William Hawrelak
Encyclopedia
William Hawrelak was a politician in Alberta
, Canada
, the longest-serving mayor
in Edmonton
's history, and a candidate for election to the Canadian House of Commons
.
Andrew Shandro
, after whom Hawrelak's hometown was named) the pair would have three daughters.
In 1945, Hawrelak moved to Edmonton and purchased the Prairie Rose Manufacturing Co., which made soft drinks. He served as president of the Alberta Farmer's Union and of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues before entering politics.
, in which he ran for Edmonton City Council
and was defeated, finishing seventh of twelve candidates for alderman. He was more successful in the next election
, winning the last available aldermanic position by finishing sixth of nine candidates after being backed by the Citizens' Committee, a municipal political party dominated by Anglo-Saxon businessmen.
In 1951, he took over as mayor on an interim basis when Sidney Parsons
had to leave the position for health reasons. In that year's election
, he won the position more permanently by winning more than sixty-five percent of the vote and defeating the returned Parsons and one other candidate.
and 1955
elections were unopposed, and in the 1957 election
he easily dispatched his two challengers, both former aldermen, winning more than sixty-five percent of the vote.
Hawrelak presided over a time of prosperity resulting, in part, from the discovery of oil near Edmonton in 1947. The city was able to provide a variety of new facilities, including a main branch for the Edmonton Public Library
(which would later be named after Stanley Milner, a political rival of Hawrelak's), a new city hall, the Riverside Golf Course, the Valley Zoo
, Fort Edmonton Park
, the Groat Bridge, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Planetarium, Borden Park, Coronation Park, Mayfair Park
(later renamed in Hawrelak's honour), and the Edmonton portion of the Yellowhead Trail
(Highway 16).
In 1958, Ed Leger - who would later become the longest-serving alderman in Edmonton's history, before his record was surpassed by Ron Hayter
- presented a petition to city council that called for an investigation into the city administration. Leger alleged that Hawrelak had used his position to financially benefit himself, his family, and his associates.
An ensuing inquiry by Justice Marshall Porter found Hawrelak guilty of "gross misconduct" - including, in some cases, attempts to influence rezoning of land he owned - in six different land transactions. Hawrelak resigned September 9, 1959, but continued to deny any wrongdoing.
. In an election that has been called the dirtiest in Edmonton's history, he narrowly defeated alderman Stanley Milner. His victory was marred by a riot that erupted when a group of students marching to city hall to protest Hawrelak's re-election victory were met by a mob loyal to the mayor, leading the Edmonton Journal
- which was regularly critical of Hawrelak - to speculate that the mob was organized by the same people who "toured meetings during the recent election campaign with the sole purpose of preventing anti-Hawrelak candidates from speaking".
Hawrelak was re-elected in the 1964 election
, defeating incumbent alderman and former Member of Parliament George Prudham
, but his second stint as mayor would also end prematurely: on March 11, 1965, Chief Justice C.C. McLaurin of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
disqualified Hawrelak from his position after ruling that he had violated the City Act through his involvement with Sun Alta Builder's Ltd., of which he owned forty percent and which had bought land from the city while he was in office. Again Hawrelak denied wrongdoing, and appealed the decision up to the Supreme Court of Canada
, which upheld it (he did win a partial victory in March 1975 when the same court reversed a ruling of a lower court that ordered that he return $80,117 in profits from the dealings to the city; the Supreme Court of Canada found that there were no profits to be returned).
, but was defeated by Vincent Dantzer, the man city council had chosen to replace him as mayor. This would be the only mayoral defeat Hawrelak would suffer in his career. After this defeat, he declared himself done with city politics. He turned his attention instead to the federal scene.
In the 1957 federal election
, Hawrelak, still mayor and before his political troubles had started, had run as the Liberal Party of Canada
candidate in Edmonton East
. He had come within three hundred votes of unseating incumbent Social Credit Party of Canada
MP Ambrose A. Holowach
, but had not hitherto made any subsequent bids for federal election. This changed with the 1968 federal election
. Hawrelak ran in Edmonton Centre
. Denied the Liberal nomination, he ran instead as an "Independent Liberal". He finished third, behind Progressive Conservative
Steve Paproski
and official Liberal Donald Gray. He may have had some impact after all, however: the gap between the Conservative Paproski and the Liberal Gray was fewer than two hundred votes, while the independent Liberal Hawrelak won more than seven thousand.
against incumbent Ivor Dent
, future mayor Cec Purves
, alderman David Ward
, and three other candidates. Even in this crowded field, Hawrelak won more than forty-nine percent of the vote in his return to office. His last term was marked by a similar style of governance to his previous terms: he was accused of stacking city boards and commissions with his friends, he appointed a disbarred lawyer as his executive assistant, and allowed property taxes into his holdings to fall in arrears (which he characterized as an oversight). However, he also faced new opposition: the council on which he served included a number of urban reformers as well as his old nemesis Ed Leger. Hawrelak couldn't maintain the tight control to which he was accustomed.
Fifteen months after his election, on November 7, 1975, William Hawrelak died of a heart attack. More than ten thousand people came to pay their respects as his body lay in city council chambers.
