Frederick J. Beavis (October 8, 1914 – July 11, 1997) was a longtime city councillor in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, who briefly served as interim

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the city in 1978. Beavis operated the ''Beavis Bros. Roofing Co.'' with his brothers before becoming a full-time politician.Barnes, Al. ''Longtime councillor Fred Beavis was Mr. Fix-it''. The Toronto Star. July 12, 1997, page A6. 710 words Beavis became an alderman in 1961 in the city's Ward 1 (Ward 8 1974–1985, Metro Ward 8 1985–1988) for

Riverdale, Toronto Riverdale is a large neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by the Don River Valley to the west, Danforth Avenue and Greektown to the north, Jones Avenue, the CN/ GO tracks, Leslieville to the east, and Lake Shore Boulevard to ...

. Except for a brief period between 1975 and 1977, he served on the council until 1988. He served on several committees and sat on Metro Council as well. He was also a member of Metro's executive committee. After mayor

David Crombie David Edward Crombie (born April 24, 1936) is a Canadian former academic and politician who served as the 56th mayor of Toronto from 1972 to 1978. Crombie was elected to Parliament following his tenure as mayor. A member of the Progressive Conse ...

had resigned in August 1978 to enter federal politics, city council became deadlocked with regards to voting in a new interim mayor.Baker, Alden. ''Crombie to leave Sept. 1 for federal race Beavis, Johnston vie for interim mayoral post''. The Globe and Mail. August 12, 1978, P13. Beavis and fellow councillor

Anne Johnston Anne Johnston (1932 – June 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician and community activist. She was a longtime city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1972, and served until 1985 when she ran ag ...

each had an equal number of votes. With the consent of both candidates, the decision was made to put both names into a hat, and the name picked out of the hat would officially be pronounced interim mayor. Beavis won and became Toronto's mayor until

John Sewell John Sewell (born December 8, 1940) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 58th mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980. Background Born and raised in the Beach neighbourhood, in Toronto, Sewell attended Malvern Collegiate Institute ...

was elected by the public two months later.Baker, Alden. ''Bubbly flows but Beavis calls for beer'' The Globe and Mail. September 2, 1978, P1; (ILLUST) Beavis lost his council seat to

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

candidate

Marilyn Churley Marilyn Churley (born May 7, 1948) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2005 who represented the downtown Toronto ridings of Riverdale and Toronto—Danfor ...

in the 1988 municipal election. Beavis died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on July 11, 1997, at St Michael's hospital. His wife Frances died in 1980. Their grandson,

Michael Hainsworth Michael Hainsworth is a former business reporter for CTV Toronto and CTV affiliates across Canada. He anchored ''The Close'' on Canada's financial news network, BNN Bloomberg (formerly Business News Network). He also filed business reports for To ...

, is a broadcast journalist.Freed, Dale Anne. ''Longtime politician Fred Beavis 'never gave up helping people' Family, friends say goodbye to 32-year veteran''. Toronto Star, July 16, 1997, page A7. 315 words

References

* City of Toronto Archives
Archives website
Accessed April 26, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beavis, Fred 1914 births 1997 deaths Mayors of Toronto Toronto city councillors Metropolitan Toronto councillors Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario