David Levine (Seattle)

David Levine (March 18, 1883–May 9, 1972"David Levine, Long Active On City Council", "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", May 10 1972. Page unidentified: from the clipping file of the former Municipal Reference Library, now in the Seattle Room of the downtown Seattle Public Library.] ) was a Seattle, Washington politician. He served on the Seattle City Council from 1931 to 1962 (with a one-year interruption in the mid-1930s [ [http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/Facts/councilchron.htm Seattle City Council Members, 1869-Present Chronological Listing] does not overtly mention the interruption, but shows him to have been absent from the 1935–1936 council.] ["David Levine, former city councilman, dies", "Seattle Times", May 9 1972, p. C15. Says "…except for a one-year interruption."] ["David Levine, Long Active On City Council", "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", May 10 1972 says "Except for one two-year period in the mid-1930s…". They may have been confused by the fact that his one year off of the council spanned two calendar years.] ) including several stints as council president. [http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/Facts/councilchron.htm Seattle City Council Members, 1869-Present Chronological Listing] . Accessed online 19 July 2008.] On retirement, he received the title of Council President Emeritus, unique in the city's history. ["A resolution of appreciation and commendation of Councilman David Levine for his thirty years of service to the City of Seattle as Councilman, President of the City Council, Acting Mayor, and for his distinguished record as an outstanding citizen of this city", Seattle City Council Resolution #19225, June 4, 1962. [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=appreciation&s2=&s3=&s4=&Sect4=AND&l=20&Sect2=THESON&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=RESN1&Sect6=HITOFF&d=RES3&p=9&u=%2F%7Epublic%2Fresn1.htm&r=176&f=G Abstract online] does not mention the "emeritus" title; the relevant passage is "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that his colleagues express that appreciation by creating the position of President Emeritus, in which his only emolument will be the satisfaction he gains from continuing to serve the city he loves so long as the Lord allows him the time and strength to do so…"]

Life

Born in Kiev in 1883, Levine came to Seattle in 1900. Prior to his political career, he worked as a jeweler and watchmaker.Douglas Willix, "David Levine, 77, Council President, to Retire", "Seattle Times", December 10, 1961, p. B4, gives the precise date of his appointment.] In 1929, he served on a City Planning Commission, a role he would play again from 1964 to 1970 after retiring from the city council."David Levine, former city councilman, dies", "Seattle Times", May 9 1972, p. C15.] An active trade unionist, as a young man he was a member of the Socialist Labor Party and later was president of the Seattle Central Labor Council, international vice president of the Jewelry Workers' Union, (a role in which he continued while in public office"Levine Seeks Reelection to City Council", "Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce", January 28, 1958. Page unidentified: from the clipping file of the former Municipal Reference Library, now in the Seattle Room of the downtown Seattle Public Library.] ) and editor of "State Labor News". From 1953, he also served as a director of the Seattle Federal Savings & Loan Association. ["Levine Named As Director", "Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, December 19, 1953. Page unidentified: from the clipping file of the former Municipal Reference Library, now in the Seattle Room of the downtown Seattle Public Library.] He was also a Freemason, a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Elks Club, and of Temple de Hirsch, a Reform Jewish congregation. [Lee Micklin, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=89 Temple de Hirsch - Sinai] , HistoryLink, October 30, 1998, Accessed 24 July 2008.] Despite his membership in a Reform congregation, he often attended an Orthodox synagogue on the High Holy Days.Douglas Willix, "David Levine Is Youngest 80-Year-Old", "Seattle Times", December 9, 1954, p. B4.]

In the 1920s, Levine had supported reformist mayor Bertha K. Landes and, according to his own account was surprised when he was appointed to the City Planning Commission by Mayor Frank E. Edwards, her successor who defeated her in an election. Levine was appointed to the city council July 14, 1931 to fill a vacancy left when Mayor Edwards was recalled in a special election the previous day. The council elected its own president, Robert H. Harlin as mayor and Levine was selected to fill his unexpired council term. [Douglas Willix, "David Levine, 77, Council President, to Retire", "Seattle Times", December 10, 1961, p. B4, gives the precise date of his appointment.]

He was repeatedly re-elected by the public, serving over three decades on the council, and serving as council president in 1934–35, 1938–39, 1941–42, 1950-54, and 1956-62. Nard Jones describes him as having been "virtually mayor as far as power and action went."Citation
last =Jones
first =Nard
author-link =Nard Jones
year = 1972
title =Seattle
place =Garden City, New York
publisher =Doubleday
isbn =0385018754
page = 208] His sole electoral defeat came in 1935, when a political insurgency by a young men's group called the New Order of Cincinnatus brought three new members to the council, including Arthur B. Langlie, later governor.

Levine served over 250 times as the city's acting mayor and described himself as "flattered" by suggestions that he run for mayor, but he chose never to do so. On November 2, 1953, with Mayor Allan Pomeroy out of town, Levine as acting mayor signed the ordinances enacting the annexation to the city of the area from N 85th Street to N 145th Street, adding 40,800 people and convert|89.769|sqmi|km2 to the city. [David Wilma, [http://historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7514 Seattle annexes the area north of N 85th Street to N 145th Street on January 4, 1954] , HistoryLink, October 12, 2005. Accessed online 19 July 2008.]

Levine played an important role in the management of the city's finances, to the point that A. A. Lemieux, president of Seattle University dubbed him the "watchdog of the city treasury". [Stub Nelson, "600 Gather For Tribute To Levine", "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", April 4, 1962. Page unidentified: from the clipping file of the former Municipal Reference Library, now in the Seattle Room of the downtown Seattle Public Library.] The "Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce" described him in 1958 as having "specialized in municipal finance" and "credited [him] with saving the taxpayers millions of dollars"; four years later, upon his retirement, they praised his "prudence and thrift" on behalf of the city. [Untitled item, "Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce", March 20, 1962. Page unidentified: from the clipping file of the former Municipal Reference Library, now in the Seattle Room of the downtown Seattle Public Library.] At the time he announced his retirement, the "Seattle Times" said that "more than any other single individual" Levine had been responsible over the years for Seattle's "operation in the 'black'" and added that "His budget-balancing feats are widely recognized by municipal officials across the nation." ["The 'Strong Man' Steps Down", "Seattle Times" editorial, December 13, 1961. Page unidentified: from the clipping file of the former Municipal Reference Library, now in the Seattle Room of the downtown Seattle Public Library.]

Levine was also known as a supporter of public housing including, in particular, the pioneering Yesler Terrace development. [Harvnb|Berner|1992|p=184 "et. seq."]

After retiring from the council, he retained until 1968 a small office at city hall and what Jones characterizes as the "mostly honorary" title of "adviser to the mayor". [Mike Conant, "Levine to Give Up City Hall Office", "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", June 28, 1968. Page unidentified: from the clipping file of the former Municipal Reference Library, now in the Seattle Room of the downtown Seattle Public Library.] During this era, by his own account, he never gave unsolicited advice, but " [i] f someone in city government asks my opinion on a question I'll give it…" He served on the boards of the Century 21 Exposition (the 1962 Seattle World's Fair), the Seattle Municipal League (the "Muni League"), and on the Seattle Center Advisory Commission, the Metro Council, the Board of Administration, the City Employees' Retirement System, the Firemen's Pension Board, the Police Pension Board, and the city's Board of Investment.

Notes

References

* Citation
last = Berner
first = Richard C.
publication-date = 1992
date = 1992
year = 1992
title = Seattle 1921–1940: From Boom To Bust
volume = 2
series = Seattle in the 20th Century
publication-place = Seattle
place = Seattle
publisher = Charles Press
isbn = 096298891X.