At age 82, York Centre Councillor Mike Feldman has decided it's time for a change.
"It was an agonizing decision - but I've got to say that if I'm going to look for my next career, I've got to start now," said Feldman in an interview at his city hall office Tuesday. "I can't start when I'm 86."Feldman made the quip after sending a very similar letter to his constituents in Ward 10, to let them know that after 18 years on North York and then Toronto Council, he was calling it quits and wouldn't be seeking re-election this fall.His executive assistant, Nancy Ooman, is rumored to be considering running to replace him, but when asked this week, she said she would be making a final decision on the matter in two weeks.And Feldman said he wouldn't make a decision about who to endorse in the crowded race - currently there are seven candidates registered - until after nominations closed.In the meantime, he looked back on a career at city hall that he said he entered because he was "tired of being retired.""That's why I originally ran," he said. "After I sold the business - I had to have a reason to get up. But to me, politics was a continuation of the volunteer work I've done all my life."Over his career as a councillor and before, Feldman has been an advocate for well-funded social housing - stemming from his work on the Ontario Housing Corporation and for Metropolitan Toronto's housing portfolio - and also a strong fiscal conservative. During Mayor David Miller's first term, he also served as one of three deputy mayors."I think David wanted me to bridge the gap between left and right," said Feldman. "I'd go back to the guys on the right and say 'don't attack this - if you want to attack, what's your alternative?' I was never into attacking David himself - because I was concerned about the mayor's office. You don't attack the mayor's office."In the end, however, Feldman said he's become frustrated with the dynamic on Toronto Council - and believes that it needs major reform if it's to become a functional government."I think we have a major problem in the city and I couldn't see myself fixing it," he said. "We're no longer a city - we're 44 neighbourhoods that happen to be close together. I'm seeing less and less people reading reports - if there's an issue in someone else's ward, why bother?"Feldman said the best thing for the city would be a drastic reduction in the number of councillors - and a board-of-control of councillors elected over larger areas."I would like to see us go to 22 councillors, and have three run at large across the entire north district, Scarborough, Etobicoke and downtown," he said. "Those three that are elected would be your executive committee. Then you'd get a balance."But he said he thought he might have better luck advocating for such a thing from outside council."I can do more not being elected, being an advocate - and not having 44 councillors mad at me," he said.