Ralph Jespersen Explained

Ralph Andrew Jespersen
Birth Date:9 May 1925
Death Place:Alberta, Canada
Birth Place:Stony Plain, Alberta
Office:Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Constituency:Stony Plain
Term Start:May 23, 1967
Term End:August 30, 1971
Predecessor:Cornelia Wood
Successor:William Purdy
Party:Social Credit
Occupation:Dairyman
Spouse:Bernice Jespersen

Ralph Andrew Jespersen (May 9, 1925 – October 17, 2016) was a dairyman and provincial politician from Alberta, Canada.[1] He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1967 to 1971, sitting with the governing Social Credit caucus.[2]

Political career

Jespersen ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1967 Alberta general election. He was nominated as the Social Credit candidate in the Stony Plain electoral district on February 13, 1967. In the nomination race he defeated longtime incumbent Cornelia Wood.[3]

He would face Wood again in the general election as well as two other candidates. Jespersen would take just 36% of the popular vote to win the tight four way race along with defeating Wood for the second time who finished a distant fourth place running as an Independent Social Credit candidate.[4]

Jespersen ran for a second term in the 1971 Alberta general election but finished second being defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate William Purdy despite gaining a modest increase in vote percentage.[5] Jespersen died on October 17, 2016, at the age of 91.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Guide Parlementaire Canadien. 1971.
  2. Web site: Ralph Jespersen. Dignity Memorial. 11 April 2017.
  3. News: Socred MLA Turned Aside. The Lethbridge Daily Herald. 1. Vol. LX No. 53. February 13, 1967.
  4. Web site: Stony Plain Official Results 1967 Alberta general election . Alberta Heritage Community Foundation . March 14, 2010.
  5. Web site: Stony Plain Official Results 1971 Alberta general election . Alberta Heritage Community Foundation . March 14, 2010.
  6. Web site: Ralph Jespersen Obituary (1925 - 2016) - Stony Plain, AB - Edmonton Journal.