WHEREAS, In 1852, Olympia became the county seat of a newly organized county called Thurston; and
     WHEREAS, On November 27, 1853, Governor Isaac Stevens selected Olympia as the temporary territorial capital because, among other reasons, it was host to the customs office and first newspaper in the territory, The Columbian; and
     WHEREAS, On January 10, 1855, the territorial legislature made Olympia its permanent capital; and
     WHEREAS, In the 1859-1860 legislative session, a bill came before the territorial legislature calling for Vancouver to become the permanent capital of the Washington Territory, and it was the territorial council that saved Olympia's capital status with a 5-4 vote; and
     WHEREAS, In December of 1860, the Capital Relocation Act, which moved the capital to Vancouver, passed both houses without debate, however, in that same session a referendum also passed the assembly asking the voters to choose the location of the capital in the next election; and
     WHEREAS, On July 8, 1861, by referendum Olympia was decided the clear winner with 1,239 signatures; and
     WHEREAS, In December of 1861, a 2-1 majority of the territorial supreme court found that both statutes were missing enacting clauses and dates of passage, and without an enacting clause, the court found the removal act void and that the referendum held precedence; and
     WHEREAS, On July 4, 1889, the state constitutional convention opened in Olympia, and delegates to the constitutional convention supported a referendum on the capital which would be voted on with adoption of the state Constitution; and
     WHEREAS, On October 1, 1889, Olympia prevailed over Yakima and Ellensburg with a vote total of 25,490, however, not even the third direct vote of the people prevented further capital location controversies; and
     WHEREAS, In 1899, Governor John Rogers vetoed a bill that would have mandated completion of the Capitol Building in Olympia, suggesting the purchase of the newly finished Thurston County Courthouse as a temporary solution; and
     WHEREAS, Even with the purchase of the Thurston County Courthouse in 1901, another attempt was made to move the seat of government via a bill that passed both houses and putting yet another referendum on the state ballot that asked whether the capital should be moved to Tacoma or remain in Olympia; and
     WHEREAS, Governor Albert Mead vetoed the bill, which put the end to any anti-Olympia sentiment; and
     WHEREAS, With the completion of the Legislative Building in 1927, the Washington State Legislature finally met in a permanent Capitol Building, 73 years after the first territorial legislature convened;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Washington State Senate honor the city of Olympia for its longevity and perseverance as the State Capital of Washington, in this, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the territorial legislature's selection of Olympia as its capital.