A New Government
What is a commission form of government?
The commission system was essentially composed of a small ruling body elected at-large. Each member of the council was also the chief executive of one of the city departments, such as public safety, health, public works, and finance. This form of government proved more effective for rebuilding quicker as all legislative and executive authority is placed under single board of commissioners. This form of government filled an important role in the governmental development of Galveston after the storm. (1, 2)
Why Commission?
"The conventional view of the founding of commission government in Galveston saw the new plan arising mainly as an emergency response to the 1900" Hurricane. As $17,000,000 worth of property was destroyed or disappeared due to the Hurricane, private relief from all over the state and nation poured into Galveston to help
With all of the difficult tasks of rebuilding after the storm, it was too much for Galveston's previous form of government, Mayor and City Council form, to handle. (3)
McCollester, Karl. "Jul 2015 Local Government 101: Other Town Government Forms."Â Voterheads.
"IÂ cannot say the storm is responsible for all the bad conditions now existing, for it is a fact that our town was, to say the least, very badly governed for some time past, and it only required a calamity like the storm to precipitate a state of municipal bankruptcy almost." (4)
Bradley Rice
"No single movement of reform in our governmental methods has been more significant than the rapid adoption of the so-called commission form of government in the cities of the country."
- Woodrow Wilson
The success of Galveston' ten-year-old plan led to many other cities adopting the same form of government. (5)
Wikimedia Foundation. "Woodrow Wilson." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Public Sentiment
The people supported the change of the adoption of Galveston's commission government because of the emergency nature of this situation. Commission was believed to be the best option because with its centralized efficiency, it was the best way to obtain the state aid and local stability needed to rebuild the city and protect it against any future hurricanes. "Some sort of state aid appeared essential if Galveston was to afford the cost of reconstruction." (6)
Miley, Jessica. "Los Angeles Must Prepare for Catastrophic Mega-Storm Experts Warn." Interesting Engineering.
Race
The role of race in the 1900 storm is complicated. Isola Collins, a retired music teacher, has collected stories of how black Galveston weathered the hurricane. She told me of a white woman who refused to be saved by a black man, and of how African-Americans were given relief supplies only after whites got theirs. (7)