William S. Beaton

William S. (Bill) Beaton (August 19, 1896 – April 1, 1956) was a Canadian politician, who was the 22nd mayor of the City of Sudbury, Ontario. He was elected to office in 1941[1] and was elected to office a record 11 times.[2] An avid amateur athlete, Beaton was heavily involved in the city's amateur sporting events and as such the annual Beaton Classic was named in his honor.

William S. Beaton
Mayor of Sudbury, Ontario
In office
1941–1951
Preceded byW. J. Forest
Succeeded byDan Jessup
Personal details
BornAugust 19, 1896
East Gwillimbury, Ontario
DiedApril 1, 1956(1956-04-01) (aged 59)
Sudbury, Ontario

Beaton is credited the elimination of the city's streetcar system, and the construction of the Sudbury Arena.[2]

Beaton also ran as an Ontario Liberal Party candidate in Sudbury in the 1948 provincial election,[3] but lost that election to Welland Gemmell.

After a decade as mayor, Beaton was defeated in 1952 by Dan Jessup, a local businessmen.

The 1950 Municipal Election

The municipal election of 1950 represented the start of a key shift in the demographic of city council. It was in this election that citizens of Sudbury elected two women to serve as alderman for the first time in the city's history. They were Grace Hartman and Dr. Faustina Kelly Cook. Although Beaton was successful in this his eleventh election, this would mark the start of a turn of events that would lead to the end of the Beaton dynasty.

On an interesting side note, Beaton also ran against Peter Fenton, the Mayor of the City of Sudbury from 1930 to 1932.

City of Sudbury Election Results, 1950[4]
Mayoral Contest
CandidateVotes
Adv. Polls Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward Total
BEATON (elected) 15 718 1579 2009 4321
Whissell 11 1705 748 1176 3640
Fenton 14 269 719 869 1871
Aldermanic Contest
Fournier Ward McCormick Ward Ryan Ward
Candidate Votes Candidate Votes Candidate Votes
LAMOUREUX (elected) 1944 HARTMAN (elected) 2238 THOMPSON (elected) 2568
COOK (elected) 1434 BARLOW (elected) 1867 COE (elected) 1916
GODIN (elected) 1010 MONAGHAN (elected) 1219 ANDERSON (elected) 1553
Campeau 843 Furchner 1148 McNeill 1442
Theriault 748 O'Neil 529 Germa 1264
Cler 308 Nesbit 673

The view the full results see: Sudbury municipal election, 1950.

Books
  • Dorian, Charles (1961). The First 75 Years, A Headline History of Sudbury, Canada. Arthur H. Stockwell Limited, Ilfracombe, Devon.
  • Wallace, C. M.; & Thomson, Ashley (Eds.) (1993). Sudbury: Rail Town to Regional Capital (3rd ed.). Dundram Press Limited. ISBN 978-1-55002-170-7.

References
  1. Dorian, Charles (1961). The First 75 Years, A Headline History of Sudbury, Canada. Arthur H. Stockwell Limited, Ilfracombe, Devon
  2. Wallace, C. M.; & Thomson, Ashley (Eds.) (1993). Sudbury: Rail Town to Regional Capital (3rd ed.). Dundram Press Limited. ISBN 978-1-55002-170-7.
  3. "Name Sudbury Mayor Liberal Candidate". Ottawa Journal, May 13, 1948.
  4. The Sudbury Daily Star. (December 5, 1950) p.7
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