William Tomyn
Encyclopedia
William Tomyn was a politician and teacher from Alberta
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...

. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative 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...

 from 1935 to 1952 and again 1959 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government both times.

Early life

William started teaching in a one room school house in Plain Lake, Alberta
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...

. But William didn't teach in a one room school.

Political career

Tomyn ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature as a candidate under the Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Alberta
The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values....

 banner in the 1935 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1935
The Alberta general election of 1935 was the eighth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 22, 1935 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

 in the electoral district of Whitford. The race was hotly contested, Tomyn faced three other candidates with two of them having been elected to the Alberta Legislature. Tomyn won the district on the third count in vote transfers defeating incumbent Isidore Goresky
Isidore Goresky
Isidore Goresky was a farm labourer, teacher and provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1930 to 1935 sitting with the United Farmers caucus in government.-Early life:Isidore Goresky was born on November 25, 1902 in Barbiwtsi,...

 and former MLA Andrew Shandro.

The 1940 boundary redistribution would see Whitford abolished. Tomyn ran for re-election in the new electoral district of Willingdon. The election held that year
Alberta general election, 1940
The Alberta general election of 1940 was the ninth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada, was held on March 21, 1940 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

 saw Tomyn win a large majority to pick up the new seat for his party.

Tomyn ran for a third term in the 1944 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1944
The Alberta general election of 1944 was the tenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. The Assembly was dissolved on July 8, 1944 and the vote for was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

. The race was hotly contested. Tomyn defeated Co-operative Commonwealth candidate L.L. Kostash on the second count to hold his seat.

Tomyn ran for a fourth term in the 1948 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1948
The Alberta general election of 1948 was the eleventh general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 17, 1948 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

. He faced only one challenger Co-operative Commonwealth candidate Nick Dushenski
Nick Dushenski
Nick William Dushenski was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1959 sitting with the Co-operative Commonwealth caucus in opposition....

. Tomyn won the straight fight over Dushenski by 250 votes.

The 1952 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1952
The Alberta general election of 1952 was the twelfth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 5, 1952 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Ernest C...

 would see Tomyn and Dushenski face each other a second time. The race would be closer than in 1948 with Dushenski defeating Tomyn on the second count.

Tomyn attempted a political comeback by running as the Social Credit candidate in the new electoral district of Edmonton Norwood
Edmonton-Norwood
Edmonton-Norwood was provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The District was created from the Edmonton district in 1959 and was abolished in 2004 when it merged with Edmonton-Highlands to form Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. The district was a swing riding and was held by every major party...

 in the 1959 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1959
The Alberta general election of 1959 was the fourteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 18, 1959 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Ernest C...

. He defeated four other candidate with a landslide majority. His win put made him one of only a handful of people to win both an urban and rural district in the Alberta history.

Tomyn ran for his sixth term in the 1963 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1963
The Alberta general election of 1963 was the fifteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 17, 1963 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.The Social Credit Party, led by Ernest C...

. His lost a sizable portion of his popular vote but was still returned with a comfortable majority.

Tomyn ran for his seventh term in the 1967 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1967
The Alberta general election of 1967 was the sixteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 23, 1967 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

. He faced a hotly contested election against NDP candidate and future MLA Grant Notely. He defeated him by a margin of 1,000 votes to win his final term in office.

Tomyn retired from the Alberta Legislature at dissolution in 1971. His total career made him the sixth longest-serving member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative 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...

to date.

External links

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