Trustee takes aim at incumbent Howard Moscoe

Former Toronto councillor and separate school trustee Rob Davis will be facing Howard Moscoe for his Ward 15 (Eglinton-Lawrence) seat this fall.

Davis, who represents Ward 6 on the Toronto District Catholic School Board, filed nomination papers Monday, Jan. 4. Moscoe, who was rumored to be considering retirement, filed his papers shortly afterwards.

When asked whether he’d decided to run because his family had relented and agreed to another term, or because he didn’t want to give over his ward to the more conservative Davis, the veteran New Democratic Party councillor replied “A little bit of both.”

For his part, Davis said he wasn’t trying to run an anti-Moscoe campaign.

“What it comes down to is I’ve represented the area in the past,” said Davis, who was a councillor in the former City of York before he was elected to Toronto Council in 1998.

“I’ve got an understanding about some of the community needs in the past, about the way they’re getting service. And from city hall, I think I can make a difference. I think there’s a desire for change in the way business is done at city hall. I think people are proud of their city and they’re not proud of city council.”

Davis, who ran and lost against Shelley Carroll in Ward 33 (Don Valley East) in 2003, said he’s not afraid of a tough fight against the veteran incumbent.

“I’m not a shrinking violet in the political world – I’m not afraid of a competitive race, I don’t shy away from those.”

– David Nickle