AWC’s history is inextricably linked to the Washington Legislature.

Washington cities have a long history of working together to strengthen their communities. But it was the need to secure a share of liquor revenues following the end of Prohibition that really brought them together and demonstrated the need to present a united front on legislative issues.

After Washington ratified the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition on October 3, 1933, liquor sales in the state were unregulated and uncontrolled. Gov. Clarence Martin was expected to call a special session of the Legislature to address the issue. Acting quickly, Yakima Mayor W. W. Stratton invited his peers from across the state to gather and discuss how they might ensure cities were included in the conversation. Just a few weeks later on October 26, elected officials convened in Yakima and created a new organization to represent cities before the Legislature.

Thus, AWC was born.

Stratton, who was elected AWC’s first president, appointed a six-member committee that included three city officials from the eastern side of the state and three city officials from the western side. The committee met one month later and drafted the bill that became the Washington State Liquor Act with its passage in January 1934. The new law established the Washington State Liquor Control Board to regulate how alcohol was manufactured, distributed, and sold within the state. It also divided the revenue between the state, counties, and cities.

“[I]t was probably more of a successful lobbying effort than anything else,” remembered former Speaker of the House Charles Hodde, who was a lobbyist for the Washington State Grange when the act was passed in 1934. “Actually, that was one of the inducements to get the act passed was that local government would share in the revenues.”

That early success soon led to many more. In 1935, AWC helped cities secure a share of the gas tax, and in 1937, cities were given the right to establish recreation facilities and control the planning and subdivision of land. Today, AWC is stronger than ever—and continues to advocate on behalf of the state’s 281 cities and towns.

AWC members gather in Colfax for a regional meeting on October 19, 1937.

Source: “Charles Hodde: Mr. Speaker of the House,” Legislative Oral History Project, Washington State Archives