Howard Moscoe was born on November 28,1939 and is a former city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, representing Ward 15 in the western part of Eglinton-Lawrence.
150 Facts About Howard Moscoe
1.
2.
Howard Moscoe was a junior high school art teacher with the North York Board of Education before entering political life, and was president of the North York Elementary Teachers' Federation and a governor of the Ontario Teachers' Federation.
3.
Howard Moscoe campaigned for a seat on the North York Hydro Commission in 1974, and ran for the Ontario legislature in 1975 and 1977 as the Ontario New Democratic Party candidate in Wilson Heights.
4.
Howard Moscoe initially supported extension of the Spadina Expressway to reduce traffic in his riding, but opposed further extension once the freeway was partially completed and renamed as Allen Road.
5.
Howard Moscoe is a successful businessman as a designer and producer of election signs.
6.
Howard Moscoe claimed 78 candidates as customers in the 1988 municipal election, and a further eighteen in the 1988 federal election.
7.
Howard Moscoe later said that he supplied every sign used by the New Democrats in the 1999 provincial election.
8.
Howard Moscoe is an active member of the Canadian Jewish Congress, and has served on its community relations committee.
9.
Howard Moscoe graduated from Lakeshore Teachers College and completed BA degrees at Wilfrid Laurier University and York University, and a Master of Education at the University of Toronto.
10.
Howard Moscoe was first elected to the North York city council in 1978, defeating incumbent alderman Murray Markin in the city's fourth ward.
11.
Howard Moscoe once purchased one of Lastman's toupees at a charity auction, and used it to dust his chair and desk at the start of council meetings.
12.
Howard Moscoe asked the Law Society of Upper Canada to intervene in his 1982 re-election campaign, alleging that rival candidate Sydney Howard Moscoe was running with the deliberate intent of confusing voters.
13.
Howard Moscoe informed the media that the ten nominees who signed Sydney Moscoe's papers signed those of Eleanor Rosen, a more serious challenger associated with the Progressive Conservatives.
14.
In 1984, Howard Moscoe was a leading supporter of reform legislation to limit campaign contributions to $500 per year and require candidates to declare expenses, contributions and contributors within ninety days of an election.
15.
Howard Moscoe later supported tax credits for municipal political donations, similar to those used at the provincial and federal levels.
16.
Howard Moscoe argued that some constituents who were not scalpers were given fines for selling extra tickets outside the stadium at face value.
17.
Howard Moscoe campaigned for the Ontario legislature a third time in 1985, and finished third against Liberal Monte Kwinter in a provincial swing to the Liberal Party.
18.
Howard Moscoe was elected to a seat on the North York Board of Control in the municipal election later in the year, focusing his campaign on issues such as housing and affordable day care.
19.
Howard Moscoe was the only left-leaning member on the city's Board of Control between 1985 and 1988, and was frequently at odds with its other members.
20.
Howard Moscoe nonetheless rose to a position of administrative leadership, overseeing finances, policy initiatives and a variety of technical matters.
21.
On policy, Howard Moscoe promoted the creation of a municipal housing corporation in North York to promote rent-geared-to-income housing.
22.
Howard Moscoe argued that the city's housing situation was in crisis, and that government inaction would result in a rise in homelessness in later years.
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Howard Moscoe promoted employment equity, and supported the extension of anti-smoking regulations in the workplace.
24.
Howard Moscoe was fighting a personal battle to quit smoking at the time.
25.
In 1986, Howard Moscoe took part in a demonstration organized by members of Toronto's Jewish community against the South African government's policy of apartheid.
26.
Howard Moscoe described the effort as "a thinly veiled direct personal attack on myself", while another councillor later acknowledged that it was intended as punishment for Howard Moscoe's outspokenness against Lastman.
27.
Howard Moscoe survived the motion by eleven votes to six.
28.
Howard Moscoe was the only North York councillor to oppose a ban on Now Magazine from parts of city hall in 1988.
29.
Howard Moscoe awarded the magazine with a prize for journalistic excellence in March 1988, while serving a week-long term as acting mayor in Lastman's absence.
30.
Howard Moscoe supported several reforms to the council's operations, including direct election and increased powers of governance.