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the longest-serving mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
's history, and a candidate for election to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
.
Early life
Hawrelak was born in Shandro, Alberta to Ukrainian immigrants William and Anastasia Hawrelak (the family's ancestral name was Гавриляк (Havryliak)). He married Pearl Shandro (daughter of Alberta MLALegislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
Andrew Shandro
Andrew Shandro (Alberta politician)
Andrew S. Shandro , was the first Ukrainian Canadian to be elected to the Alberta Legislature. Shandro was the son of Stefan Shandro and his wife, Nostansi...
, after whom Hawrelak's hometown was named) the pair would have three daughters.
In 1945, Hawrelak moved to Edmonton and purchased the Prairie Rose Manufacturing Co., which made soft drinks. He served as president of the Alberta Farmer's Union and of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues before entering politics.
Early career in municipal politics
Hawrelak's first attempt at political office took place in the 1948 municipal electionEdmonton municipal election, 1948
The 1948 municipal election was held November 3, 1948 to elect five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council. There was no mayoral election, as Harry Ainlay was in the second year of a two year term...
, in which he ran for Edmonton City Council
Edmonton City Council
The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors. Until 2010, Edmonton was divided in six wards with two councillors representing citizens in each ward...
and was defeated, finishing seventh of twelve candidates for alderman. He was more successful in the next election
Edmonton municipal election, 1949
The 1949 municipal election was held November 2, 1949 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council. The electorate also decided eight plebiscite questions...
, winning the last available aldermanic position by finishing sixth of nine candidates after being backed by the Citizens' Committee, a municipal political party dominated by Anglo-Saxon businessmen.
In 1951, he took over as mayor on an interim basis when Sidney Parsons
Sidney Parsons
Sidney Parsons was a Canadian politician, mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, and candidate for election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.-Early life:...
had to leave the position for health reasons. In that year's election
Edmonton municipal election, 1951
The 1951 municipal election was held November 7, 1951 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the separate school board...
, he won the position more permanently by winning more than sixty-five percent of the vote and defeating the returned Parsons and one other candidate.
First stint as mayor
Hawrelak initially saw considerable political success: his re-election bids in the 1953Edmonton municipal election, 1953
The 1953 municipal election was held October 14, 1953 to elect six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the separate school board...
and 1955
Edmonton municipal election, 1955
The 1955 municipal election was held October 19, 1955 to elect five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and six trustees to sit on the public school board...
elections were unopposed, and in the 1957 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1957
The 1957 municipal election was held November 3, 1957 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the public school board...
he easily dispatched his two challengers, both former aldermen, winning more than sixty-five percent of the vote.
Hawrelak presided over a time of prosperity resulting, in part, from the discovery of oil near Edmonton in 1947. The city was able to provide a variety of new facilities, including a main branch for the Edmonton Public Library
Edmonton Public Library
The Edmonton Public Library is a publicly funded library in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, available for use by any member of the public. Children are eligible for free library cards, while adults pay an annual fee . University of Alberta students can receive free access using the L-Pass...
(which would later be named after Stanley Milner, a political rival of Hawrelak's), a new city hall, the Riverside Golf Course, the Valley Zoo
Valley Zoo
The Edmonton Valley Zoo is a zoo located in the heart of Edmonton, Alberta's river valley. The Edmonton Valley Zoo is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton and is open 364 days a year, only closing on Christmas...
, Fort Edmonton Park
Fort Edmonton Park
Fort Edmonton Park is an attraction in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Named for the first enduring European post in the area of modern-day Edmonton, the park is the largest living history museum in Canada by area...
, the Groat Bridge, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Planetarium, Borden Park, Coronation Park, Mayfair Park
William Hawrelak Park
William Hawrelak Park is a park in Edmonton, Alberta. It is named after former mayor William Hawrelak, and was formerly known as Mayfair Park.The park is situated in Edmonton's river valley, next to the North Saskatchewan River...
(later renamed in Hawrelak's honour), and the Edmonton portion of the Yellowhead Trail
Yellowhead Highway
The Yellowhead Highway is a major east-west highway connecting the four western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Although part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, the highway should not be confused with the more southerly, originally-designated...
(Highway 16).
In 1958, Ed Leger - who would later become the longest-serving alderman in Edmonton's history, before his record was surpassed by Ron Hayter
Ron Hayter
Ronald John Hayter is the longest-serving city councillor of Edmonton, Alberta, having served since 1971 until 1995, when he stepped down to join the National Parole Board...
- presented a petition to city council that called for an investigation into the city administration. Leger alleged that Hawrelak had used his position to financially benefit himself, his family, and his associates.
An ensuing inquiry by Justice Marshall Porter found Hawrelak guilty of "gross misconduct" - including, in some cases, attempts to influence rezoning of land he owned - in six different land transactions. Hawrelak resigned September 9, 1959, but continued to deny any wrongdoing.
