1956 Election

The 1956 mayoral election saw three candidates face off. The incumbent, Joseph Dawkins, came into the election highly unpopular. He used to be a Republican but left the party after a spat with leadership several years ago over the issue of racial segregation. Meanwhile, Republican establishment came together behind Jack Price, a former executive at Vermont Industries. Price ran his campaign on supporting industry and drew criticism from both of his opponents by advocating for the newly developed nuclear power to be built in Marble Canyon (which would be one of the first in the country, even the world). The Democrats nominated Clarence Brown, a family doctor from Jackson. A huge supporter of Adlai Stevenson (who was making his 2nd bid at the White House), Brown argued for expanded government services, particularly creating more local healthcare centers and post offices. Brown would become most known for being the first mayoral candidate to advocate for a public airport to be built north of the Lakota River, criticizing the region's current reliance on the air force base in Siluria.