Ezra Thompson was the 12th and 14th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 who was elected three times and served two non-consecutive terms. He was mayor in 1900–1903 and 1906–1907.

First term

Thompson was born in Salt Lake City. He made his fortune in the a Park City

Park City, Utah

Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...

 mining venture with future United States Senator from Utah Thomas Kearns

Thomas Kearns

Thomas Kearns was a mining, banking, railroad and newspaper magnate. He was elected United States Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905.- Immigration and mining :...

. In 1899, Thompson was elected mayor of Salt Lake City on the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 ticket. He was re-elected in 1901 and served until 1903.

In January 1903, Thompson was a signatory of an official protest to the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 of the Utah Legislature's election of Mormon Apostle Reed Smoot

Reed Smoot

Reed Owen Smoot was a native-born Utahn who was first elected to the United States Senate from Utah in 1903, and served as a Senator until 1933...

 as a United States Senator for Utah.

Second term

In September 1904, Thompson was one of the founders of the anti-Mormon American Party

American Party (Utah)

The American Party was a political party in Utah from 1904 to 1911. It was designed to counter the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah politics.-Creation:...

. The party's principal goal was to eliminate the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) over politics in Utah. In 1905, Thompson was the new party's candidate for mayor, and he was elected; four other elected members of the city council were also members of the American Party. During this term, Thompson was an outspoken critic of the LDS Church and accused church leaders of continuing to sanction the practice of plural marriage

Plural marriage

Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...

.

Resignation

In 1907, Thompson's chief of police, George Sheets, was accused of bribery. Although formally cleared of charges, the Sheets nevertheless resigned, and Thompson followed five days later on August 2, 1907. Thompson's stated reason for resigning was that of ill health. Thompson was replaced as mayor by American Party leader John S. Bransford

John S. Bransford

John Samuel Bransford was the 15th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah from 1907 to 1911.Bransford was born in Richmond, Missouri. As a child, Bransford had traveled the Mormon Trail with his family on their journey to California in 1864, stopping temporarily in Salt Lake City...

, who was subsequently elected to a full term in the 1907 election.