Public Office
He was first elected to city council in 1955 as the alderman for an east-end Toronto ward 8 in The Beaches neighbourhood and served until 1958, then on the Toronto Board of Control from 1959 to 1961. He was elected mayor of Toronto in 1962.
Summerville suffered a fatal heart attack while playing in a charity hockey tournament at George Bell Arena in the City's west end. Because of municipal boundary guidelines the nearest ambulance, operated by the York Township Fire Department and only a mile away, was never called. Instead, a city ambulance was dispatched from over ten miles away, and Summerville died waiting for aid. His death led to the creation of the Department of Emergency Services and the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto's various local ambulance services.
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“Money is power, and in that government which pays all the public officers of the states will all political power be substantially concentrated.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)