Municipal Politics and Expulsion From Office
James East first sought political office in the February 1912 municipal election, when he ran for alderman on the Edmonton City Council, finishing fifth of eighteen candidates. Unlike most of Edmonton's elections at the time, in which half of the aldermen were elected to two year terms (with the other half being elected to two year terms in intervening years) the recent amalgamation of Edmonton and Strathcona meant that all ten aldermen would be elected, five each to terms of each of one and two years. As a finisher in the top five, East would normally have been entitled to a two year term; however the terms of the amalgamation specified that two of the aldermen elected to two year terms had to come from the south side of the North Saskatchewan River - where Strathcona was located - and there was only one such candidate (John Tipton) in the top five. Accordingly, Thomas J. Walsh - who finished eighth - was elected to a two year term, and East to only a one year term. He was easily re-elected to a two year term in the ensuing election.
However, he was convicted by Justice William Ives of voting on a matter in which he had a pecuniary interest, and was expelled from office October 27, 1914 (mayor William McNamara was expelled at the same time and for the same reason). East attempted to return to office in the 1914 election, but fared no better than tenth out of fourteen candidates.
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