1935 Edmonton municipal election explained

The 1935 municipal election was held November 13, 1935 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the public school board, while four trustees were acclaimed to the separate school board. Voters also approved a requirement that candidates for city council be required to own property.

There were ten aldermen on city council, but five of the positions were already filled: Hugh MacDonald, John Wesley Fry, Dick Foote, John McCreath, and James East were all elected to two-year terms in 1934 and were still in office.

This election saw emergence of two new civic political parties. Candidates for the first time ran in an Edmonton municipal election under the Social Credit label, excited after winning majority government in the 1935 provincial election. The Tax Reform League, an anti-Social Credit organization, also ran candidates. carrying on the anti-tax work that the Civic Government Association had conducted in previous elections.^[1]

There were seven trustees on the public school board, but three of the positions were already filled: Samuel Barnes, Frederick Casselman, and Izena Ross had all been elected to two-year terms in 1934 and were still in office. The same was true of the separate school board, where A J Crowe (SS), J O Pilon, and J O'Hara were continuing.

Electoral system

Election of mayor and other single members conducted using First past the post.

Election of aldermen and schoolboard trustees conducted using Plurality block voting.

Voter turnout

There were 19,984 voters voting out of 48,003 eligible voters, for a voter turnout of 41.6%.

Results

bold or indicates elected
italics indicate incumbent
"SS", where data is available, indicates representative for Edmonton's South Side, with a minimum South Side representation instituted after the city of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River, amalgamated into Edmonton on February 1, 1912.

Mayor

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Canadian Youth Association	*Joseph Clarke*	11,120	56.06%	Tax Reform League	Ralph Bellamy	6,313	31.83%

Aldermen

Party		Candidate	Votes		Elected

Public school trustees

Party		Candidate	Votes		Elected Separate (Catholic) school trustees *Charles Gariepy, Thomas Malone, R D Tighe, and William Wilde* (SS) were acclaimed. Property Qualification Plebiscite Shall a candidate for Mayor or Alderman be required to have a property qualification? Yes - 14,478 No - 4,202 References Election History, City of Edmonton: Elections and Census Office

Notes and References

Tom Monto, Protest and Progress. Crang Publishing/Alhambra Books (2012), p.229