31.
Howard Moscoe rose to greater prominence in 1988 as a leading critic of proposed Sunday shopping reforms introduced by the provincial government of David Peterson.
32.
Howard Moscoe argued that the Peterson government was abdicating its responsibility by permitting municipalities to legislate change on the issue, and described efforts to expand Sunday shopping as "an attack on labor unions, small business and the family".
33.
Howard Moscoe served as chairman of a task force on Sunday shopping, and oversaw a series of public meetings on the issue in 1990.
34.
Howard Moscoe chose to run for a seat on the new council, and was declared elected when his only opponent withdrew one day after nominations closed.
35.
Howard Moscoe described his acclamation as bittersweet, in that he had already ordered 25,000 campaign pamphlets.
36.
Flynn lost to Alan Tonks, whom Howard Moscoe later criticized as "Mr Indecision" and "Mr Subcommittee".
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Howard Moscoe argued that the change was necessary in light of the Metro councillors's increased responsibilities, adding that the "citizen members" were in fact high-level patronage appointees.
38.
One of Howard Moscoe's leading allies in achieving this reform was Chris Stockwell, later a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister in Ontario.
39.
Howard Moscoe criticized Mel Lastman's plans to provide public funding for the North York Performing Arts Centre in 1991, arguing that it was an unnecessary expense and that private entrepreneur Garth Drabinsky would be the primary beneficiary.
40.
Howard Moscoe was re-elected in the 1991 municipal election, defeating two minor challengers.
41.
Howard Moscoe was appointed to the Toronto Transit Commission after the election.
42.
Howard Moscoe became involved with municipal gaming issues in the mid-1990s, and supported the provincial government of Bob Rae in its plans for casino expansion.
43.
Howard Moscoe served on Toronto's casino committee for the Canadian National Exhibition, and favoured the introduction of horse race betting in 1994.
44.
Howard Moscoe later called for a permanent casino to be established on Exhibition grounds.
45.
Howard Moscoe was a leading opponent of the federal government's decision to sell the Toronto Pearson International Airport in 1993, arguing that the airport should be owned by Toronto-area taxpayers.
46.
Howard Moscoe has long been a supporter of gay and lesbian issues.
47.
Howard Moscoe was one of three TTC members to support the group "Toronto Area Gays and Lesbians" in a 1993 controversy over TTC advertising: TAGL had purchased advertising space, only to have their contract revoked when other commission members complained that the content was too controversial.
48.
Howard Moscoe spoke out against Metro's decision to reject funding for two gay and lesbian cultural groups in the same year, urging councillors "not to succumb to a radical, right-wing fringe" in withholding revenue.
49.
In December 1995, Howard Moscoe co-sponsored a successful motion calling for Metro Toronto to block a contract with Shell Canada, on the grounds that its parent company was complicit with human rights violations in Nigeria.
50.
Howard Moscoe supported amalgamation in principle, but was skeptical about the future of social service and education funding under the Harris government's plan.
51.
Howard Moscoe was elected to the new city council in the 1997 election, while his old nemesis Mel Lastman was elected as the first mayor of the new city.
52.
Howard Moscoe soon resumed his role as Lastman's chief critic, but nevertheless won Lastman's support to become chair of the Toronto Transit Commission in January 1998.
53.
Howard Moscoe was re-elected in 2000 over Tony Rizzo, a former NDP Member of Provincial Parliament who had later crossed over to the Liberal Party.
54.
Howard Moscoe was reappointed as a TTC commissioner, but relinquished the chairmanship to Brian Ashton.
55.
Howard Moscoe was reappointed to a second term as TTC chair in March 2003 after Betty Disero's resignation, and was reconfirmed in the position after the 2003 election.
56.
Howard Moscoe broke with other left-leaning councillors to vote in favour of a proposed island airport bridge in 2002, even though he actually opposed the bridge in principle.
57.
Howard Moscoe later explained that his vote was part of a compromise arrangement with Bombardier and developer Robert Deluce to have a large piece of land surrounding the Downsview subway stop set aside for residential development.
58.