Return to office and second stint
The city sued Hawrelak, and he ultimately paid $100,000 plus $4,000 in legal fees to settle the lawsuit; this settlement also made him eligible to again seek elected municipal office, which he did in the 1963 electionEdmonton municipal election, 1963
The 1963 municipal election was held October 16, 1963 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards...
. In an election that has been called the dirtiest in Edmonton's history, he narrowly defeated alderman Stanley Milner. His victory was marred by a riot that erupted when a group of students marching to city hall to protest Hawrelak's re-election victory were met by a mob loyal to the mayor, leading the Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Journal
The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...
- which was regularly critical of Hawrelak - to speculate that the mob was organized by the same people who "toured meetings during the recent election campaign with the sole purpose of preventing anti-Hawrelak candidates from speaking".
Hawrelak was re-elected in the 1964 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1964
The 1964 Edmonton municipal election was held October 14, 1964 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and seven trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards....
, defeating incumbent alderman and former Member of Parliament George Prudham
George Prudham
George Prudham, was a Canadian politician.Born in Kilbride, Ontario, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons representing the riding of Edmonton West in the 1949 federal election. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1953. In 1950, he was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of...
, but his second stint as mayor would also end prematurely: on March 11, 1965, Chief Justice C.C. McLaurin of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta is the superior court of the Canadian province of Alberta....
disqualified Hawrelak from his position after ruling that he had violated the City Act through his involvement with Sun Alta Builder's Ltd., of which he owned forty percent and which had bought land from the city while he was in office. Again Hawrelak denied wrongdoing, and appealed the decision up to the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
, which upheld it (he did win a partial victory in March 1975 when the same court reversed a ruling of a lower court that ordered that he return $80,117 in profits from the dealings to the city; the Supreme Court of Canada found that there were no profits to be returned).
Out of office and federal politics
Hawrelak ran for mayor in the 1966 electionEdmonton municipal election, 1966
The 1966 municipal election was held October 19, 1966 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and seven trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards...
, but was defeated by Vincent Dantzer, the man city council had chosen to replace him as mayor. This would be the only mayoral defeat Hawrelak would suffer in his career. After this defeat, he declared himself done with city politics. He turned his attention instead to the federal scene.
In the 1957 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1957
The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative Party , led by John Diefenbaker, brought an end to 22 years of Liberal rule, as the...
, Hawrelak, still mayor and before his political troubles had started, had run as the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate in Edmonton East
Edmonton East
Edmonton East is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1917.The district includes a portion of the city of Edmonton.-Geography:...
. He had come within three hundred votes of unseating incumbent Social Credit Party of Canada
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
MP Ambrose A. Holowach
Ambrose A. Holowach
Ambrose A. Holowach was a businessman, soldier during World War II and an Alberta provincial level and federal level politician.-Federal political career:...
, but had not hitherto made any subsequent bids for federal election. This changed with the 1968 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
. Hawrelak ran in Edmonton Centre
Edmonton Centre
Edmonton Centre is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1979, and since 2004...
. Denied the Liberal nomination, he ran instead as an "Independent Liberal". He finished third, behind Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
Steve Paproski
Steve Paproski
Steven Eugene Paproski, PC was a Canadian politician and pro football player. He played in the CFL from 1949 to 1954 and served as a federal Member of Parliament from 1968 to 1993.-Early life:...
and official Liberal Donald Gray. He may have had some impact after all, however: the gap between the Conservative Paproski and the Liberal Gray was fewer than two hundred votes, while the independent Liberal Hawrelak won more than seven thousand.
Third stint and death
Reversing himself, Hawrelak ran for mayor again in the 1974 electionEdmonton municipal election, 1974
The 1974 municipal election was held October 16, 1974 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and seven trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards.-Voter turnout:...
against incumbent Ivor Dent
Ivor Dent
Ivor Graham Dent, was a politician from Alberta, Canada, a mayor of Edmonton, and a former candidate for the Canadian House of Commons and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.-Early life:...
, future mayor Cec Purves
Cec Purves
Cecil John Harry Purves is a politician in Alberta, Canada, who served as mayor of Edmonton.-Early life:Purves was born in Edmonton on October 18, 1933. He grew up in the city's Riverdale district and graduated high school in the city...
, alderman David Ward
Kiviaq
Kiviaq is a Canadian Inuit lawyer, politician, and former sportsman. He was the first Inuk to become a lawyer, and is responsible for several important advances in establishing the legal rights of the Inuit people; in 2001, he won the legal right to use his single-word Inuktituk name.Born outside...
, and three other candidates. Even in this crowded field, Hawrelak won more than forty-nine percent of the vote in his return to office. His last term was marked by a similar style of governance to his previous terms: he was accused of stacking city boards and commissions with his friends, he appointed a disbarred lawyer as his executive assistant, and allowed property taxes into his holdings to fall in arrears (which he characterized as an oversight). However, he also faced new opposition: the council on which he served included a number of urban reformers as well as his old nemesis Ed Leger. Hawrelak couldn't maintain the tight control to which he was accustomed.
Fifteen months after his election, on November 7, 1975, William Hawrelak died of a heart attack. More than ten thousand people came to pay their respects as his body lay in city council chambers.