On this day in 1920, Hyman King promised a "square deal" for Edmontonians in a newspaper ad outlining his platform for alderman, the title for city councillors at the time. Among his promises was to put "Edmonton first, last and all the time," the removal of "all undesirable characters and parasites who are draining the city coffers," and a "revolution in the administering of the Street Railway."
His ideas apparently did not catch on, as he finished dead last in the election held Dec. 13, 1920, amassing just 760 votes, says the City of Edmonton's historical election results. It may not have been such a great job that he missed out on, however. In the same election, Edmontonians voted 8,811 to 4,234 against paying aldermen, confirming with more zeal their verdict from the previous year, when the referendum on paying aldermen was defeated 5,771 to 4,152. (Municipal elections were annual back then.)
King ran again in 1921, and again finished last.
This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse.