Howard Moscoe

Howard Moscoe (born November 28, 1939) is a former city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, representing Ward 15 in the western part of Eglinton-Lawrence.

Among the most prominent and longest-serving councillors in the city, he is also known for an outspokenness which caused controversy at times.

Moscoe is a member of the New Democratic Party.

He 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.

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.

Moscoe is also a successful businessman as a designer and producer of election signs.

Moscoe was first elected to the North York city council in 1978, defeating incumbent alderman Murray Markin in the city's fourth ward.

He soon emerged as a prominent voice on the council's left, and became a frequent critic of Mayor Mel Lastman.

Moscoe criticized Lastman's ties to regional developers, arguing that the mayor often used reformist rhetoric to hide a pro-establishment bias.

Moscoe once described his rivalry with Lastman by saying, "It's a fundamental difference of opinion. He's the wheeler-dealer, free-enterpriser, step-up-and-see-the-dancing-girls type of politician, while I'm a strong social democrat."

This comment notwithstanding, Moscoe quickly developed his own reputation for political theatrics against Lastman.

He 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.

In the late 1980s, he personally designed a brand of plastic sleeves to prevent rainwater damage during campaigns.

Moscoe asked the Law Society of Upper Canada to intervene in his 1982 re-election campaign, alleging that rival candidate Sydney Moscoe was running with the deliberate intent of confusing voters.

He informed the media that the ten nominees who signed Sydney Moscoe's papers also signed those of Eleanor Rosen, a more serious challenger associated with the Progressive Conservatives.

A Supreme Court of Ontario judge ruled that both Moscoes were legitimate candidates.

Moscoe was re-elected, although by a reduced margin.

In 1984, 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.

Largely through his efforts, North York became the first municipality in the Toronto area to pass such legislation.

Moscoe later supported tax credits for municipal political donations, similar to those used at the provincial and federal levels.

Also in 1984, he spoke out against the strict enforcement of an anti-scalping by-law outside Exhibition Stadium during home games by the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.

He argued that some constituents who were not scalpers were given fines for selling extra tickets outside the stadium at face value.

To protest the law, he painted a yellow line on the pavement 400 metres from the stadium and declared the area past the line a "free trade zone" for fans to exchange tickets.

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.

He was subsequently 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.

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.

He nonetheless rose to a position of administrative leadership, overseeing finances, policy initiatives and a variety of technical matters.

On policy, Moscoe promoted the creation of a municipal housing corporation in North York to promote rent-geared-to-income housing.

He argued that the city's housing situation was in crisis, and that government inaction would result in a rise in homelessness in later years.

He also promoted employment equity, and supported the extension of anti-smoking regulations in the workplace.

Moscoe was fighting a personal battle to quit smoking at the time.

In 1986, Moscoe took part in a demonstration organized by members of Toronto's Jewish community against the South African government's policy of apartheid.

He claimed 78 candidates as customers in the 1988 municipal election, and a further eighteen in the 1988 federal election.

Moscoe later said that he supplied every sign used by the New Democrats in the 1999 provincial election.

He is an active member of the Canadian Jewish Congress, and has served on its community relations committee.

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.

On August 31, 2010, after 31 years as an elected municipal politician, Moscoe announced his retirement from city council.

Moscoe's father, Alexander, was born to a Jewish family in Łódź, Poland, moved to Canada as a child before the First World War.

His uncle, Joe Moscoe, was the first licensed taxi driver in Toronto (cab license #1).

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.