The city later reached a separate deal with Bombardier, and Howard Moscoe voted against the bridge when the issue was reconsidered in late 2003.
59.
Howard Moscoe is a prominent ally of David Miller, who was elected as Lastman's successor in the 2003 municipal election.
60.
Howard Moscoe organized most of his re-election campaign from a hospital bed, and did not publicize his illness until later in the year.
61.
Howard Moscoe was strongly critical of a 2004 decision by the provincial government of Dalton McGuinty to negotiate future infrastructural arrangements with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario rather than with individual communities.
62.
Howard Moscoe argued that the plan was detrimental to Toronto's interests, and suggested that the city might consider leaving the AMO in protest.
63.
Howard Moscoe was quoted as saying, "We are not going to let the village of East Garafraxa determine how public transit funding is distributed in Toronto".
64.
Also in 2004, Howard Moscoe brought forward a successful motion to rename a street in his ward as "Tommy Douglas Gardens".
65.
Howard Moscoe was criticized for yelling an obscenity at Rob Ford in a 2004 meeting, for which he later apologized.
66.
Howard Moscoe initially joked that he had told Ford to "flock off, as the birds do".
67.
Howard Moscoe withdrew the memo after complaints, and wrote an apology to Pitfield for any offence given.
68.
Rival councillors Karen Stintz and Frances Nunziata argued that the contest was demeaning to women, and Stintz suggested that Howard Moscoe had "a history of making disparaging comments to women".
69.
Stintz and David Soknacki signed an affidavit requesting that Howard Moscoe be investigated by the integrity commissioner for the comments.
70.
Nunziata had complained that bus service in her ward was substandard, and asked Howard Moscoe to walk the area's streets for a first-hand view.
71.
Howard Moscoe subsequently apologized, adding "on occasion my mouth gets ahead of my brain".
72.
Nunziata wrote an open letter to the city's integrity commissioner, asking that Howard Moscoe be censured for his comments.
73.
Howard Moscoe defeated Ron Singer, his closest challenger, by about a two-to-one margin.
74.
Howard Moscoe stood down as TTC chair following the 2006 election, and was selected as chair of Toronto's licensing and standards committee.
75.
Howard Moscoe is a member of David Miller's executive committee.
76.
Howard Moscoe conducted a media tour of the worst-kept buildings in Toronto in early 2007.
77.
Howard Moscoe has called for Ontario's disabled parking system to be overhauled, arguing that the current system is both outdated and rampant with abuse.
78.
Howard Moscoe says that many non-disabled Ontarians are currently using disabled parking permits for convenience purposes.
79.
In late March 2007, Howard Moscoe led the licensing and standards committee in supporting a ban on airport limousines picking up fares in Toronto.
80.
Howard Moscoe has long been a prominent advocate for public transit in Toronto.
81.
Howard Moscoe recommended that Toronto take steps to improve its transit network in 1989, following the release of a report indicating that rush-hour traffic would double between 1981 and 2001.
82.
Howard Moscoe recommended several reforms to transit policy following his appointment to the TTC in 1991.
83.
Howard Moscoe supported lower rates for Toronto's poorer residents, arguing that transit passes could be mailed out with welfare cheques.
84.
Howard Moscoe advocated lower advertising rates for small businesses, noting that a national recession was resulting in many spaces being left unused.
85.
Howard Moscoe opposed the TTC's elimination of environmentally friendly trolley bus services in January 1992, and led a successful initiative for their restoration later in the same year.
86.
Howard Moscoe later argued that the Harris government's funding cuts were the start of a long period of decline for the TTC, from which it had not entirely recovered by the mid-2000s.
87.
Howard Moscoe joined with other NDP councillors to support increased funding for WheelTrans, a transportation service for Toronto's disabled persons, 1995.
88.
Howard Moscoe described the motion as "the most difficult decision I've had to make", but argued it was necessary to prevent a total collapse in the city's transit system.
89.
Howard Moscoe recommended that WheelTrans users voluntarily limit their non-essential use of the service, so as to ensure that it remained accessible for work and school transportation.
90.
Howard Moscoe opposed further cuts in 1996, and subsequently supported initiatives to make regular buses wheelchair-friendly.
