Rob Davis (politician)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rob Davis (born 1964) is a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
politician. He served on the City of
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
council from 1991 to 1997. He was the first Black city councillor in the 200-year history of the City of York. He was elected as a member of the amalgamated
Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...
from 1997 to 2000. He was also the first Black city councillor of the amalgamated
Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...
. In
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, Davis unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Toronto in a by-election called as a result of the resignation of Mayor John Tory. Davis told the media that Torontonians no longer felt safe on the TTC, were struggling with the high cost of housing, and thought the council was wasting taxpayer's money on changing the name Dundas instead of helping the homeless and people who are less fortunate. Davis vowed to make Toronto safer, cleaner, and kinder.


Background

Rob Davis was born and raised in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. Davis was Student Council President at
St. Michael's College School St. Michael's College School (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an all-boys Catholic private school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Congregation of St. Basil, it is the largest school of its kind in Canada ...
, Toronto, 1982/3. He graduated from St. Michael's College in 1983, attended
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
, and studied Political Science. In 1985, Davis co-chaired the City of York International Youth Year Committee. Davis was a Member of the Friends of Fairbank Park group (1990 to 1992) dedicated to preventing the sale of Fairbank Park Pool to a developer for a condo development also.  This advocacy group lobbied the provincial government and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Toronto Police Service. The Fairbank Park Scandal saw two City Alderman and a Metro Councillor charged with municipal corruption on October 31, 1991. The three were tried and convicted. At age 27, he became one of Ontario's youngest elected officials when he was elected to the City of York Council (Ward 3) in November 1991. While on Council, Davis founded the
Caribana The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly and affectionately known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed ...
Children's Parade in Little Jamaica in 1994, which brought 500,000 people to the Little Jamaica business district for ten years. Davis then created an opportunity for children to share their culture with other children. He created inter-generational opportunities between the Police, Black youth, and the greater community. He successfully moved a motion to introduce the first tax freeze in 1993. He was re-elected in 1994 as the city councillor for Ward 3 November 1994. He was the budget chief in 1997 in the City of York, and that year the city brought in a zero tax hike.


Election to York city council

He was one of six new councillors elected for York in the 1991 municipal election, as city residents voted out a number of incumbents following the revelations of the Fairbank Park Scandal. Davis was the first
Black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...
elected to the York council in the city's 200-year history. He was re-elected to the York council in the 1994 election. His council experience includes service on the Administrative Services Committee, the Works and Parks Committee, the boards of health, the Northwestern General Hospital, the York Library and the St. Clair Community Youth Services.


1996 Ontario by-election

He campaigned for the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
in a 1996
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
in York South, as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party when
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
(NDP) leader
Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
vacated his seat. Davis defeated Zubair Chowdhry for the Progressive Conservative nomination and placed third in the election with 5,093 votes (25.69%). The winner was
Gerard Kennedy Gerard Michael Kennedy (born July 24, 1960) is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Ca ...
, who shortly afterwards sought the leadership of the Liberals. City councillor David Miller finished second for the NDP. Davis was 32 years old at the time.


Toronto City Council

The City of York was amalgamated into the new City of Toronto in 1997, and Davis was elected to Toronto City Council in the 1997 election as one of two members for Ward 28. He served as chair of Toronto's crime prevention task force and, in 2000, was the driving force behind a
gun buyback program A gun buyback program is one instituted to purchase privately owned firearms. The goal of such programs is to reduce the circulation of both legally and illegally owned firearms. A buyback program would provide a process whereby civilians can dispo ...
which allocated fifty dollars to any city resident who surrendered a gun. The program was generally considered a success, and Davis has said that the city could collect over 2,000 guns in less than two weeks. He also served as vice-chair of the
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
(TTC) from 1997 to 2000.John Deverell. Familiar faces running in North York; Ex-councillor, trustee top field Tenants' rights, traffic at issue. ''Toronto Star''. October 30, 2003. p. B02. Davis was a right-wing councillor and often highlighted tax reduction and law-and-order issues. An ally of mayor
Mel Lastman Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and the 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to s ...
, he sought to have
Howard Moscoe Howard Moscoe (born November 28, 1939)https://gencat4.eloquent-systems.com/webcat/request/Action?SystemName=City+of+Toronto+Archives&UserName=wa+public&Password=&CMD_%28DetailRequest%29 &ProcessID=6000_1980%280%29&KeyValues=KEY_315373 is a former ...
removed as TTC chair in 1999. In 1998, Davis was one of 13 councillors to vote against same-sex benefits for city employees.


