Fergy Brown

James Fergus (Fergy) Brown is a retired politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served as Mayor of York from 1988 to 1994, and was listed as eighty years old in a 2003 newspaper report. [Joe Fiorito, 'Legion swoops in, leaves vets without a branch", "Toronto Star", 23 April 2003, B02.]

Brown was born in Scotland, and moved to York, Ontario at age five. [Darcy Henton, "Close race shapes up in smallest city", "Toronto Star", 7 November 1988, A6.] He served in Canada's Bomber Command during World War II, and owned a pharmacy in his private career. ["Fergy Brown a candidate for York Mayor", "Toronto Star", 25 May 1988, A6.] Brown was first elected to the York Borough Council in 1969, defeating three challengers in the city's fourth ward, and was re-elected in 1972.

He campaigned for Mayor of York in 1974 and 1976, but lost to Philip White both times. On the second occasion, his margin of defeat was fewer than 300 votes. He also campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1977 as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party, finishing second against New Democratic Party incumbent Tony Grande in Oakwood. In January 1978, he was appointed by Premier Bill Davis to the Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. ["Davis appoints a Tory loser conservationist", "Globe and Mail", 18 January 1978, P4.]

After a four-year absence, Brown returned to York Council in 1978 via election to the city's Board of Control. The position also gave him an automatic place on the Metropolitan Toronto Council. He was re-elected in 1980, 1982 and 1985, and served as York's budget chief for this entire period. ["The candidates", "Toronto Star", 10 November 1988, A16.]

Brown sought to replace Paul Godfrey as Metro Chair in 1984, but finished second against Dennis Flynn of Etobicoke. [Geoffrey York, "Easy majority on first ballot", "Globe and Mail", 31 August 1984, P1.] He campaigned for a position on the police board later in the year, but lost to Art Eggleton. [Geoffrey York, "Eggleton wins seat on police board", "Globe and Mail", 26 September 1984, M1.] Brown was named head of Metro's social service committee in 1985, and served as a member of the Toronto Transit Commission. [Alden Baker, "Eggleton retains seat on police board", 11 December 1985, A11; Sean Fine, "Transport scholar snubbed in TTC bid", "Globe and Mail", 23 January 1987.]

He was elected to succeed Alan Tonks as Mayor of York in 1988, defeating former MPP Tony Grande by a significant margin. Brown highlighted his record of financial accountability on previous York Councils, and suggested that Grande did not have significant municipal experience to govern the city. ["Fergy Brown a candidate for York Mayor", "Toronto Star", 25 May 1988, A6.] He continued to serve on Metro Council, and supported Alan Tonks over Dennis Flynn for council chair in 1988. [Laurie Monsebraaten, "Most of them came with their minds already made up", "Toronto Star", 13 December 1988, A8.]

In 1990, Brown endorsed a controversial plan to sell part of Fairbank Park to a company run by Toronto-area developer Lou Charles. [Tom Kerr, "Probe urged of parkland selloff", "Toronto Star", 4 August 1990, A4.] The details of the sale provoked charges of political corruption, and set in motion a series of events that eventually led to the arrest and conviction of Charles and some of his political allies. Metro police investigated Brown's role in the sale, but did not lay charges. ["Avoiding conflicts", "Toronto Star", 9 October 1990, A12.] In July 1991, Brown reversed his earlier position and help council defeat the proposed sale. [Royson James, "Parkland decision in York set for today", "Toronto Star", 10 July 1991, A7; Royson James, "York buries plan to sell parkland by 7-1 vote", "Toronto Star", 11 July 1991, A6.] Several media reports from this period depict him as being unable to maintain order over the dysfunctional York Council. [See for instance Bob Brent, "Fracas erupts at York public meeting", "Toronto Star", 27 September 1991, A6; "In York, depose most incumbents", "Toronto Star", 8 November 1991, A24.]

Brown was re-elected to the mayor's office in 1991 over his old rival Philip White. He helped ensure passage of a compromise Market Value Assessment tax plan for Metro Toronto in 1992, although this plan was later overturned by the provincial government of Bob Rae. [Royson James, "New tax plan eases burden for business", "Toronto Star", 24 October 1992, A1; David Lewis Stein, "3 veteran councillors cook up deal in restaurant", "Toronto Star", 30 October 1992, A6. Brown and two other Progressive Conservatives helped to arrange the final deal with New Democrat Howard Moscoe.]

Brown was defeated in 1994 by Frances Nunziata, who had spearheaded opposition to the Fairbank sale in 1990. The campaign centred around leadership issues: Brown pointed to his many years in office, while Nunziata argued that he did not show decisive leadership during the controversy. [Royson James, "Brown faltering in York", "Toronto Star", 31 October 1994, A6.] The contest was marked by open animosity between the candidates, and Brown refused to travel to Nunziata's headquarters on election night to concede defeat. [Royson James, "Winds of Change", "Toronto Star", 15 November 1994, A1.]

Ideologically, Brown has been described as a "moderate Tory", a Red Tory and an "old-fashioned conservative". [Jim Byers, "'Crucial' election today in Metro", "Toronto Star", 14 November 1988, A1; Jim Byers, "It does not take much to get re-elected mayor in these parts", "Toronto Star", 24 September 1988, B4; David Lewis Stein, "Expect a shift in power after this civic election", "Toronto Star", 11 November 1988, A27.]

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