Trailblazer shattered the glass ceiling
Hamilton-Wentworth region’s Anne Jones, a ‘role model for women,’ dies at the age of 100
Anne Jones was a trailblazer, one of the small number of women who broke into the male-dominated world of Hamilton politics in the latter half of the 20th century.
She spent 23 years in municipal government, including 12 years as the first chairman (that was the official title) of Hamilton-Wentworth region.
She was soft-spoken, dressed elegantly and did not like to reveal her age. (She divulged it in 2016 when she was 97). She died Sept. 20 at the age of 100.
But she was not intimidated by her male colleagues, such as Hamilton mayors Vic Copps and Jack MacDonald when they attacked the region.
Jones ranks with other pioneering Hamilton female politicians such as Ellen Fairclough (who told Jones to change her hairstyle), Norah Frances Henderson, Ada Pritchard and Sheila Copps (who sparred with Jones at times).
In 1986, Jones was recognized as a “role model for women” and presented with a special award at the annual Women of the Year ceremony.
“You can’t expect any quarter just because you are a woman,” Jones told The Spectator in 1968. “You must recognize yourself as a person attempting to do a good job.”
In the same interview, she said: “I believe everyone has a mission in life and you have to give up yourself in order to grow.
“To me, public service is the best way to achieve this because of the great rewards in meeting people and the satisfaction when you have helped them.”
Jones, a mother of two, was a widow and a new insurance underwriter when she ran for alderman in Ward 1 in the fall of 1962.
Her husband, Rev. Aubrey Jones, died of a heart attack in January of that year while at work at Centenary United Church.
In the election, Jones topped the polls. Four years later, she ran for one of the seats on the board of control (abolished in 1980) and topped the polls again, giving her the added post of deputy mayor.
In 1973, the Progressive Conservative government of Bill Davis tapped Jones to be the new chairman of HamiltonWentworth region, a merger of Hamilton and the County of Wentworth.
It was a job she had not sought — the province had also considered Jack MacDonald — and she told The Spectator she was surprised to get the call. She accepted, but the regional system was not popular. Over the years, she endured attacks on the region, her office and herself from Copps and MacDonald, and faced an attempt by alderman Henry Merling to oust her in 1980. (He wanted the regional chairman to specifically be an elected member of council.)
Suburban councillors sometimes stormed out of meetings if they didn’t like something. Jones was also given the nickname Queen Anne.
But she persevered, and said one of the things she was most proud of was that she was reelected to her post by regional councillors in four elections (the chairman was elected by the public starting in 1988).
“I do have the sense of being the parent of regional government in Hamilton-Wentworth,” Jones told The Spec in 1983.
She stepped down in 1985 and received accolades. She was feted at a 1986 gala attended by 1,000 people, including premier David Peterson. At her final council meeting, Dundas mayor Joe Bennett said Jones was always the one “that smoothed the waters over turbulence regarding regional government.”
Jones tried to move up to provincial politics and, had she been successful, observers said she would have been a cabinet minister. She ran in the 1985 election in Hamilton West for the PCs, but lost to NDP incumbent Richard Allen. Her party also lost power.
Jones was a politician, but family were just as important.
Her daughter, Dr. Elizabeth O’Brien, a Hamilton veterinarian, said she and her brother grew up in a home her mother made beautiful and ate “amazing homemade meals served to perfection.”
“She was always there for us,” said O’Brien. “How she effortlessly managed the demands of her public and personal life is beyond my comprehension, but she did so with warmth, compassion, competence and an incredible sense of style.”
Terry Cooke, the last regional chairman, had known Jones since he was a child because his grandmother was a friend of Jones.
He helped Jones in her 1985 provincial campaign and she later spoke at his 1994 inauguration as chairman. He was elected to her old Ward 1 seat in 1985.
“Anne was a great trailblazer and the stabilizing and thoughtful force in the early turbulent days of regional government,” said Cooke. “I was so lucky to have her as a mentor and a friend.”
Former Spectator reporter Gord McNulty covered regional government in those turbulent days. He said Jones set “an exemplary standard for council civility and decorum” and was always courteous to councillors, staff and the media.
“She kept any frustrations that she may have had with a grandstanding councillor or with news coverage about regional government largely to herself and would quickly turn the page to the business at hand,” said McNulty.
“The Davis government could not have chosen a more skilful politician to manage controversies about regional planning, policing, transit, taxes and more.”
In 1986, Jones was appointed head of the embattled Ontario Film Review Board, which was under fire for things such as ordering cuts to the Oscar-winning “The Tin Drum.” The Liberal government reappointed her to a second term.
Jones was born in Edinburgh, Scotland (her middle name was Hamilton) and came to Canada with her family when she was six.
Her parents settled on a farm in Don Mills, which was then a farming community.
She obtained a honours BA degree in modern languages from the University of Toronto, where she also took part in various sports and the debating team.
She and her husband came to Hamilton in 1949 when he took up a post at Melrose United Church.
Between 2002 and 2005, Jones was a member of The Spectator community editorial board. In 1994, she was inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction.
Jones is survived by son Rory, daughter Elizabeth, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a sister and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life will be held at Christ’s Church Cathedral, 252 James St. N., at 11 a.m. on Oct. 16.