THE PETTICOAT REVOLUTION – On December 5th, 1916 the “Petticoat Revolution” occurred in Oregon. Women had been allowed to vote in the state since 1912 and in the town of Umatilla several women ran stealth candidacies for municipal offices.
Quirks in the Umatilla laws at the time enabled the ladies to keep their bids for office a secret even from their spouses. Driven by a desire to reverse the town’s decline and slack law enforcement at the time, Robert and Lola Merrick plotted this odd operation with six other women during a card game at their home.
The residents of Umatilla found out on the afternoon of election day that the ladies were running for mayor and other elected positions. Voting participation was so low in the town at that time that the current mayor’s wife Laura Stockton Starcher (above left) was elected as the new mayor by a vote of just TWENTY-SIX to EIGHT! Continue reading
Balladeer's Blog 