Päts's first political goal was to take power in the towns, where Baltic Germans still controlled the municipal governments. Päts served as a municipal adviser in Tallinn from 1904 and together with Jaan Poska, he organized an electoral block between Estonians and liberal Russians, which managed to win at the 1904 Tallinn municipal elections. Päts became a member of the city council and in April 1905, he became the deputy mayor, chairing the city council. His active work at the town government left him little time for his newspaper. A group of revolutionaries, led by Hans Pöögelmann, had taken control in "Teataja"'s staff and published anti-government articles and called people for a revolution.