1935 Toronto municipal election

none September 2023 Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1935. James Simpson won a surprise victory in the mayoral campaign to become the first socialist candidate elected to the office. Toronto mayor Incumbent William James Stewart chose not to run for reelection. The race to succeed him became focused on two candidates. James Simpson, known as "People's Jimmy" was a long serving member of the Board of Control and former vice-president of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. He was an active member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and a self-described socialist. Simpson was strongly opposed by many religious leaders, former mayor Stewart, and three of the four daily newspapers. Only the Toronto Daily Star endorsed his run. The other three papers endorsed Alderman Harry W. Hunt who finished a close second. Also running were controller J. George Ramsden and communist Reverend A.E. Smith, but they finished considerably back. Results James Simpson - 54,400 Harry W. Hunt - 50,986 J. George Ramsden - 16,851 A.E. Smith - 4,760 Board of Control Incumbent Sam McBride and William D. Robbins won reelection to the Board of Control. As Simpson and Ramsden chose to run for mayor, this left two vacancies on the board. These were filled by Alderman Ralph Day and former alderman William J. Wadsworth. Finishing further back were two ex-controllers, Claude Pierce and A.E. Hacker. Also running were social activist Adelaide Plumptre and Communist leader Tim Buck. Alderman George Duthie was also a candidate but withdrew Results Sam McBride (incumbent) - 71,177 William J. Wadsworth - 58,783 William D. Robbins (incumbent) - 44,820 Ralph Day - 41,515 Claude Pearce - 34,064 Adelaide Plumptre - 32,872 A.E Hacker - 29,110 Frank Regan - 26,242 Tim Buck - 9,938 City council right|thumb|300px|Ward boundaries used in the 1935 election Ward 1 (Riverdale) Frank M. Johnston (incumbent) - 7,412 W.A. Summerville - 5,171 Gordon Millen - 4,682 Zeph Hilton - 3,736 Clifford Lock - 1,686 David Spencer - 881 Thomas Cooney - 858 Ward 2 (Cabbagetown and Rosedale) Harry Gladstone Clarke (incumbent) - 6,082 John R. Beamish (incumbent) - 4,738 William Dennison - 2,659 Percy Bishop - 2348 Thomas James - 465 Ward 3 (Central Business District) John Laidlaw (incumbent) - 2,990 John S. Simmons - 2,334 Arnold Ferguson - 1,980 Albert Kinnear - 1,696 Fred Ross - 925 Alfred Burgess - 490 C.A. Risk - 457 Abraham Golberg - 294 Joseph Kent - 290 Ward 4 (Kensington Market and Garment District) Robert Hood Saunders - 4,779 Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 4,691 H.M. Goodman - 2,293 Ida Siegel - 2,130 Myer Klig - 1,068 Max Federman - 552 Max Orenstein - 534 S.C. Schiller - 419 Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods) Fred Hamilton (incumbent) - 6,483 Robert Leslie - 5,931 Harold Menzies - 3,091 Thomas Black - 2,907 Stewart Smith - 1,871 James Conner - 1,576 Charles Kerr - 1,045 Albert Plenty - 499 Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale) Frederick J. Conboy - 12,961 D.C. MacGregor (incumbent) - 9,015 Harold Tracy - 6,530 Robert Stanley - 3,714 Harry Stephenson - 1,575 George Granell - 600 Bertram Tipping - 475 Ward 7 (West Toronto Junction) George H. Gardiner (incumbent) - 7,217 Frank Whetter (incumbent) - 5,698 Harry Wynn - 3,267 John McPhee - 1,594 Ward 8 (East Toronto) Ernest Bray (incumbent) - 9,603 Walter Howell - 8,537 Albert Burnese - 4,548 Robert Baker - 4,399 David MacKay - 878 David Weir - 763 Alfred Hambleton - 445 Ward 9 (North Toronto) William D. Ellis (incumbent) - 8,224 Douglas McNish - 5,435 Herbert Ball - 4,456 John Innes - 3,546 Charles Reeves - 1,646 Walter Wilkinson - 1,689 John McGonnell - 453 Results taken from the January 2, 1935 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies. Ward 3 and 6 results taken from the January 2, 1935 Toronto Telegram. References Election Coverage. Toronto Star. January 2, 1935 Toronto municipal election 1935 Toronto municipal election