Beth Nealson

Beth Nealson ( – 1994) was a Canadian politician, community planner, and journalist. She was elected mayor of Leaside, Ontario, in 1962, making her the first woman mayor in Metropolitan Toronto. Known as "Mrs. Leaside", Nealson was also the last mayor of Leaside, which was amalgamated with East York township in 1967. In 1966, Nealson ran and lost against True Davidson for the mayoralty of the newly formed borough of East York, in a historic election billed by the Canadian media as "The Battle of the Belles". Before becoming mayor, Nealson served on the Leaside Education Board and the Leaside town council, and was vice chairman of the Ontario Division of the Community Planning Association of Canada. Beth Nealson Drive in Toronto is named after her.

Early life and education Her full name was Frances Elizabeth Nealson, but over the course of her political career, she was known as Beth. Born in Glen Ewen, Saskatchewan, she grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, They moved to Leaside in 1939. and served for four years starting in 1952, before "resigning out of frustration". Seven years later, she was elected to the Leaside municipal council. Nealson won by five votes following a recount on December 27, defeating the incumbent mayor, Lloyd Dickinson. She was the first woman to be elected as a mayor in Metropolitan Toronto.

Nealson won reelection by a sizeable margin, During a debate, True Davidson famously joked that Beth Nealson would win if the election were a beauty contest: "If you want someone beautiful and elegant or glamorous, I'm not that." During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Nealson was presented with a pair of shears by East York Mayor True Davidson. In 1976, Nealson testified in front of East York Council on the deterioration of the Thorncliffe Park apartment building where she lived, blaming the decline of the surrounding neighbourhood on "municipal neglect, poorly maintained parks, vandalism, and absentee landlords." She retired that year.

Personal life Nealson was a member of IODE Canada, and served as the education secretary for her local chapter, an experience which first led her to run for the board of education. She was a member of the board of VON Canada, the Board of Health, and the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace.

She had two children, including a son who predeceased her. Nealson moved to Barrie, Ontario, in 1984 to be closer to her daughter, Ann Watson. She died in 1994 and was survived by her daughter, as well as three grandchildren – two in England and one in Australia – and two great-grandchildren in Australia.