William Ernest Payne

William Ernest Payne was a lawyer and provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1931 to 1935.

Early life

Payne moved to Red Deer, Alberta in 1902 and joined the law firm started by George Welling Greene. He worked as a lawyer in Red Deer for many years until he attempted to win a seat in the Alberta Legislature.cite web|url=http://www.albertasource.ca/aspenland/fr/society/article_red_deer_law_2.html|title=Red Deer and the Law, 1900-20|author=Jonathan Swainger|publisher=Alberta Heritage Foundation|accessdate=2008-05-11]

Political career

Payne ran as a candidate for the Conservatives in a by-election held on November 16, 1931. The by-election was precipitated by the death of United Farmers MLA George Smith. Payne won the hotly contested by-election defeating United Farmers candidate R.L. Gaetz by a couple hundred votes to pickup the district.cite web|url=http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/742.htm#1905-1973|title=By-elections 1905-1973|publisher=Elections Alberta|accessdate=2008-05-11] Payne ran for a second term in office in the 1935 Alberta general election but was defeated by Social Credit candidate Alfred J. Hooke who ended up winning in a landslide. Payne finished a distant fourth out of five candidates.cite web|url=http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/database/maps_choice.asp?Year=1935&Constit=Red_Deer| title=Red Deer results 1935| publisher=Alberta Heritage Foundation| accessdate=2008-05-07]

References

External links

* [http://www.assembly.ab.ca/legislaturecentennial/pdf/membersBooklet.pdf Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing]