1927 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election

Mayor, Hydro Commissioner, Controllers, and City Council members chosen

← 1926

Monday, December 5, 1927

1928 →


Candidate	William Burton	Calvin Davis
Party	Independent Conservative	Independent Liberal
Popular vote	15,052	8,382

Mayor before election

Freeman Treleaven
Independent

Elected Mayor

William Burton
Independent Conservative

The 1927 Hamilton municipal election was held on December 5, 1927 to select one Mayor, one Hydro Commissioner, 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, and in two bylaw referendum questions regarding an expansion to Hamilton's General Hospital and the city's sewer system.^[1]^[2]

Campaign

Mayor

The 1927 Mayoral contest in Hamilton saw the retirement of sitting two-term mayor Freeman Treleaven. On Nomination Day, Treleaven was nominated for a third term by two of his supporters, George Wild and T.H. Simpson. Speaking at city hall, Treleaven indicated he felt his two terms in office had been successful and expressed discomfort at potentially being elected to a third term, as only three other mayors in the city's history up to that point had served more than two terms in office.^[3]

With Treleaven declining to seek office, the race for the mayoralty became a two-candidate contest between sitting Controller Calvin Davis and former Controller William Burton.^[3] Prior to his nomination for the office of mayor, Burton had been considered a contender for the Hydro Commissioner's seat until November 21, when the Hamilton Spectator confirmed through a campaign supporter that the former Controller's political ambitions had shifted^[4] Burton's campaign was affiliated with the local Conservative Party establishment, despite assertions that partisan politics did not play a role in local government.^[5] Burton's campaign focused on lower taxes as an incentive to business, keeping municipal spending low, and improving local business façades to present a better local image.^[6]^[7]

Davis' campaign began much earlier, with speculation of his mayoral ambitions appearing in the Spectator on November 2.^[8] At the time of his candidacy, Davis was the dean of Hamilton City Council, having been elected as Ward 1 Councillor in 1918 and moving to the Board of Control the following year, which was a record for continuous service on council.^[9] Davis' campaign focused on continuing outgoing mayor Treleaven's work and highlighted the close working relationship between the two.^[10]

Despite providing various levels of support to candidates in the past, the city's largest newspaper, the Spectator, opted to not endorse either candidate, rather encouraging electors to consider each candidate's administrative abilities and personal political history.^[11]

On Election Day, despite campaigning for a single week, Burton secured a commanding majority, winning every ward in the city.^[12]

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Mayoral Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	William Burton	Independent Conservative	15,052	64.24%
	Calvin Davis	Independent Liberal	8,382	35.76%
Total votes			23,432
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Burton for Mayor; Demand of the People, Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Hydro Commissioner

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Hydro Commissioner Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Willoughby Ellis	Independent	11,960	54.08%
	George Henry Evoy	Independent	10,157	45.92%
Total votes			22,117
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Burton for Mayor; Demand of the People, Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,11.

Board of Control

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Board of Control Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	John Peebles (incumbent)	Independent Liberal	12,926
	William Morrison (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	11,535
	John Henry Bell (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	11,248
	Herbert Arthur Burrell	Independent Conservative	9,896
	John George Sherring	Independent	9,048
	C. Herbert MacKay	Independent	8,395
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Burton for Mayor; Demand of the People, Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Referendums


Hamilton, Ontario Municipal Election 1927 Bylaw Referendums
Question	Yes		No
Question	Votes	%	Votes	%
A by-law regarding an expansion to Hamilton's General Hospital	5,765	46.44	6,648	53.56
A by-law regarding improvements to Hamilton's storm sewer system	6,262	53.65	5,411	46.35
Total votes
Registered voters
Sources: "Burton for Mayor; Demand of the People, Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,11.

Aldermen

Ward One

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 1 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Herbert Wilton (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	1,904
	Alastan Polson	Independent Conservative	1,871
	Richard Evan Jones (incumbent)	Independent	1,590
	Robert Currie Gardner	Independent	1,509
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Ward Two

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 2 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Gordon Flett	Independent Conservative	1,451
	Thomas Wright (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	1,245
	Robert Spera (incumbent)	Independent	1,009
	Henry Lloyd George Westland	Independent Conservative	888
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Ward Three

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 3 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Argue Martin (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	Acclaimed
	Cranmer Riselay (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	Acclaimed
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Ward Four

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 4 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Donald McFarlane (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	1,513
	Thomas O'Heir	Independent Conservative	666
	William Ronald (incumbent)	Independent	624
	William Thompson	Independent	524
	Edward Hughes	Independent	409
	Percy Wright	Independent	371
	Henry Roberts	Canadian Labour Party	149
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Ward Five

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 5 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Charles Aitchison (incumbent)	Canadian Labour Party	1,368
	Albert Marck	Independent Conservative	1,309
	George Halcrow	Independent	1,139
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Ward Six

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 6 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	John Hodgson (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	1,834
	Fred Brooks	Independent Conservative	1,564
	Archie Pollock	Canadian Labour Party	864
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Ward Seven

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 7 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Archie Burton (incumbent)	Independent Conservative	2,222
	Charles Brayley	Independent Conservative	1,122
	Samuel Clark	Independent	1,052
	Stanley Marriner	Canadian Labour Party	299
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

Ward Eight

Summary of the December 5, 1927 Hamilton, Ontario Ward 8 Alderman Election
Candidate		Affiliation	Popular vote		Elected?
Candidate		Affiliation	Votes	%	Elected?
	Sam Lawrence (incumbent)	Canadian Labour Party	2,222
	Alfred Smees	Independent Conservative	1,641
	Thomas Lewington	Independent	1,571
	Henry Dirks	Independent	434
	George Jones	Independent	372
Total votes
Registered voters
Note: Candidate campaign colours are used as a visual differentiation between candidates and to indicate affiliation.
Sources: "Aldermanic Vote", Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 11. "Herald Results as Victory for Party," Hamilton Spectator, December 6, 1927, 5,23.

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