L. D. Taylor
Encyclopedia
Louis Denison Taylor was elected the 14th mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, he was elected seven times between 1910 and 1934, serving a total of 11 years.
Born in Michigan
, Taylor lived in Chicago
before coming to Vancouver
on 8 September 1896, probably running away after defrauding an employer. He briefly participated in the Klondike Gold Rush
before beginning his political career.
L. D. Taylor championed the issue of amalgamating South Vancouver and Point Grey
with Vancouver, and oversaw a variety of public works projects in the rapidly developing city, including the opening of the airport at Sea Island
and the Burrard Street Bridge
. Amalgamation would take place in 1929 but not under Taylor, because he lost the 1928 election to W. H. Malkin
.
Taylor ran as a friend of organized labour, although he opposed labour militancy and Communists, who had become quite active in the 1930s in Vancouver, notably for their agitation amongst the unemployed.
Mayor Taylor's political career immeasurably benefited from his other role as a newspaperman. He began in the trade working for the Vancouver Daily Province before buying the Vancouver World. The building he had constructed for his newspaper was later taken over by the Vancouver Sun and remains a landmark building in the city, known today as the Sun Tower
. Taylor eventually was forced to sell the paper, but not before using it as a political platform from which he railed against Chinese immigration, big business, and other issues of the day that helped establish his reputation as a populist leader.
Despite his popularity at the polls, Taylor often found himself mired in controversy. In particular, an exhaustive 1928 inquiry into allegations of corruption in the police department and city hall revealed that he had associations with known vice operators in the city. Although he was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, the inquiry blamed his "open town" policy on the proliferation of vice and crime in Vancouver. Mayor Taylor claimed that he had no intention of running a "Sunday School town" and argued that police resources should be spent on major crimes, not victimless vice crimes.
This was the basis for Gerry McGeer's 1934 electoral campaign, which obliterated Taylor's political career with the largest electoral defeat Vancouver had ever seen. McGeer was an old adversary of Taylor, having been the lead attorney prosecuting the 1928 police inquiry, and claimed in his campaign that he would eliminate the crime and corruption that flourished under Taylor's civic administration. Taylor unsuccessfully contested several more elections, but spent the rest of his life bitter about the 1934 election.
A recent biography on Taylor reveals that his initial reason for traveling to Vancouver was because he was a fugitive, fleeing a fraud investigation stemming from his former job in a Chicago
bank; he managed to keep that secret during his entire life in Vancouver.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Taylor lived in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
before coming to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
on 8 September 1896, probably running away after defrauding an employer. He briefly participated in the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
before beginning his political career.
L. D. Taylor championed the issue of amalgamating South Vancouver and Point Grey
West Point Grey
West Point Grey is a neighbourhood on the western side of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered by 16th Avenue to the south, Alma Street to the east, English Bay to the north, and Blanca Street to the west...
with Vancouver, and oversaw a variety of public works projects in the rapidly developing city, including the opening of the airport at Sea Island
Sea Island
Sea Island may refer to:*Sea Island , an island in Richmond, British Columbia that contains the Vancouver International Airport*Sea Island, Georgia, an isolated resort island in Glynn County, Georgia...
and the Burrard Street Bridge
Burrard Street Bridge
The Burrard Bridge is a five-lane, Art Deco style, steel truss bridge constructed in 1930-1932 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The high, five part bridge on four piers spans False Creek, connecting downtown Vancouver with Kitsilano via connections to Burrard Street on both ends...
. Amalgamation would take place in 1929 but not under Taylor, because he lost the 1928 election to W. H. Malkin
William Harold Malkin
William Harold Malkin was the 21st mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia from 1929 to 1930, after serving as Chairman of the Vancouver Board of Trade in 1902...
.
Taylor ran as a friend of organized labour, although he opposed labour militancy and Communists, who had become quite active in the 1930s in Vancouver, notably for their agitation amongst the unemployed.
Sun Tower
The Sun Tower is a 17 storey Beaux-Arts building at 100 West Pender Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is known for its faux-patina steel dome painted to imitate copper cladding. Nine nude muses, the "nine maidens" supporting the cornice line can be seen...
. Taylor eventually was forced to sell the paper, but not before using it as a political platform from which he railed against Chinese immigration, big business, and other issues of the day that helped establish his reputation as a populist leader.
Despite his popularity at the polls, Taylor often found himself mired in controversy. In particular, an exhaustive 1928 inquiry into allegations of corruption in the police department and city hall revealed that he had associations with known vice operators in the city. Although he was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, the inquiry blamed his "open town" policy on the proliferation of vice and crime in Vancouver. Mayor Taylor claimed that he had no intention of running a "Sunday School town" and argued that police resources should be spent on major crimes, not victimless vice crimes.
This was the basis for Gerry McGeer's 1934 electoral campaign, which obliterated Taylor's political career with the largest electoral defeat Vancouver had ever seen. McGeer was an old adversary of Taylor, having been the lead attorney prosecuting the 1928 police inquiry, and claimed in his campaign that he would eliminate the crime and corruption that flourished under Taylor's civic administration. Taylor unsuccessfully contested several more elections, but spent the rest of his life bitter about the 1934 election.
A recent biography on Taylor reveals that his initial reason for traveling to Vancouver was because he was a fugitive, fleeing a fraud investigation stemming from his former job in a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
bank; he managed to keep that secret during his entire life in Vancouver.
External links
- Daniel Francis, excerpt from "L. D.: Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver," Vancouver Courier, 5 August 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
- Donna Jean McKinnon, "Mayors of Vancouver," History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Retrieved 24 August 2006.