Gordon Stronach

Gordon Stronach
Mayor of London, Ontario
In office
1 January 1961 – 1 January 1968
Preceded byAllan Johnston
Succeeded byHerbert McClure
Personal details
Born
Frank Gordon Stronach

1908
London, England
DiedJanuary 1, 1968(1968-01-01) (aged 59–60)
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionPolice officer

Frank Gordon Stronach was a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of London, Ontario from 1961 to 1968.

Stronach, a retired 26-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,[1] was serving as police chief in the suburban London Township, which was slated for annexation into the city on 1 January 1961.[2] He ran for mayor in the 1960 municipal election after being unable to negotiate a position with the London Police Service, into which the township force was to be amalgamated.[2] He won over incumbent mayor Allan Johnston by a narrow margin of 174 votes, triggering a recount which confirmed his victory.[3]

Johnston ran against Stronach again in the 1962 municipal election, which Stronach won by a wider 4,900-vote margin.[4] In the 1964 election, Stronach was returned over two candidates including a 21-year-old University of Western Ontario student named Theo Wolder, who later went on to become a Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice;[5] in the 1966 election, he won reelection to a three-year term by acclamation.[6]

He ran as an Ontario Liberal Party candidate for London South in the 1967 provincial election, but lost to incumbent MPP John White.[7]

He died in office on 1 January 1968,[6] and was succeeded as mayor by Herbert McClure in a council vote on 8 January.[8]

References

  1. ^ "London Mayor Political Puzzle". The Globe and Mail, 3 January 1961.
  2. ^ a b "Stronach Leads Race In London Election". The Globe and Mail, 13 December 1960.
  3. ^ "Seek London Recount After Mayoral Upset". The Globe and Mail, 14 December 1960.
  4. ^ "Elect Stronach To Second Term In London Vote". The Globe and Mail, 11 December 1962.
  5. ^ "Stronach Re-elected For His Third Term". The Globe and Mail, 15 December 1964.
  6. ^ a b "Chief of police became mayor after merger". The Globe and Mail, 2 January 1968.
  7. ^ "'Clean fight' Robarts says; Cabinet meets tomorrow". The Globe and Mail. 18 October 1967.
  8. ^ "Name McClure London mayor". The Globe and Mail. 9 January 1968.