91.
Howard Moscoe was appointed as TTC chair in January 1998, and soon emerged as a prominent rival to David Gunn, the TTC's chief general manager.
92.
Gunn accused Howard Moscoe of interfering in TTC management issues, particularly after Howard Moscoe renegotiated a contract for condominium development at the TTC's Bayview station.
93.
Gunn threatened to resign in mid-1998 if Howard Moscoe was not removed, but retracted this threat when the TTC reaffirmed its confidence in Howard Moscoe's leadership.
94.
Gunn eventually stepped down in April 1999, saying that Howard Moscoe was "ruining his reputation".
95.
Howard Moscoe was able to retain his position at a subsequent TTC meeting with a deft procedural move that divided the opposition, and later described the attempt to dismiss him as a "kindergarten coup".
96.
Howard Moscoe's opponents attempted to remove him again in May 1999, when TTC commissioners Chris Korwin-Kuczynski and Brian Ashton brought forward a motion before city council to replace the entire TTC board.
97.
Howard Moscoe again retained his position when council rejected the motion, and instead agreed to a compromise plan which saw two new members added to the board.
98.
Howard Moscoe responded to the threat by introducing a legal challenge against the manner of the new members' selection: both were chosen by a simple majority of council, and Howard Moscoe argued that a two-thirds majority was required.
99.
Howard Moscoe indicated that he had no awareness of the fax, but submitted a resignation notice to take formal responsibility.
100.
Howard Moscoe then withdrew his resignation, saying that the matter should have been resolved quickly to permit the TTC to return to its regular business.
101.
In 1999, Howard Moscoe began a lobbying effort to have a percentage of provincial revenues directed toward the TTC.
102.
Howard Moscoe achieved success in 2004, when Premier Dalton McGuinty declared his support for the plan.
103.
Howard Moscoe welcomed a $1 billion investment over five years from the federal and provincial governments in 2004, and received a separate $90 million infusion from the provincial Liberal government in the same year to stave off a 25-cent fare increase.
104.
Howard Moscoe endorsed the Martin government's 2005 budget, which implemented the federal gas-tax plan.
105.
Howard Moscoe oversaw TTC fare increases in both 2005 and 2006.
106.
Howard Moscoe argued that the alternative of cutting back services was not a viable option.
107.
Howard Moscoe was a prominent supporter of the rebuild of the streetcar right-of-way on St Clair Avenue.
108.
Howard Moscoe argued that if the project was cancelled, as some Toronto politicians had suggested, it would be costly and would worsen gridlock in the city.
109.
Howard Moscoe called for the province to re-assume responsibility for the western section of the Gardiner Expressway, which was formerly part of the Queen Elizabeth Way until it was downloaded to the city in 1998.
110.
Howard Moscoe suggested that it be renamed the "Dalton McGuinty Expressway" if the province refused.
111.
In March 2006, Howard Moscoe announced that he would support provincial funding for a united transit system covering the Greater Toronto Area from Burlington to Oshawa.
112.
Howard Moscoe later criticized federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's plans for a transit tax credit, arguing that it would be difficult to administer and would only benefit the most affluent transit users.
113.
Howard Moscoe has criticized the provincial government's plan to introduce "smart card" transit passes for the Greater Toronto Area, arguing that the city could buy 400 buses with the money being spent on the program.
114.
Howard Moscoe called the union's allegations false, noting that a different agency was responsible for the payment of employee benefits.
115.
Howard Moscoe said that TTC workers were treated consistently with other injured workers in the province, and noted that injury pay issue was not mentioned during the last bargaining session in April 2005.
116.
ATU President Bob Kinnear responded saying that Howard Moscoe was attacking Lowe's honesty.
117.
Howard Moscoe apologized to Lowe during a meeting at City Hall, and promised to "sort out our procedures" to ensure that coverage would not be delayed to injured workers in the future.
118.
Howard Moscoe blamed political interference for his decision, saying that Moscoe had conducted direct negotiations with the union without consulting him.
119.
Howard Moscoe defended his actions, arguing that he had an obligation to take part in the discussions and was attempting to ensure that a second strike did not take place.
120.
