Before becoming Mayor, Wood was a lawyer and real-estate speculator who developed property around Green Lake. On April 6, 1896, Mayor Black submitted his resignation to the city council citing illness and a dislike for the job. Black recommended Wood for the seat, and Wood was appointed after a city council vote. In July 1897, Wood traveled to San Francisco to speak at the International Christian Endeavor Convention. While he was at the convention, a steamboat returning from
the Klondike showed up with "a ton of gold." When Wood returned to Seattle in mid-August and submitted a leave of absence for at least ninety days, which was denied by the council the following day. ==References==