1923 Calgary municipal election

The 1923 Calgary municipal election was held on December 12, 1923 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Calgary City Council. Additionally a commissioner, four members for the public school board and three members for the separate school board.

There were twelve aldermen on city council, but six of the positions were already filled: Frederick Johnston, Thomas H. Crawford, Frederick Ernest Osborne, Fred J. White, Neil I. McDermid, and John Walker Russell, were all elected to two-year terms in 1922 and were still in office.

The 1923 election was the first where a mayor would serve for two years after the bylaw providing for a two-year term was approved by the electorate.

A number of plebiscites were held, all requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.

The election was held under the Single Transferable Voting/Proportional Representation (STV/PR) with the term for candidates being two years.^[1]^[2]

The first woman elected to Calgary City Council, Annie Gale was defeated in the election. The Calgary Daily Herald reported approximately 4,240 women voted in the election, compared to 6,582 men.^[3]

Results

Mayor

Webster was elected on the first count.

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected
	Civic Government Association	George Harry Webster	8,266	75.52%	Y
	Dominion Labor	Angus Smith	2,680	24.48%
Total valid votes			10,946
Approximate rejected ballots			176

Council

Quota for election was 1,574.

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Count	Elected
	Civic Government Association	Thomas Alexander Hornibrook	1,824	17.37%	1st	Y
	Civic Government Association	Robert Cadogan Thomas	1,598	15.22%	1st	Y
	Civic Government Association	Sam S. Savage	1,339	12.75%	3rd	Y
	Civic Government Association	Harry W. Ross	1,139	10.85%	8th	Y
	Dominion Labor	Walter Little	938	8.94%	8th	Y
	Dominion Labor	Andrew Davison	935	8.91%	8th	Y
	Dominion Labor	Annie Gale	793	7.55%	eliminated
	Dominion Labor	Robert H. Parkyn	720	6.86%	eliminated
	Independent	George D. Batchelor	380	3.62%	eliminated
	Independent	Daniel Dubber	375	3.57%	eliminated
	Independent	J. Aaron	238	2.27%	eliminated
	Independent	Hugh J. Duffield	219	2.09%	eliminated
Total valid votes			10,498

Public School Board

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Count	Elected
	Civic Government Association	Fred S. Selwood	3,119	31.11%	1st	Y
	Dominion Labor	Thomas. B. Riley	1,797	17.92%	3rd	Y
	Civic Government Association	Annie E. Langford	1,785	17.80%	2nd	Y
	Civic Government Association	A. C. Newcomb	1,691	16.86%	2nd	Y
	Independent	Robert J. Cameron	1,021	10.18%
	Independent	Minnie B. Drummond	614	6.12%
Total valid votes			10,027

Separate School Board

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Count	Elected
	Civic Government Association	John Burns	X	X%	1st	Y
	Civic Government Association	V. H. Burgard		X%	2nd	Y
	Dominion Labor	J. H. O'Brian	X	X%	3rd	Y
	Independent	G. D. Venidi	X	X%
	Independent	W. D. Mackay	44	X%
Total valid votes			X

Note: archived copies of The Calgary Daily Herald are poorly scanned and vote totals for candidates are not visible.

Plebiscite

Two Year Term for Mayor

Two Year Term for Mayor - Passed

Two Year Term for Mayor	Votes	%
Yes		%
No		%

River Protection Bylaw

Bylaw for protection of river. - Defeated^[4]

River Protection Bylaw	Votes	%
Yes		%
No		%

References

^ "Webster, Mayor; C.G.A. Makes Clean Sweep". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4936. December 13, 1923. p. 1. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
^ "Results of the Mayoralty Vote". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4936. December 13, 1923. p. 21. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
^ "4,240 Women Cast Civic Votes on Wednesday". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4937. December 14, 1923. p. 17. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
^ "City Hall Nearly Deserted After All-Night Spell". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4936. December 13, 1923. p. 19. Retrieved March 7, 2020. Asked about the defeat of the river protection bylaw, Mr. Graves intimated that this was not unexpected.

[1] "Webster, Mayor; C.G.A. Makes Clean Sweep". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4936. December 13, 1923. p. 1. Retrieved March 5, 2020.

[2] "Results of the Mayoralty Vote". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4936. December 13, 1923. p. 21. Retrieved March 5, 2020.

[3] "4,240 Women Cast Civic Votes on Wednesday". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4937. December 14, 1923. p. 17. Retrieved March 5, 2020.

[4] "City Hall Nearly Deserted After All-Night Spell". The Calgary Daily Herald. No. 4936. December 13, 1923. p. 19. Retrieved March 7, 2020. Asked about the defeat of the river protection bylaw, Mr. Graves intimated that this was not unexpected.

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