William Hawrelak - First Stint As Mayor

First Stint As Mayor

Hawrelak initially saw considerable political success: his re-election bids in the 1953 and 1955 elections were unopposed, and in the 1957 election he easily dispatched his two challengers, both former aldermen, winning more than sixty-five percent of the vote.

Hawrelak presided over a time of prosperity resulting, in part, from the discovery of oil near Edmonton in 1947. The city was able to provide a variety of new facilities, including a main branch for the Edmonton Public Library (which would later be named after Stanley Milner, a political rival of Hawrelak's), a new city hall, the Riverside Golf Course, the Valley Zoo, Fort Edmonton Park, the Groat Bridge, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Planetarium, Borden Park, Coronation Park, Mayfair Park (later renamed in Hawrelak's honour), and the Edmonton portion of the Yellowhead Trail (Highway 16).

In 1958, Ed Leger - who would later become the longest-serving alderman in Edmonton's history, before his record was surpassed by Ron Hayter - presented a petition to city council that called for an investigation into the city administration. Leger alleged that Hawrelak had used his position to financially benefit himself, his family, and his associates.

An ensuing inquiry by Justice Marshall Porter found Hawrelak guilty of "gross misconduct" - including, in some cases, attempts to influence rezoning of land he owned - in six different land transactions. Hawrelak resigned September 9, 1959, but continued to deny any wrongdoing.