1932 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election

The 1932 Hamilton municipal election was held on December 5, 1932 to select one Mayor, four Controllers, and sixteen members of the Hamilton, Ontario City Council, two from each of the city's eight wards. Voters also cast ballots for trustees for the public school board.[1]

1932 Hamilton municipal election

Monday, December 5, 1932

Candidate John Peebles John Bell Party Independent Independent Popular vote 24,499 18,238 Percentage 57.32% 42.68%

Each of Hamilton's eight wards. Electors would send two Alderman per ward to City Hall in addition to four Controllers and one Mayor elected at-large.

Mayor before election John Peebles Independent Elected Mayor John Peebles Independent

Campaign

Held during the economic depression of the 1930s, the election was marked by differences between two ideologically different groups. The Hamilton-branch of the Independent Labour Party stood on a social-democratic platform of advancing the rights of working people and trade unionists in the light of the economic situation of the time.[2] Alternately, a number of candidates stood on a platform that advocated a classical liberal economic policy and referred to themselves as the Policy For 1933 slate.[3] Each group ran candidates for the Board of Control and aldermen, but neither mayoral candidate identified as a member of either slate. Two Communist Party candidates stood in the traditionally working class Wards Seven and Eight in the city's north-end.

The city's Home Owners' Association endorsed candidates based on their policies and opposition to a council-manager system of municipal government. As a group of property owners, the association endorsed right-leaning candidates of whom a majority were also affiliated with the Policy for 1933 group.[4]

The election was notable for the loss of five incumbent aldermen. Four of the aldermen were independents, three of whom were defeated by Policy for 1933 candidates. One Policy for 1933 alderman was defeated by an Independent Labour Party candidate in Ward Eight, the only instance of the party defeating a sitting right-wing alderman.[5]

Mayor

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Mayoral Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	John Peebles (incumbent)	Independent	24,499	57.32%	-17.54%
	John Bell	Independent	18,238	42.68%	n/a
Total votes			42,737	100%
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Peebles Re-Elected By Large Majority", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 7.

Board of Control

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Board of Control Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	Freeman Treleaven	Policy for 1933	23,309	n/a	n/a
	Sam Lawrence (incumbent)	Independent Labour Party	21,323	n/a	n/a
	Donald MacFarlane (incumbent)	Policy for 1933	19,816	n/a	n/a
	Septimus DuMoulin	Policy for 1933	18,308	n/a	n/a
	Cranmer Riselay	Independent	14,433	n/a	n/a
	Samuel Weaver	Independent	8,243	n/a	n/a
	Alexander McLennan	Independent	5,527	n/a	n/a
	Thomas Morris	Independent	4,729	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Board of Control Summary", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Aldermen

Ward One

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward One Aldermanic Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	Andy Gaul (incumbent)	Policy for 1933	3,469	n/a	n/a
	Nora Frances Henderson (incumbent)	Independent	3,448	n/a	n/a
	William MacFarland	Independent	3,275	n/a	n/a
	Herbert Wilton	Independent	1,789	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran," Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Ward Two

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Two Aldermanic Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	William Ainsley (incumbent)	Independent Liberal	2,365	n/a	n/a
	Thomas Gallagher	Policy for 1933	1,576	n/a	n/a
	Gordon Flett	Independent	1,265	n/a	n/a
	William McClemont	Independent	1,262	n/a	n/a
	John Halcrow	Independent Labour Party	1,234	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran," Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Ward Three

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Three Aldermanic Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	William Fick	Policy for 1933	2,643	n/a	n/a
	Robert Evans	Policy for 1933	2,611	n/a	n/a
	William Hutton (incumbent)	Independent	1,649	n/a	n/a
	Austin Macaulay (incumbent)	Independent	1,568	n/a	n/a
	Edward Bryan	Independent Labour Party	956	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Ward Four

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Four Aldermanic Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	George Hancock (incumbent)	Policy for 1933	2,103	n/a	n/a
	Arthur Davidson (incumbent)	Policy for 1933	1,893	n/a	n/a
	Thomas O'Heir	Independent	1,242	n/a	n/a
	Henry Eickhoff	Independent Labour Party	1,101	n/a	n/a
	John Brewer	Independent	281	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Ward Five

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Five Aldermanic Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	Thomas White	Policy for 1933	1,868	n/a	n/a
	Charles Aitchison (incumbent)	Independent Labour Party	1,558	n/a	n/a
	Alexander Nelligan	Independent	1,184	n/a	n/a
	John Sherring (incumbent)	Independent	906	n/a	n/a
	Pierce Somerville	Independent	621	n/a	n/a
	David Atkins	Independent	504	n/a	n/a
	Christopher Hennessy	Independent Labour Party	419	n/a	n/a
	Thomas Allison	Independent	347	n/a	n/a
	Michael Cummings	Independent	251	n/a	n/a
	Michael Licata	Independent	241	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Ward Six

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Six Aldermanic Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	Archie Pollock (incumbent)	Independent Labour Party	2,656	n/a	n/a
	Andy Frame (incumbent)	Independent	2,531	n/a	n/a
	John Hodgson	Independent	2,338	n/a	n/a
	Herbert Wise	Independent	1,283	n/a	n/a
	Wilfred Bircher	Independent Labour Party	662	n/a	n/a
	Michael Hutchison	Independent	470	n/a	n/a
	Edward Fernside	Independent	422	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Ward Seven

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Seven Aldermanic Election

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	Elected
	Independent	Thomas Lewington	1,940
	Independent Labour	Samuel Clarke (incumbent)	1,905
	Independent	Archie Burton (incumbent)	1,635
	Communist	Elizabeth Graham	725
	Independent Labour	Arthur Williams	723
	Independent	Thomas Keith	553
	Independent	Melville Johnson	396
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

Ward Eight

 Summary of the December 5, 1932 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Eight Aldermanic Election

Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote
			Votes	%	±%
	John Mitchell (incumbent)	Independent Labour Party	3,331	n/a	n/a
	James Reed	Independent Labour Party	2,203	n/a	n/a
	Archie Burton (incumbent)	Policy for 1933	2,089	n/a	n/a
	James Walker	Communist Party	1,288	n/a	n/a
	Nathaniel Moore	Independent	853	n/a	n/a
Total votes			n/a	n/a
Registered voters			n/a	n/a	n/a
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.

References

1. "How Aldermanic Candidates Ran," Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.
2. "Vote Labor (Advertisement)," Hamilton Spectator, Saturday, December 3, 1932, pp. 12.
3. "Municipal Elections - Policy for 1933 (Advertisement)," Hamilton Spectator, Saturday, November 26, 1932, pp. 21.
4. "Home Owners' Association candidates (Advertisement)," Hamilton Spectator, Saturday, December 3, 1932, pp. 10.
5. Voters Inject New Blood Into Council," Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 6, 1932, pp. 16.