15 Facts About Mel Swart

Melvin Leroy Swart was a Canadian politician in Ontario.

Mel Swart served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a New Democratic MPP from 1975 to 1988.

Mel Swart served as an alderman in Thorold from 1948 to 1950, and was deputy reeve from 1951 to 1954 and reeve from 1955 to 1965.

Mel Swart later served temporarily as its part-time executive director around 1970.

Mel Swart was defeated in Welland as a candidate of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in a 1950 by-election, and in the general elections of 1953,1957 and 1958.

Mel Swart ran again for the federal New Democratic Party in the 1962 election, and was again defeated.

Mel Swart challenged Progressive Conservative incumbent Ellis Morningstar for the Welland provincial constituency in the 1967 election, but lost by 260 votes.

Mel Swart ran again in the 1971 election, and lost by a greater margin.

Mel Swart had left the municipal council to concentrate on provincial politics, and stayed out of council until 1972, when he ran for Regional Councillor of Niagara Region and was elected, elected again in 1974.

Mel Swart served a two-year term as president of the New Democratic Party of Ontario beginning in 1974.

Morningstar retired at the 1975 election, and Mel Swart was able to defeat his successor, Allan Pietz, by 1,115 votes.

Mel Swart retired in 1988, and was replaced in the legislature by Peter Kormos, of the NDP.

Mel Swart had been the leading advocate of public auto insurance in Ontario in the 1980s and was especially critical of the Rae government's decision to go back on its promise to introduce the program.

In 1994, Mel Swart publicly called on Rae to resign as NDP leader.

Mel Swart was considered a political mentor to Peter Kormos who inherited both his predecessor's seat in the legislature and his strong advocacy of public auto insurance.