Ezra Thompson (1850–1923) was the 12th and 14th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, US, who was elected three times and served two non-consecutive terms. He was mayor from 1900 to 1903 and 1906 to 1907.

Early life

Thompson was born on July 17, 1850, in Salt Lake City in the Provisional State of Deseret, just months before

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

was created. He made his fortune in a Park City mining venture with future

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Utah

Thomas Kearns Thomas Kearns (April 11, 1862 – October 18, 1918) was an American mining, banking, railroad, and newspaper magnate. He was a US Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905. Unlike the predominantly Mormon constituents of his state, Senator Kearns was ...

. He married Emily Pugsley on February 14, 1885, and they had four children.

Political career

First term

In 1899, he was elected mayor of Salt Lake City on the Republican Party ticket. He was re-elected in 1901 and served until 1903. In January 1903, Thompson was a signatory of an official protest to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

of the

Utah Legislature The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 st ...

's election of Mormon Apostle

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A Republican who was first elected to the U.S. Senate by the Utah State Legislat ...

as a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

for Utah.

Second term

In September 1904, Thompson was one of the founders of the

anti-Mormon Anti-Mormonism refers to individuals, literature and media that are opposed to the beliefs, adherents, or institutions of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement as a whole. It may include hostility, prejudice, discrimination, persecution, ...

American Party. The party's principal goal was to eliminate the influence of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) over politics in Utah. In 1905, He was the new party's candidate for mayor, and he was elected; four other elected members of the city council were also members of the American Party. During this term, he was an outspoken critic of the LDS Church and accused church leaders of continuing to sanction the practice of

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more ...

. In 1907, Thompson's chief of police, George Sheets, was accused of bribery. Although formally cleared of charges, Sheets nevertheless resigned and Thompson followed five days later on August 2, 1907. His stated reason for resigning was ill health. He was replaced as mayor by American Party leader John S. Bransford, who was subsequently elected to a full term in the 1907 election. Thompson died in Salt Lake City on April 8, 1923. One of the city's largest landowners, his estate was valued at over $2.5 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ezra 1850 births 1923 deaths American Party (Utah) politicians Mayors of Salt Lake City Utah Republicans American mining businesspeople Businesspeople from Utah People from Utah Territory