Howard Moscoe later said that management was to blame for the wildcat strike, and that he intervened in an attempt to stop it.
121.
Ducharme criticized Howard Moscoe for granting a non-bid contract to Bombardier for the purchase of new subway cars, citing an estimate from rival company Siemens suggesting that it would cost Toronto as much as $100 million.
122.
Howard Moscoe defended his decision by noting that Bombardier plans to construct the cars in Thunder Bay, Ontario with parts-supply work in Toronto, while Siemens would have exported construction to China.
123.
Howard Moscoe cited a Bombardier-initiated study asserting that the contract will generate $142 million in provincial and federal tax revenues.
124.
Howard Moscoe has defended the contracting process, arguing that non-competitive contracts are standard practice for such purchases in other jurisdictions.
125.
Howard Moscoe later added that he initially considered an open-bid contract, but reconsidered after discovering that Siemens constructs its cars in China.
126.
Howard Moscoe had taken part in a Bombardier-organized trip to Tel Aviv in 1998, to promote subway construction in Israel.
127.
Howard Moscoe responded to the accusation by saying that he was the target of a smear campaign, noting that there had been "nothing secret" about his 1998 trip, which was funded by the Israeli government.
128.
Howard Moscoe added that he had received campaign contributions from Siemens.
129.
Howard Moscoe initially dismissed these calls as politically motivated, but later said that he was thinking about resigning after the 2006 municipal election.
130.
Howard Moscoe announced in late October 2006 that the TTC was considering the installment of electronic signs, to show bus and streetcar riders how long they would have to wait for the next vehicle.
131.
Howard Moscoe has proposed shifting Toronto to an automatic train system to increase service capacity, and introducing a station master at each stop to handle upgrades and customer complaints.
132.
Howard Moscoe described the announcement as a "slap in the face", far below the $35 million the TTC had requested for security upgrades.
133.
Howard Moscoe declined to participate in a photo opportunity with federal officials, and asked the Harper government to reconsider its proposal.
134.
Howard Moscoe is currently seeking appointment to the Greater Toronto Transit Authority, a new regional body.
135.
Howard Moscoe has long promoted safety concerns in the taxi industry, and has often championed the interests of taxi drivers against perceived exploitation from owners.
136.
Howard Moscoe himself trained as a cab driver in 1990, in an effort to learn more about the industry.
137.
Howard Moscoe later encouraged the installment of cameras in taxi cabs.
138.
Howard Moscoe supported a pioneering unionization effort for Toronto cab drivers in 1993.
139.
Howard Moscoe later spoke out against abuses in Toronto's taxi licensing system, drawing attention to cases in which wealthy owners purchased plates that were rented to drivers at exorbitant rates.
140.
Howard Moscoe defended a taxi fare increase in 2003, arguing that it was first such increase in seven years and was necessary to cover rising insurance and gas prices.
141.
Howard Moscoe has supported a motion to have all Toronto cabs painted the same colour, arguing that this measure will help crack down on illegal drivers.
142.
Howard Moscoe has acknowledged that owners and brokers disapprove of some of his ideas, but says that most drivers support him.
143.
Howard Moscoe has often called for reforms in the Toronto Police Service, particularly as regards the force's relations with racial minority groups.
144.
Howard Moscoe sought an appointment to the Police Commission in late 1990, but withdrew his name after failing to win Tonks's support.
145.
Howard Moscoe criticized the tactics of the Toronto Police Association during Craig Bromell's tenure as union leader.
146.
The next year, Howard Moscoe accused Bromell of having "crossed the line" by hiring private investigators to probe city councillors critical of the police force.
147.
Howard Moscoe had his own office swept for bugs as a precautionary measure.
148.
Howard Moscoe described a 2004 proposal for police helicopters as "pure testosterone", and sarcastically suggested that the helicopters should be equipped with Sidewinder missiles to ensure maximum effectiveness.
149.
Howard Moscoe played a significant role in Metro Council's deliberations over market value tax reform in late 1992, working with three Progressive Conservative councillors to broker a last-minute compromise on the issue.
150.
Howard Moscoe supported a similar five-year phase-in plan in 1998, which was accepted.