Openly gay man Chris Moise was elected to the Toronto District School Board as trustee for Ward 14 (Toronto Centre—Rosedale) June 20, taking 36 percent of the vote, compared to 28 percent for nearest rival Li Koo.
Moise is no stranger to the ward, having run for the Ward 14 seat twice before. The by-election was called after longtime trustee Sheila Ward, a lesbian who had served the ward since 1997, passed away in February.
He previously told Daily Xtra that his priorities as a trustee will be ensuring that schools in the ward are not closed, and get the repairs they need.
“Sprucecourt, Rosedale Elementary, Market Lane, Church Street School, those schools need work,” he said. “The playgrounds get muddy when it rains, the playground is uneven, a lot of parents are worried that their children will get hurt.”
He had also spoken about the need to address the persistence of homophobia in the school board, including bullying and cultural clashes with parents from the ward’s large immigrant community.
“We have to address those issues and let it be known that any sort of discrimination or homophobia is not accepted on any level,” Moise said.
Moise was backed in his campaign by local councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Pam McConnell, often identified with the NDP. Li Koo had been backed by Liberal MPP Glen Murray, although both claimed to be running non-partisan campaigns.
TDSB will now have two openly gay trustees, including Alexander Brown in Ward 12 (Willowdale). Jordan Glass, who identifies as bisexual, is campaigning in a by-election to be held July 25 for the Ward 5 (York South—Weston) seat.
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