Kenneth Gilmour 'Ken' Whillans (born 8 August 1927 in Ottawa) served as Mayor of the City of Brampton

Brampton, Ontario

Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada and the seat of Peel Region. As of the 2006 census, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, with an average...

 from 1982 to 1990.

As Councillor

Among Whillans acts while in office, he led efforts to revamp the Citizens Advisory Committees.

Mayor of Brampton

Mayor James Archdekin died while in office, of a heart attack. Once elections were called, Ken Whillans announced his candidacy versus Terry Miller, in the 1982 municipal election. Leo Archdekin was once considered a candidate by the local media, but ultimately didn't run. (Five municipal council races resulted in acclamations that election.)

Replacement for Davis as MPP? 1985

With Premier of Ontario William G. Davis announcing that he would not seek re-election in the 1985 Ontario general election

Ontario general election, 1985

The Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada...

, Councillor Whillans considered seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in the Brampton riding. Bob Callahan

Bob Callahan

Robert V. Callahan is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1995...

, an alderman on Brampton council since 1969, won the Liberal party nomination. With Whillans out of the way, and Bill's son Neil Davis no longer interested, the PC nomination was between Peter Robertson, Nancy Porteous, and Jeff Rice, with Robertson favoured in March polls.

PC candidate Jeff Rice (37.7%) lost to Callahan (45.6%) in the 1985 Ontario general election

Ontario general election, 1985

The Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada...

, as Frank Miller

Frank Miller

-Cartoon artists:* Frank Miller , American writer, comic book artist, and film director* Frank Miller , newspaper comic strip creator* Frank Miller , editorial cartoonist...

's PC party barely grasped to their power.

Whillans himself died from drowning while vacationing with his family in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

, on 24 August 1990. When Whillans died, he was replaced by an interim mayor, Paul Biesel. Biesel stood for re-election, but latter dropped out of the running.

Personal life and family

Whillans had a twin brother, Don. Son Doug Whillans has run for public office on multiple ballots, thus far unsuccessfully.

Memorials to Whillans

Ken has quite a few memorials:

• The Ken Whillans Resource Management Area which is a provincially significant wetland swamp stretching for 48 km from Terra Cotta to Palgrave, from the Caledon Trailway to the Credit River, on the eastern boundary of Inglewood village, and is officially part of the town of Caledon.
• The Ken Whillans Square located at 2 Wellington Street West adjacent to Brampton City Hall of Brampton Ontario.
• Ken Whillans Drive in Brampton. This may be the street which runs parallel to the Etobicoke Creek Trail
  Etobicoke Creek
  Etobicoke Creek is one of the many creeks running through Toronto, Ontario and the Toronto Area into Lake Ontario, often characterized by their winding paths through deep ravines and distinctive shale banks....
  
   between Vodden Street and Church Street.
• The Whillans Lake, near Caledon Ontario near Highway 10.
• The ‘Butterfly’ is a 4 ft x 6 ft painting owned by the Corporation of the City of Brampton, and on view in their city hall. The butterfly in this work is symbolic of the late Ken Whillans; if the viewer blocks out the butterfly from their vision, the entire mood of the painting apparently changes, signifying the loss felt by the citizens of Brampton {www.lyndencowan.com/gallery/butterfly.html}.
• Whillans Gate of 122 units built in 1991 located nr corner of Queen and Kennedy Streets in Peel {2003 Peel Living Annual Report}.