Thomas Jefferson Humes (February 14, 1849 – November 9, 1904) was an American politician who served as the

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the head of the executive branch of the city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, as well as direct subordinate officers in ci ...

from 1897 to 1904. Born in Indiana, he was Assistant United States District Attorney in Kansas and served two terms in the Kansas legislature before moving to Seattle in 1882. He practiced law there, became a Judge of the Superior Bench, and at the height of the Yukon Gold Rush was appointed to fill out a term as the city's mayor, after which he successfully ran twice for re-election to that post. He was an "open city" mayor (generally tolerant of "vice") but was nonetheless praised at the time of his death as "an honest man" by the prominent Presbyterian minister

Mark A. Matthews Mark A. Matthews (September 24, 1867 – 1940) was a Presbyterian minister in Seattle, Washington, from 1902 until his death. He was a leading city reformer, who investigated red light districts and crime scenes, denouncing corrupt politicians bus ...

. "His mistakes," wrote Matthews, "were due largely to his surroundings, and not to the inclinations of his own heart."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humes, Thomas J. 1849 births 1904 deaths 20th-century mayors of populated places in the United States Mayors of Seattle Washington (state) Republicans