1959 Edmonton municipal election

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The 1959 Edmonton municipal election was held on October 14, 1959, in Edmonton, Alberta. Voters chose a mayor, five aldermen for the city council, four trustees for the public school board, and four trustees for the separate school board. They also decided on eleven plebiscite questions.

Five aldermen positions were already filled from the 1958 cycle: Frederick John Mitchell, George Prudham, Donald Bowen, Ethel Wilson, and Laurette Douglas. Mitchell had been serving as mayor after being appointed to replace William Hawrelak (who resigned September 9, 1959), but bylaws allowed him to return to his aldermanic term once a new mayor was elected.

On the school boards, three trustee seats on each board were already filled: for the public school board, J. Percy Page, Robert Thorogood, and William Orobko continued; for the separate school board, Leo Lemieux, Vincent Dantzer, and E. D. Stack continued.

Turnout was 34.9%: 52,357 ballots cast from 150,062 eligible voters.

Plebiscite questions
1) Should fluorides be added to City water to reach a level of one part fluoride per million parts of water to help prevent tooth decay?

2) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $75,000 for buying land to be used as a sanitary landfill?

3) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $160,000 to buy and place traffic lights at certain highway intersections?

4) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $250,000 for the City’s share of standard paving on arterial and residential streets?

5) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $750,000 for parks, playgrounds, circles, buffer zones, ravine side boulevards, small parks, and triangles?

6) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $300,000 for the City’s share of constructing a CN Railway underpass at the 127 Street and 126 Avenue crossing?

7) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $500,000 for the City’s share of building a four-lane bridge to replace the Mill Creek Ravine bridge at 82nd Avenue?

8) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $3,000,000 to increase Royal Alexandra Hospital capacity by 300 beds and buy equipment?

9) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $350,000 for the City’s share of an indoor swimming pool at Eastglen Composite High School (114th Avenue and 68th Street)?

10) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $175,000 for an Emergency Receiving Home for neglected children?

11) Should the City pass a bylaw creating a debenture debt of $1,000,000 to build two four-lane bridges replacing existing structures at 142 Street/MacKinnon Ravine and 142 Street/MacKenzie Ravine?