{{Short description|Canadian politician (1946–2018)}} {{about||the American football player|Bob Morrow (American football)|other people with similar names|Robert Morrow (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Robert Morrow | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|UE|size=100%}} | image = | caption = | order = 52nd Mayor of Hamilton | term_start = 1982 | term_end = 2000 | predecessor = William Powell | successor = Robert E. Wade | birth_name = Robert Maxwell Morrow | birth_date = {{Birth date|1946|08|09}} | birth_place = Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|02|04|1946|08|09}} | death_place = Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | constituency = | party = Independent | spouse = {{marriage|Guay Bayliss|May 15, 1977}} | profession = {{hlist|Politician|organist}} | signature = }}
'''Robert Maxwell Morrow''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|UE}} (August 9, 1946 – February 4, 2018) was a Canadian politician who served as 52nd mayor of Hamilton from 1982 to 2000. He was the longest-serving mayor in the city's history.<ref name=mayors>{{cite web | title = 1983-2000 - Robert Maxwell Morrow | url = http://www.myhamilton.ca/people/1983-2000-robert-maxwell-morrow | accessdate = 2012-06-04 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706002726/http://www.myhamilton.ca/people/1983-2000-robert-maxwell-morrow | archivedate = 2011-07-06 }}</ref>
==Political career== Born in Hamilton, Morrow first won election in 1968 as alderman for Ward One. However, he was disqualified because his name was not on the voter's list. In a subsequent by-election, his father, George Morrow, secured the seat. Morrow ran again in 1970, winning without legal difficulty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/bob-morrow-obituary-1.4520567|title=Bob Morrow, Hamilton's longest-serving mayor, dies at 71|website=cbc.ca|accessdate=5 February 2018}}</ref> In 1972, he won a seat on the Board of Control, a body that was elected citywide. In the following three elections, he placed first in the multi-candidate race, automatically becoming deputy mayor. When the board was abolished in 1980, Morrow temporarily left municipal politics. He unsuccessfully ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1981 provincial election in Hamilton West, losing to provincial Liberal leader Stuart Smith.
In 1982, Morrow won the first of six mayoral elections, defeating incumbent William Powell. His last few victories were only challenged by minor candidates, with Morrow regularly receiving in excess of 75 per cent of the vote. After Morrow refused to proclaim Hamilton's first pride day in 1991, the Ontario Human Rights Commission ruled that Morrow had discriminated against gays and lesbians, and he was fined $5,000 and forced to issue a proclamation in 1995.<ref>Renata D'Aliesio, "Gay Pride and Prejudice: High spirits of rally can't cloak unease". ''Hamilton Spectator'', June 12, 2000.</ref> In 2000, following the amalgamation of the City of Hamilton with neighbouring towns, Morrow lost the election to Ancaster mayor Robert E. Wade. While Morrow again won the old City of Hamilton, he did not win the newly added boroughs.
He was appointed as a citizenship judge in 2004, and he served two terms, retiring in May 2010.<ref>"Finally, a low-key Canada Day for Bob Morrow". ''Hamilton Spectator'', June 30, 2010.</ref> On February 7, 2014, Hamilton City Council appointed Bob Morrow as interim councillor for Ward 3 after the death of Councillor Bernie Morelli.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/bob-morrow-former-hamilton-mayor-is-councillor-for-ward-3-1.2527247 "Bob Morrow, former Hamilton mayor, is councillor for Ward 3"]. CBC Hamilton, February 7, 2014.</ref> To avoid any conflict or confusion, Morrow sent a letter to council saying that he would not seek the seat in the city's October 2014 election. Matthew Green was elected the new Ward 3 councillor following the fall 2014 election.
He served as the organist and head of the senior choir of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in downtown Hamilton.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Mayors of Hamilton, Ontario}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrow, Bob}} Category:1946 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Mayors of Hamilton, Ontario Category:Canadian citizenship judges Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidates in Ontario provincial elections Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ontario