Bill Bonko is a Canadian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was first elected in the 2004 election as a Liberal in Edmonton Decore, but was defeated in his 2008 re-election bid by Progressive Conservative Janice Sarich.

Bill Bonko Sr.
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office
November 22, 2004 – March 3, 2008
Preceded byNew district
Succeeded byJanice Sarich
ConstituencyEdmonton-Decore
Trustee on Edmonton Public School Board (Ward A)
In office
October 16, 1995 – October 18, 2004
Preceded byNew ward
Succeeded byBev Esslinger
Personal details
Political partyLiberal
SpouseMichele
ChildrenTwo
ResidenceEdmonton
OccupationCirculation manager

Early life

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Bill Bonko graduated from Queen Elizabeth High School.[1] He worked for fifteen years as the circulation manager for the Edmonton Journal.[1]

Political career

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Bonko first sought political office in the 1995 municipal election, when he was elected to the Board of Edmonton Public Schools as trustee for Ward A.[2] He was re-elected in the 1998 and 2001 elections.[3][4] He did not seek re-election at the conclusion of his third term. Instead, he ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in Edmonton Decore in the 2004 provincial election as a Liberal.[5] He won 44.63% of the vote and defeated his opponents, who included former MLA Walter Szwender who was running for the Progressive Conservatives and Gary Masyk, an incumbent MLA whose riding had been abolished and who had crossed the floor to become the Alberta Alliance's first MLA after being elected as PC.[5][6] He did not sponsor any bills during his time in the legislature,[7] and was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Janice Sarich in the 2008 election.[8]

Personal life

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Bonko is married to Michele;[1] the pair has two children,[1] including Bill Jr. who ran as a Liberal candidate in Athabasca-Redwater in the 2008 provincial election.[9]

Election results

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2008 Election Results (Edmonton Decore) Turnout 35.1%
Affiliation Candidate Votes %
  Progressive Conservative Janice Sarich 4,602 45.93%
Liberal Bill Bonko 3,879 38.72%
  NDP Sidney Sadik 1,295 12.93%
Green Trey Capenhurst 243 2.43%
2004 Election Results (Edmonton Decore) Turnout 43.4%
Affiliation Candidate Votes %
Liberal Bill Bonko 4,418 44.63%
  Progressive Conservative Walter Szwender 3,033 30.63%
  NDP Shirley Barg 1,524 15.40%
Alberta Alliance Gary Masyk 830 8.39%
Social Credit Geoffrey Chevrier 94 0.95%
2001 Edmonton municipal election results
(Public School Trustee, Ward A)
Candidate Votes %
Bill Bonko 6,769 62.1%
Bev Esslinger 4,136 37.9%
1998 Edmonton municipal election results
(Public School Trustee, Ward A)
Candidate Votes %
Bill Bonko 4,867 48.3%
Bev Esslinger 3,325 33.0%
Lynette Young 1,883 18.7%
1995 Edmonton municipal election results
(Public School Trustee, Ward A)
Candidate Votes %
Bill Bonko 4,480 33.5%
Maureen Ford 2,441 18.2%
Cathy Kutryk 2,175 16.3%
Joe Hak 1,933 14.5%
Larry Phillips 800 6.0%
Perry Dane 565 4.2%
Victor Varvis 559 4.2%
Dan McAra 428 3.2%

References

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  1. ^ a b c d [1] Bonko's legislature biography
  2. ^ "Edmonton 1995 municipal election results" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-23.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Edmonton 1998 municipal election results" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-23.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Edmonton 2001 municipal election results" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-23.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b "2004 Alberta provincial election results, Edmonton Decore". Retrieved 2008-03-23. [dead link]
  6. ^ "Alberta lawmaker defects from Klein's Conservatives". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 30, 2004. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
  7. ^ "Bills moved in Alberta legislature, 1989-present". Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
  8. ^ "2008 Alberta provincial election results, Edmonton Decore". Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
  9. ^ "Both Bonkos go down after Tory knockout". CTV.ca. Retrieved 2008-03-23.