Catherine Chichak

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Catherine Chichak
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office
August 30, 1971 – November 1, 1982
Preceded byWilliam Tomyn
Succeeded byRay Martin
ConstituencyEdmonton-Norwood
City of Edmonton Alderman
In office
October 16, 1989 – October 22, 1992
Serving with Ron Hayter
Preceded byJan Reimer
Succeeded byAllan Bolstad
ConstituencyWard 2
Personal details
BornOctober 7, 1934
Krasne, Saskatchewan
DiedApril 6, 2009(2009-04-06) (aged 74)
Political partyProgressive Conservative
SpouseStanley Chichak
OccupationReal Estate Agent

Catherine Chichak (October 7, 1934 – April 6, 2009) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. She served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and as an Alderman in the City of Edmonton.

Early life[edit]

Catherine Chichak was born in the small village of Krasne, Saskatchewan and grew up in the nearby town of Wynard.[1] After high school she moved to Edmonton, Alberta and attended McTavish Business College and the University of Alberta[2] where she earned her real estate license.[1] She married Stanley Chichak on May 14, 1960.[2]

Political career[edit]

Chichak first ran for political office in the 1966 Edmonton municipal election. She finished in 20th place out of 44 in the plurality block vote, not high enough for a seat on city council. She ran again in the 1968 Edmonton municipal election; she did slightly better, finishing 17th out of a field of 32 candidates, but still short of election to council.[3]

Chichak ran for the Alberta Legislature as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the electoral district of Edmonton-Norwood in the 1971 general election. She won comfortably over two other candidates.[4]

Chichak ran for her second term in the 1975 Alberta general election. She defeated former cabinet minister Alfred Hooke and two other candidates.[5] In the 1979 Alberta general election, she defeated future NDP MLA Ray Martin and three other candidates.[6] She retired from provincial politics at dissolution of the assembly in 1982.

Chichak entered Edmonton municipal politics as a candidate for the Separate School board in the 1983 municipal election. She finished at the top of the polls. She was re-elected in the 1986 municipal election, again at the top of the polls.[7]

In 1989, Chichak ran for a seat to city council in the municipal election that year and won the second seat in Ward 2. She became mired in a scandal after it came to light that she owed $8,400 in business taxes. She was convicted and fined for signing a false statement regarding her tax debt. The court also found she was ineligible to have run for office, but let her keep her seat because she paid her taxes.[2] She was defeated in the 1992 election, finishing sixth among ten candidates.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Councillor Biographies". City of Edmonton. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Biographies of Mayors and Councillors - C". Edmonton Public Library. Archived from the original on October 26, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  3. ^ "Election Results 1945 - 2007". City of Edmonton. pp. 49–52. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  4. ^ "Edmonton-Norwood results 1971". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  5. ^ "Edmonton-Norwood results 1975". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  6. ^ "Edmonton-Norwood results 1979". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  7. ^ "Election Results 1945 - 2007". City of Edmonton. pp. 72–77. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  8. ^ "Election Results 1945 - 2007". City of Edmonton. pp. 78–81. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2009.

External links[edit]