| Gordon Samuel Dales Wright | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta | |
| In office May 8, 1986 – October 18, 1990 |
|
| Preceded by | Julian Koziak |
| Succeeded by | Barrie Chivers |
| Constituency | Edmonton-Strathcona |
| Personal details | |
| Died | October 18, 1990 |
| Political party | Alberta NDP |
| Occupation | lawyer, politician |
Gordon Samuel Dales Wright ( - October 18, 1990) was a lawyer who served as a Crown Prosecutor for the Attorney Generals office. He was also former provincial politician and perennial candidate from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1986 until his death.
Wright was a long time NDP supporter. He first joined the Cooperative Commonwealth in the 1950s.[1] He ran for provincial office for the NDP for the first time in the 1967 Alberta general election in the electoral district of Edmonton North. Wright had a strong showing but was defeated finishing third out of fourth by incumbent Social Credit MLA Ethel Wilson.[2]
A year after his defeat he ran against Grant Notley in the 1968 NDP leadership election. He lost to Notely by a margin of 27 votes. He then became President of the party, and also later served numerous other positions on the provincial NDP executive.[1]
In the 1971 Alberta general election. Wright ran for his second time finising third place in a field of three candidates in the Edmonton-Belmont electoral district. He finished behind Social Credit candidate Werner Schmidt and Progressive Conservative winner Bert Hohol.[3]
In the 1975 Alberta general election, Wright ran in Edmonton-Strathcona for the first time. He finished a strong second behind incumbent Julian Koziak.[4] He would run against Koziak for the second time in the 1979 Alberta general election this time doubling his popular vote but was unable to defeat him.[5] He would run against Koziak for a third time in the 1982 Alberta general election, Wright would gain anther 2000 votes and come within 500 of defeating him in his closest election yet.[6]
After running five times unsuccessfully and three times in Edmonton-Strathcona, Wright was elected to the Alberta Legislature in the 1986 Alberta general election. He won the two way race and defeated incumbent Progressive Conservative MLA Julian Koziak. There were a total of six candidates running in the Edmonton-Strathcona electoral district but the other four candidates were not factors and trailed well behind in support.[7] Wright would win a his second and final term in the 1989 Alberta general election. All three candidates would have strong showings, Wright easily won the district by a comfortable margin.[8]
He died from Pancreatic Cancer on October 18, 1990.[1]