Allan Pomeroy

M. Allan Pomeroy
Seattle, Washington mayor Allan Pomeroy, circa 1954, stepping out of his office in Room 217 of the City-County Building (now King County Courthouse).
43rd Mayor of Seattle
In office June 1, 1952 – June 4, 1956
Preceded by	William F. Devin
Succeeded by	Gordon S. Clinton
Personal details
Born	1907 Seattle, Washington
Alma mater	University of Washington (BS 1927) University of Washington School of Law (JD 1931)
Profession	Attorney, judge, politician

Merritt "Allan" Pomeroy (1907-July 7, 1966) was the forty-third

Pomeroy was born in Astoria, Oregon, and later moved with his parents to the state of Washington.^[2] He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington in 1927 where he was a founding member of the Sigma Pi fraternity chapter. He earned his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 1931.^[3] He married Loretta Tyler and they had a daughter, Paula Pomeroy LeFavor, and a son, Allan Merritt Pomeroy.^[4]

After graduating from law school, Pomeroy became a practicing

In 1948, Pomeroy was defeated by a slim margin in his first bid for the mayor's office by incumbent Mayor William F. Devin.^[5] The defining issue of the election had been Devin's Tolerance Policy where small time gambling was tolerated. Devin (and Police Chief Eastman) said this was the best deterrent to major vice and police corruption. Pomeroy said this was an official acceptance of illegality. He promised to end the practice and get rid of Eastman. This promise led to enough voters switching sides for Pomeroy to win the 1952 election by a small margin. He named H.J. Lawrence as Police Chief and said that card rooms would no longer be permitted.^[6]

Pomeroy was credited with making Seattle a well known city by bringing the

In 1952, Pomeroy cut the ribbon opening the Alaskan Way Viaduct.^[8]

In April 1954, during the

In 1955, Pomeroy appointed the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Police Practices to investigate charges of police brutality. The committee condemned police practices in the predominantly black Central District neighborhood. As a result, a program was started to improve police relations with the black community. Several police officers participated in intercultural workshops sponsored by the Seattle Public Schools and others were enrolled in race relations classes at Seattle University. The effectiveness of the program was questioned by many.^[10]

In 1956 Pomeroy lost his re-election bid to Gordon S. Clinton. Pomeroy and Police Chief Lawrence's inability to close down the card rooms were a major reason for Clinton's victory.^[6] The ousting of an incumbent mayor is rare in Seattle. It wouldn't happen again until Greg Nickels beat Paul Schell in 2001.^[11]

After politics

After losing the mayor's race Pomeroy went back to practicing law. At the time of his death he was a senior partner in the law firm of Pomeroy, Zelensky, Furnia, and Munro.