Jack Mould | |
|---|---|
| 1stMayor of York | |
| In office 1966–1969 | |
| Preceded by | himself (asreeve) |
| Succeeded by | Philip White |
| Reeve of York | |
| In office 1963–1966 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Saunders |
| Succeeded by | himself (as mayor) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1921 |
| Died | 1990 Toronto,Ontario |
Jack Mould (1921-1990) was the lastReeve of York Township and the first mayor of theborough ofYork, one of six municipalities that made upMetropolitan Toronto.[1]
DuringWorld War II, Mould served in theRoyal Canadian Air Force and was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross.[1]
Mould formed and became president of a ratepayers' association.[2] Until 1959, he was in business with his father as ageneral contractor building industrial plants and houses.[2]
In 1952, he was elected aschool trustee on the YorkBoard of Education. He was elected a York Township Councillor in 1957.[1]
Mould was elected reeve in the1962 election, narrowly defeating former reeveChris Tonks by 44 votes, after arecount.[3]
After York Township was merged with the neighbouring town ofWeston, he was elected the first mayor of the Borough of York in the1966 municipal election on December 6, 1966; his term began January 1, 1967.[1]
As reeve and then mayor of York, Mould sat onMetropolitan Toronto Council, and was an appointee on theMetro Toronto Police Commission.[1]
Mould launched a campaign forChairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto to succeedWilliam R. Allen, who was retiring. He was a leading candidate[4][2] until days before the electionRalph Cowan, the formerLiberalMember of Parliament forYork—Humber, gave a speech accusing Mould of being in aconflict of interest over a by-law York Council had passed, and that Mould had supported, writing off taxes owed by Robina General Contracting Firm which, it was alleged, Mould had a financial interest in.[5][6] Mould sued Cowan for libel,[7] and while denying any financial stake in Robina, admitted that a company he owned, owed $800 in unpaid taxes to York, a fact that would have disqualified him from running in the 1966 municipal election, had it been known at the time.[6][8] Mould was still prepared to run for Metro Chairman,[9] a position elected by the members ofMetropolitan Toronto Council, however, when council met the two councillors who had previously agreed to nominate Mould rose and nominated former North York reeveNorman Goodhead instead as they decided not to nominate Mould "in view of developments in York".[10]
The scandal did not abate, with ratepayers associations and members of York Council demanding Mould's resignation as mayor.[11] After growing pressure,[12] calls on the province to remove him from office, and the announcement byControllerPhilip White that he would be running for mayor against Mould in the upcoming election,[13] Mould announced on October 21, 1969, that he would not be standing for re-election in themunicipal election in December.[14]
In 1969, Mould suedRalph Cowan, the formerLiberalMember of Parliament forYork—Humber, forlibel over a speech he had made in which he accused Mould of being in aconflict of interest over the tax write off by-law; a speech which first brought the allegations against Mould into the public realm.
Three years after Mould filed his libel suit against Cowan, he still had not taken any steps to bring the matter to trial, leading Cowan to accuse him of having brought the suit in an attempt to quash discussion of the allegations.[15]
Mould was active in theProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario and was a delegate at the1971 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election.[16]