Kenneth Hopkins Simmons (1904 - 1981) was a mayor of
Milton, Washington
Milton is a city in King County, Washington, King and Pierce County, Washington, Pierce counties in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 8,697 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Milton borde ...
. He was also the founder and mayor of
Bonney Lake, Washington
Bonney Lake is a city in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 22,487 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Bonney Lake was incorporated as a town on February 28, 1949, after the establishment of a co-op venture to bring electricity ...
in 1949. He is most known for his placing a mule, named "Boston Curtis", on the ballot for Republican precinct committeeman for Milton.
Career
In 1938, Simmons entered Curtis into the election for the post of Republican
precinct committeeman
A precinct captain, also known as a precinct chairman, precinct delegate, precinct committee officer or precinct committeeman, is an elected official in the American political party system. The office establishes a direct link between a political ...
for Milton. He ran unopposed and was elected on September 13, 1938 by 51 votes, despite having run no election campaign, or offered a platform. Residents were surprised to learn that Curtis was actually a long-eared brown mule.
Simmons stated that he had done this to demonstrate that many people vote without considering who they are actually voting for.
The mule later
crossed the floor
Crossed may refer to:
* ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis
* ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie
* "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead''
S ...
, joining the Stevens lobby.
On Halloween 1939, he hired a group of teenagers as special policemen for the night. Twenty teenagers from nearby
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
invaded Milton and challenged them to a fight. The Milton teenagers defended themselves with a fire hose, until one of the others was struck by the nozzle of the hose and had to be driven to a hospital with head injuries. State troopers eventually arrived to stop the fight.
After serving as mayor of Milton, Simmons served in the state legislature for three terms, representing the
25th district. Later, he and his family moved to
Bonney Lake, where he helped the city incorporate and became its first mayor.
References
External links
*
SIMMONS, Kenneth,1904-1981,MiltonGenforum
Washington (state) culture
Mayors of places in Washington (state)
American city founders
Washington (state) Democrats
1904 births
1981 deaths
Politicians from Tacoma, Washington
20th-century American politicians
People from Milton, Washington
People from Bonney Lake, Washington
Practical jokes
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