William P. Trimble

Trimble was born on February 2, 1865, in Cynthiana, Kentucky.[1] He came from a family of lawyers—his father was an attorney, his grandfather was a justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, and his great-uncle was Robert Trimble, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[1] As a child, he studied in public schools in Kentucky and Ohio, along with Paris' École Alsacienne.[1] He attended the University of Cincinnati and studied law at the school's College of Law.[1]

Trimble moved to Washington in 1890 and settled in Seattle two years later. He worked as a real estate financier and cultivated a network of buildings throughout downtown Seattle.[2] In 1899, he was involved in a legal dispute with the state of Washington relating to the jurisdiction of the Washington Board of Land Commissioners, and in 1903 he sued King County, arguing that land he owned was not eligible for condemnation.[3][4] By 1904, Trimble's real estate business was so successful that he was listed as one of the wealthiest men in Seattle.[5]

In 1908, Trimble ran for Mayor of Seattle as a Republican.[6] Throughout his campaign, he was viewed as a strong contender and was endorsed by The Seattle Republican.[7][8] He came second in the primary, losing the party's nomination to John F. Miller, who would go on to win the general election as well.[1][9] An op-ed in The Seattle Republican later attributed Trimble's loss to being endorsed by The Seattle Times.[10] Trimble later served as a presidential elector for the 1908 United States presidential election.[11] The mayoral campaign was good for Trimble's reputation and for the next year he was regularly suggested as a candidate for the United States Senate.[12][13]

In 1911, Trimble announced his candidacy for Governor of Washington, citing high taxes, infrastructure, and women's rights as key issues in his campaign.[14] Shortly after his announcement, The Idaho Republican alleged that he had enclosed money with his campaign announcements but requested newspapers not label the announcement advertising, and Trimble's name did not ultimately appear on the ballot.[15][16] Trimble remained somewhat active in politics, advocating for the construction of a transit system in Seattle, serving on the cities' charter commission, and arguing against changing the name of Mount Rainier.[17][18][19]

In 1925, while serving as Seattle's planning commissioner, Trimble revived his transit advocacy, proposing a $4,000,000 investment in a city-wide transit system (equivalent to $125,628,571 in 2022).[20] His "Rapid Transit" plan was approved in August of 1926, however, the project was plagued with financial issues.[21][22] Trimble lost a significant portion of his wealth in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.[23]