Hans Wight

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =Wight H.png

| imagesize = |

| name = Hans Enoch Wight

| caption =

| birth_date =July 29, 1889

| death_date ={{Death date and age|1965|10|12|1889|7|29}}

| death_place =Salt Lake City, Utah

| birth_place = Hyrum, Utah

| residence =

| office = Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta

| constituency = Lethbridge

| term_start = August 22, 1935

| term_end = September 2, 1937

| predecessor = Andrew Smeaton

| successor = Peter Campbell

| party = Social Credit

| religion =

| occupation = politician

}}

Hans Enoch Wight was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1937 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government.

Political career

Wight ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature as a Social Credit candidate in the electoral district of Lethbridge in the 1935 Alberta general election. He defeated incumbent Andrew Smeaton and two other candidates with a landslide majority to pick up the seat for his party.{{cite web|url=http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/administration/maps_choice.php?Year=1935&Constit=Lethbridge| title=Lethbridge Results 1935 Alberta general election | publisher=Alberta Heritage Community Foundation | accessdate=April 16, 2010}}

The Lethbridge Herald broke a story on August 25, 1937, saying that Wight was imminently to resign his seat. On the same front page, the paper also broke the news that William Chant was to leave the Social Credit caucus.{{cite news|title=Hans E. Wight M.L.A. Plans To Resign|publisher=The Lethbridge Herald|date=August 25, 1937|work=Vol XXX No 216|page=1}} The newspaper had come under attack by Social Credit supporters, forcing the paper to issue a news story standing by its claims the next day. Wight had denied that he had given information about any plan to resign.{{cite news|title=Wight Denies Resignation Intimation|publisher=The Lethbridge Herald|date=August 26, 1937|work=Vol XXX No 217|page=1}}

Seven days later, Wight made his formal announcement of resignation to the media on September 2, 1937, giving as his reason acceptance of a job as an engineer at a department store in Calgary. He sent his resignation letter to speaker Peter Dawson by mail.{{cite news|title=Resignation Notice Has Not Been Received|publisher=The Lethbridge Herald|date=September 2, 1937|work=Vol XXX No 223|page=1}} Wight's resignation caused a controversy as more than a week after Wight announced his resignation the government was claiming that he hadn't resigned.{{cite news|title=Political Situation In Local Constituency Presents Puzzle|publisher=The Lethbridge Herald|date=September 10, 1937|work=Vol XXX No 229|page=11}} After weeks of turmoil and charges of grandstanding and claims that the government was afraid of losing a by-election, the government finally announced that it had accepted Wight's resignation on September 14, 1937.{{cite news|title=Wight Has Resigned|publisher=The Lethbridge Herald|date=September 14, 1937|work=Vol XXX No 232|page=7}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930024650/http://www.assembly.ab.ca/legislaturecentennial/pdf/membersBooklet.pdf Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing]

Category:Alberta Social Credit Party MLAs

Category:1889 births

Category:1965 deaths

Category:People from Hyrum, Utah

Category:American emigrants to Canada

Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta