1928 Edmonton municipal election

The 1928 municipal election was held on December 10, 1928 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to join Edmonton City Council and three trustees to join the public school board during the year of 1929 and 1930. Three trustees were elected by acclamation to join the separate school board for 1929 and 1930.

There were also six bylaws put to a citywide vote.

10 aldermen sat on city council at any one time. Four of the positions were already filled: Ralph Bellamy, A C Sloane, James East, and L S C Dineen were all elected to two-year terms in 1927 and were still in office. John C. Bowen had also been elected to a two-year term, but had resigned in order to run for mayor. Rice Sheppard (SS) was elected in the 1928 election to finish his term.

Labour did well in this election, electing four new alderman (counting farmer activist Sheppard) to add to East and Dineen who were continue to serve in 1929. These six out of 11 seats would give Labour a majority position in 1929.

There were seven trustees on the public school board, but four of the positions were already filled: Frank Crang (SS), Arthur Cushing, Albert Ottewell (SS), and Elmer Roper had all been elected to two-year terms in 1927 and were still in office. The same was true on the separate board, where Robert Crossland (SS), Charles Gariepy, Thomas Magee, and B J Tansey (SS) were continuing.

This election marked Edmonton's return to the at-large Plurality block voting for election of city councilors and school board trustees and first past the post for the mayoral election, under which each voter had as many votes as there were seats to fill. There were no wards to divide the city voters, same as the situation in the previous five elections when single transferable vote/PR had been used for aldermanic elections and Instant-runoff voting for mayoral contests.

Voter turnout

14,971 voters cast ballots, out of 37,915 eligible voters, for a voter turnout of 39.4%. (The vote count is much more than the number of ballots cast due to the block-voting system in use for election of councillors and school trustees.)

Results

Mayor

Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Ambrose Bury 8,970 59.92%
Independent John C. Bowen 6,001 40.08%

Aldermen

Party Candidate Votes Elected
Labour Charles Gibbs 7,841 Green tickY
Civic Government Association Frederick Keillor 6,881 SS Green tickY
Labour Alfred Farmilo 6,294 Green tickY
Labour James Findlay 6,273 Green tickY
Independent Rice Sheppard 6,262 SS Green tickY
Civic Government Association James Collisson 6,255 Green tickY
Civic Government Association George Hazlett 6,107
Civic Government Association Herbert Baker 5,978
Civic Government Association George Wilkinson 4,908
Labour James Herlihy 4,561
Independent G. V. Pelton 4,417
Labour J. A. Thompson 4,623
Independent Joseph Clarke 4,130
Independent Charles Robson 4,026

Public school trustees

Party Candidate Votes Elected
Labour Samuel Barnes 7,022 Green tickY
Civic Government Association Thyrza Bishop 6,300 Green tickY
Civic Government Association Frederick Casselman 5,641 Green tickY
Civic Government Association R. Colwill 5,340
Labour E. E. Owen 5,300
Labour Mrs. D. T. Bell 5,267
Independent S. T. Lawrie 2,469

Separate (Catholic) school trustees

A J Crowe (SS), J O Pilon, and W D Trainor were acclaimed.

Money Bylaws

  • Money items required a minimum two-thirds "Yes" majority to approve the expenditure

$86,525 for paving

  • Yes - 4,305
  • No - 824

$50,000 for gravelling

  • Yes - 4,288
  • No - 802

$23,860 for airport improvements

  • Yes - 3,065
  • No - 1,692

$292,688 for a hospital

  • Yes - 4,362
  • No - 998

$50,000 for a firehall

  • Yes - 3,735
  • No - 1,169

$100,000 for fire equipment

  • Yes - 4,044
  • No - 935

References