Dorothy Wyatt
Canadian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dorothy Mary Wyatt (née Fanning;[1] 1925–2001) was a Canadian politician, who was mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland from 1973 to 1981[2] and the city's first female mayor.[3]
Dorothy Wyatt | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland | |
| In office November 13, 1973 – November 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | William G. Adams |
| Succeeded by | John Joseph Murphy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dorothy Mary Fanning December 17, 1925 St. John's, Newfoundland |
| Died | September 23, 2001 (aged 75) |
| Residence(s) | St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada |
| Occupation | nurse |
Wyatt first worked as a secretary, meeting her husband Donald Wyatt while working for American Overseas Airlines in Gander.[3] She later returned to Memorial University of Newfoundland to study nursing.[3]
Wyatt first won election to St. John's City Council in 1969 as the city's first female councilor.[2] She ran for the mayoralty in 1973, winning the election and serving two terms in office.[2] Her term as mayor was marked by accomplishments including the city's hosting of the Canada Summer Games in 1977,[3] a shift from rental-value to capital-value municipal tax assessment,[2] the adoption of a ward system for city council elections,[2] and the construction of many of the city's modern office buildings.[2]
Wyatt was defeated by John Joseph Murphy in the 1981 election.[2] She was later reelected as a councillor at large in 1985, and remained a sitting member of city council until her death;[4] she died just two days before the city's 2001 municipal election, and was posthumously reelected to her seat on September 25.[4] A by-election was held on November 27 of that year, and was won by Sandy Hickman.[4]
She was a candidate for provincial office twice, running as an independent candidate in St. John's Centre[3] and later for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador in the party's 1979 leadership convention.[3] In the PC race, she garnered no votes. She didn't vote for herself, admitting that she had run more "to shake things up" than out of a serious desire to actually lead the party,[3] and was eliminated on the first ballot.[3]
Wyatt revelled in a quirky and offbeat public image, once telling a reporter that she hoped to be classified "as a freak, I suppose".[3]
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