he was an outspoken critic of the LDS Church and accused church leaders of continuing to sanction the practice of

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

. In 1907, Thompson's chief of police, George Sheets, was accused of bribery. Although formally cleared of charges, Sheets nevertheless resigned and Thompson followed five days later on August 2, 1907. His stated reason for resigning was ill health. He was replaced as mayor by American Party leader

John S. Bransford John Samuel Bransford (August 26, 1856 – May 21, 1944) was the 15th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah from 1907 to 1911. Biography Bransford was born in Richmond, Missouri. As a child, Bransford had traveled the Mormon Trail with his family on their ...

, who was subsequently elected to a full term in the 1907 election. Thompson died in Salt Lake City on April 8, 1923. One of the city's largest landowners, his estate was valued at over $2.5 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ezra 1850 births 1923 deaths American Party (Utah) politicians Mayors of Salt Lake City Utah Republicans American mining businesspeople Businesspeople from Utah People of Utah Territory