W. W. Hiltz
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox officeholder William Wesley "Bill" Hiltz (2 November 1872 – 26 February 1936) was Mayor of Toronto from January 1924 – January 1925. During his term, he introduced time clocks for Toronto city workers. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada. He had a son and grandson, with the same names.
Ancestry
Hiltz descended from the Hilts families that immigrated to the New World around 1710 presumably from the Palatinate region of Germany because of the wars and famine. The family farmed on the Burnetsfield Patent in Herkimer County, New York.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the American Revolution in 1779, Joseph Hilts was brought as a small child by his grandfather, Joseph Petrie, who was forced to flee to the Province of Quebec, settling in the Niagara Peninsula in Louth Township. Joseph Hilts' sons later received land grants, with William Hilts receiving one in Esquesing Township, and Edward Thompson Hilts receiving one in Erin Township.
Early life
Hiltz was born and raised in Erin at Ballinafad, attending Georgetown District High School in Georgetown, Ontario<ref name = "Herald"/> and Brampton High School in Brampton.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He married Annie Laidlaw on Christmas Day in 1899.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
He began his career as a teacher, eventually becoming principal of Weston Collegiate Institute in 1899, and in 1901 assistant principal of the Hamilton Street School (now known as Queen Alexandra Middle School).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Around that time, he became a building contractor and real estate developer, and quit teaching in 1906 to go into business full-time.<ref name = "Star1923">Template:Cite news</ref> During this transition, he had been known to take his students out to the construction sites to dig foundations by shovel. After developing and building over 400 stores and houses east of the Don River by 1920,<ref name = "Star1920">Template:Cite news</ref> his real estate properties made him the second-highest taxpayer in Toronto behind Timothy Eaton, the founder of Eaton's.
Hiltz was the Danforth Methodist Church superintendent of the largest Methodist Sunday School in Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was also a leading advocate of the temperance movement<ref name="Herald" /> and was a member of the Loyal Orange Lodge.
Political career
| Office | Years |
|---|---|
| School trustee, Toronto Board of Education | 1911Template:Endash1913 (Chairman in 1913)<ref name = "Star1923"/> |
| Alderman for Ward One, Toronto City Council | 1914Template:Endash1920 |
| Controller, Toronto Board of Control | 1921Template:Endash1923 |
| Mayor of Toronto | 1924 |
During his term as mayor, he actively opposed Adam Beck's plans for a network of Hydro radial lines and instead, he was instrumental in getting plans approved for the construction of an elevated railway viaduct in the downtown core<ref name = "StarObit"/> -which assured the final opening of the new Union Station. Hiltz's opposition to Hydro radial lines led to their rejection and also to his defeat in the following mayoral election.<ref name="StarObit" />
Hiltz died in 1936 at age 63.<ref name="Herald" />