Bob Taylor (Ontario politician)

Bob Taylor
Mayor of Brantford, Ontario
In office
1991–1994
Preceded by Karen George
Succeeded by Chris Friel
Brantford City Councillor, Ward Two
with Kevin Davis
In office
1990–1991
Preceded by Brad Ward
Succeeded by John Sless and Bob Lancaster
Brantford City Councillor, Ward Three
with Mike Hancock
In office
1997–2000
Preceded by Max Sherman
Succeeded by Greg Martin
Personal details
Born Saskatchewan

Bob Taylor is a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the mayor of Brantford from 1991 to 1994 and served as a city councillor on two separate occasions.

Early life and career

Taylor was born in northern Saskatchewan, the son of a United Church of Canada minister. He later moved to London, Ontario, where one of his first political activities was working as campaign manager for David Suzuki in a student election. He holds Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Physical Education, and Master of Education degrees and has worked as an elementary school principal.[1]

Originally a Liberal, Taylor joined the New Democratic Party in the 1970s to support Brant Member of Parliament (MP) Derek Blackburn.[2] He rejoined the Liberals in the 1980s and supported Ontario Liberal Party candidate Dave Neumann in the 1987 provincial election.[3]

Taylor was a member of the Brantford Public Utilities Commission for ten years before his first appointment to city council in 1990.[4]

Municipal politician

Taylor was appointed to the Brantford City Council in 1990 as a replacement for Brad Ward, who was forced to resign his seat after winning election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.[5]

After serving on council for one year, Taylor was elected as Brantford's mayor in the 1991 municipal election over one-term incumbent Karen George. The election was expected to be close, but Taylor won by a significant margin.[6] In 1993, he supported an abortive proposal by Bob Rae's provincial government to shift some public sector jobs from Toronto to Brantford.[7] When Rae's government cancelled the initiative, Taylor led a protest delegation to Queen's Park.[8] He lost to challenger Chris Friel in the 1994 municipal election.[9]

Taylor returned to city council in 1997, winning an open seat in Brantford's third ward. Over the next three years, he served on the city's corporate services, social services, and community development committees and was part of a special committee examining issues relating to the opening of the Brantford Charity Casino.[10] He criticized Friel's efforts to amalgamate Brantford with Brant County in 2000, describing the mayor's style as heavy-handed.[11] Taylor was narrowly defeated in his bid for re-election in the 2000 municipal election.

He supported Mike Hancock's successful bid to become mayor of Brantford in 2003 and was co-chair of Liberal MP Lloyd St. Amand's successful re-election campaign in the 2006 federal election.[12]

Electoral record

2000 Brantford municipal election, Councillor, Ward Three (two members elected)
Candidate Total votes % of total votes
(x)Mike Hancock 4,793 40.46
Greg Martin 3,593 30.33
(x)Bob Taylor 3,459 29.20
Total valid votes 11,845 100
1997 Brantford municipal election, Councillor, Ward Three (two members elected)
Candidate Total votes % of total votes
Bob Taylor 3,940 34.43
(x)Mike Hancock 3,540 30.94
Fred Minna 1,609 14.06
Cam Gillespie 1,402 12.25
Greg Martin 951 8.31
Total valid votes 11,442 100
1994 Brantford municipal election, Mayor of Brantford
Candidate Total votes % of total votes
Chris Friel 10,695 41.97
(x)Bob Taylor 7,631 29.95
Bob Lancaster 3,981 15.62
John Starkey 1,754 6.88
Dan McCreary 1,094 4.29
Chuck Giles 325 1.28
Total valid votes 25,480 100
1991 Brantford municipal election, Mayor of Brantford
Candidate Total votes % of total votes
Bob Taylor 13,561 56.06
(x)Karen George 6,200 25.63
Pat Luciani 3,598 14.88
William Stewart 829 3.43
Total valid votes 24,188 100

References

  1. Brantford Expositor, 10 November 1994, pp. 2-4; Ross Marowits, "Recognizing Greatness," Brantford Expositor, 20 April 1999, A3.
  2. Brantford Expositor, 10 November 1994, pp. 2-4.
  3. John Ferri, "Organization could tip tight race in Brantford," Toronto Star, 16 August 1987, A6.
  4. "Brantford -- Ward 3 (Two to be elected), Brantford Expositor, 8 November 2000, B7.
  5. Brantford Expositor, 10 November 1994, pp. 2-4. Taylor was selected as Ward's replacement by a vote of the other council members.
  6. "New Brantford mayor shocked by victory," Hamilton Spectator, 13 November 1991, B10.
  7. Paul Hallihan, "Toronto coalition opposes moving 5,100 government jobs out of city," Hamilton Spectator, 6 February 1993, B4; William Walker, "Cities lose as NDP ices jobs move," Toronto Star, 23 April 1993, B1.
  8. Emilia Casella, "Rae hit by Brantford's wrath," Hamilton Spectator, 13 May 1993, B4.
  9. "Young rookie whips incumbent," Hamilton Spectator, 15 November 1994, B5.
  10. Ross Marowits, "City sets committees," Brantford Expositor, 7 January 1999, A3; Ross Marowits, "City super-committee tackles casino," Brantford Expositor, 9 February 1999, A3; "Who's on city committees," Brantford Expositor, 8 December 1999, A4.
  11. Lisa Grace Marr, "Brantford mayor surprises again," Hamilton Spectator, 6 March 2000, A06.
  12. Michael-Allan Marion, "Hancock: 'It's time," Brantford Expositor, 10 October 2003, A1; Heather Ibbotson, "St. Amand ready to lead Liberals in next election: Canadians being bullied to the polls," Brantford Expositor, 16 May 2005, A3.
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