Eli M. Wight
Mayor of Chattanooga
In office
1873–1873
Preceded byJosiah Jackson Bryan
Succeeded byPhilander D. Sims
In office
1877–1877
Preceded byTomlinson Fort
Succeeded byThomas J. Carlisle
Personal details
BornMay 4, 1841
West Bethel, Maine[1]
DiedJanuary 6, 1881
Chattanooga, Tennessee[1]

Eli Mellen Wight (May 4, 1841 – January 6, 1881) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee.[1]

Biography

Wight was born in Maine on May 4, 1841.[2] He was educated as a physician.[2] In 1861, he joined the Union Army.[2] In 1864, he was stationed at Chattanooga where he also treated civilians.[2] In 1866, he left the military and remained in Chattanooga where he started his own medical practice.[2] In 1873, he was elected mayor where he focused on reducing the government deficit by shrinking the police department, laying off the city engineer in the winter, closing the Public Works department for several months, and asking the citizens more quickly pay their taxes.[2] In 1876, he was elected to a second term again focusing on fiscal responsibility.[3] In 1878, he ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for Governor of Tennessee[3] receiving 42,284 votes compared to 89,958 votes for the winner Democrat Albert S. Marks, and 14,155 votes for the Greenback candidate, Richard M. Edwards.[4]

After his defeat, he returned to the practice of medicine.[3] He died on January 6, 1881.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Zella Armstrong, History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee (Overmountain Press, 1993; originally published 1931), p. 203.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "1873 Dr. Eli M. Wight". chattanooga.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "1877 Dr. Eli M. Wight". chattanooga.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  4. ↑ Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 203-204.
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