Defeat

The wards in Toronto were redistributed before the 2000 election, and some sitting councillors were forced to face one another for re-election. Davis was defeated in Ward 21, losing to fellow councillor
Joe Mihevc Joe Mihevc ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian politician who was appointed to represent Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York on Toronto City Council on June 1, 2022. He was previously elected to represent Ward 21 St. Paul's from 2000 to 2018, War ...
by over 3,500 votes following a very divisive contest. He sought to return to council in the 2003 campaign in Ward 33 in the eastern part of the former city of North York. Still, he was narrowly defeated by
Shelley Carroll Shelley Carroll is a Canadian politician who has served on Toronto City Council since 2003. Carroll has been the chair of the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) since 2025 and chair of the Budget Committee since 2023. She has represented Ward 1 ...
.


2003 election

During the 2003 contest, Davis supported tenant advocacy, the restoration of rent control and gas tax financing for the TTC. Acknowledging that Progressive Conservative governments at the provincial level had opposed all three initiatives, he said, "I differed with my party." He has worked as a consultant since leaving the council. In 2004, he organized a march supporting police chief
Julian Fantino Julian Fantino, , (; born August 13, 1942) is a Canadian retired police official and former politician. He was the Conservative Party of Canada Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-ele ...
after it was announced that the deadlocked Toronto Police Services Board would not renew Fantino's contract.


Return to politics

In April 2008, he was appointed to replace trustee Christine Nunziata, who resigned due to allegations over her spending. Davis was appointed to Ward 6 (York) of the
Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. ...
to replace Christine Nunziata, who was removed for missing three consecutive board meetings, on May 8, 2010. Immediately after his appointment, Davis said there needed to be an "infrastructure of integrity" in place before the Trustees could restore parent confidence and move on from the Trustee spending scandal. His first motion as trustee was to call upon the board to create an integrity commissioner position at their next meeting on May 14, 2010. In the 2010 municipal election, Davis ran unsuccessfully for Toronto City Council from Ward 15 in an attempt to replace
Howard Moscoe Howard Moscoe (born November 28, 1939)https://gencat4.eloquent-systems.com/webcat/request/Action?SystemName=City+of+Toronto+Archives&UserName=wa+public&Password=&CMD_%28DetailRequest%29 &ProcessID=6000_1980%280%29&KeyValues=KEY_315373 is a former ...
. In
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, Davis ran for mayor of Toronto, ending up in 22nd place.


Election results

Source:
1991 Toronto municipal election The 1991 Toronto municipal election was held on November 12, 1991, to elect councillors in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and mayors, councillors and school trustees in Toronto, York, East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke. Und ...
Source: 1994 Toronto municipal election Source: Ontario provincial by-election, May 23, 1996/York South ***Top 2 elected**** Source:
1997 Toronto municipal election The 1997 Toronto municipal election was the first election held for offices in the amalgamated "megacity" of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The elections were administered by the old City of Toronto and its five suburbs within Metropolitan Toronto. Th ...
Source:
2000 Toronto municipal election The 2000 Toronto municipal election was the municipal and school board election of 2000 held in Toronto on November 13, 2000. Law and order was a prominent theme during campaigning, as several candidates with past convictions ran for regiona ...
Source:
2003 Toronto municipal election The 2003 Toronto municipal election was held on 10 November 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees. David Miller was elected mayor ( Results of 2003 Toronto election). ...
Source:
2010 Toronto municipal election The 2010 Toronto municipal election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect a Mayor of Toronto, mayor and 44 Toronto City Council, city councillors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District Sch ...
Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 AMCity of Toronto elections page


Running for Mayor of Toronto


References


Sources




External links


City of Toronto profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rob Living people Businesspeople from Toronto Toronto city councillors Black Canadian politicians York University alumni Black Canadian businesspeople Toronto Catholic District School Board trustees 1964 births 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors