Thomas J. Campbell, QC (October 5, 1927 – January 27, 2012) was a Canadian politician, who served as the 31st mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia from 1967 through 1972.
Campbell was born in Vancouver, where he became a lawyer. In 1962, he joined Vancouver City Council as an alderman, representing the Non-Partisan Association (NPA), a conservative civic party. Running as an independent, Campbell beat out William Rathie in the 1966 election, ending the NPA's long, unbroken domination of city hall. In 1970, he won the NPA nod to replace Rathie as the party's mayoral nominee and again won the mayor's office.[1]
As mayor, "Tom Terrific" (as he was both affectionately and derisively called) proved to be brash, confrontational, and controversial. During his term, the City held a referendum which authorized the then-controversial development of an underground shopping mall and office towers, now known as Pacific Centre, Vancouver's largest development. As the Lower Mainland's population topped one million, Campbell took an assertively pro-development stance, advocating a freeway that would cut through a large part of Downtown Eastside, the demolition of the historic Carnegie Centre, and the construction of a luxury hotel at the entrance of Stanley Park (the Bayshore Inn) and another at the north foot of Burrard in which it turned out the mayor had invested (it is now an apartment building and never became a hotel).
Campbell was a vocal supporter of the Social Credit government of PremierW.A.C. Bennett. Campbell was re-elected in the 1968 and 1970 elections by large majorities.
It is, however, Campbell's confrontations with the city's burgeoning youth counterculture for which he is best remembered. They included attempts to suppress and shut down the alternative newspaper, The Georgia Straight, whose editor Dan McLeod was repeatedly beaten by city police and the blocking of the final concert of the 1970 Festival Express rock and roll tour, which was held in Calgary to avoid risking a confrontation with the Vancouver mayor's stated intention to use police to stop the festival. There was even an incident in August, 1971, when Vancouver police charged on horseback into a group of about a thousand hippies having a "smoke-in" on the streets of Gastown. That came to be known as the Gastown Riots and led to the arrests of 79 people, of whom 38 were charged with various offences. A judicial inquiry later criticized the action, characterizing it as a police riot.
Campbell chose not to run for re-election in November 1972 and returned to private life and legal practice. He died in 2012.[2][3]
^Vancouver Sun February 3, 2012 12:35 PM (1971-05-10). "Former Vancouver mayor Tom Campbell dies". Vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2012-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
CBC television clip of Doug Collins interviewing Tom Campbell about Vancouver's hippie problem.
January 01, 1970
campbell, canadian, politician, other, people, named, thomas, campbell, thomas, campbell, disambiguation, thomas, campbell, october, 1927, january, 2012, canadian, politician, served, 31st, mayor, vancouver, british, columbia, from, 1967, through, 1972, campbe. For other people named Thomas Campbell see Thomas Campbell disambiguation Thomas J Campbell QC October 5 1927 January 27 2012 was a Canadian politician who served as the 31st mayor of Vancouver British Columbia from 1967 through 1972 Tom CampbellQC31st Mayor of VancouverIn office 1966 1972Preceded byWilliam RathieSucceeded byArt PhillipsPersonal detailsBorn 1927 10 05 October 5 1927Vancouver British ColumbiaDiedJanuary 27 2012 2012 01 27 aged 84 Political partyIndependentOther politicalaffiliationsNon Partisan AssociationSpouseJulie CampbellChildren3ProfessionLawyer Campbell was born in Vancouver where he became a lawyer In 1962 he joined Vancouver City Council as an alderman representing the Non Partisan Association NPA a conservative civic party Running as an independent Campbell beat out William Rathie in the 1966 election ending the NPA s long unbroken domination of city hall In 1970 he won the NPA nod to replace Rathie as the party s mayoral nominee and again won the mayor s office 1 As mayor Tom Terrific as he was both affectionately and derisively called proved to be brash confrontational and controversial During his term the City held a referendum which authorized the then controversial development of an underground shopping mall and office towers now known as Pacific Centre Vancouver s largest development As the Lower Mainland s population topped one million Campbell took an assertively pro development stance advocating a freeway that would cut through a large part of Downtown Eastside the demolition of the historic Carnegie Centre and the construction of a luxury hotel at the entrance of Stanley Park the Bayshore Inn and another at the north foot of Burrard in which it turned out the mayor had invested it is now an apartment building and never became a hotel Campbell was a vocal supporter of the Social Credit government of Premier W A C Bennett Campbell was re elected in the 1968 and 1970 elections by large majorities It is however Campbell s confrontations with the city s burgeoning youth counterculture for which he is best remembered They included attempts to suppress and shut down the alternative newspaper The Georgia Straight whose editor Dan McLeod was repeatedly beaten by city police and the blocking of the final concert of the 1970 Festival Express rock and roll tour which was held in Calgary to avoid risking a confrontation with the Vancouver mayor s stated intention to use police to stop the festival There was even an incident in August 1971 when Vancouver police charged on horseback into a group of about a thousand hippies having a smoke in on the streets of Gastown That came to be known as the Gastown Riots and led to the arrests of 79 people of whom 38 were charged with various offences A judicial inquiry later criticized the action characterizing it as a police riot Campbell chose not to run for re election in November 1972 and returned to private life and legal practice He died in 2012 2 3 References edit Ubyssey 2006 11 03 Vancouver Sun February 3 2012 12 35 PM 1971 05 10 Former Vancouver mayor Tom Campbell dies Vancouversun com Retrieved 2012 02 03 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Vancouver Sun External links edit1971 Report of Mr Justice Dohm on the Gastown Riots from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association CBC television clip of Doug Collins interviewing Tom Campbell about Vancouver s hippie problem Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom Campbell Canadian politician amp oldid 1069450723, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
