After a four-year absence, Brown returned to York Council in 1978, winning 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.[7]
Brown sought to replace Paul Godfrey as chair of Metro Council in 1984, but finished second against Dennis Flynn of Etobicoke.[8] He campaigned for a position on the police board later in the year, but lost to Art Eggleton.[9] Brown was named head of Metro's social service committee in 1985 and served as a member of the Toronto Transit Commission.[10]
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 and suggested that Grande did not have significant municipal experience to govern the city.[5] He continued to serve on Metro Council, where he supported Tonks's successful challenge against Dennis Flynn for council chair.[11]
In 1990, Brown endorsed a controversial plan to sell part of Fairbank Park to a company run by Toronto-area developer Lou Charles.[12] The details of the sale provoked charges of political corruption, setting 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.[13] In July 1991, Brown reversed his earlier position and helped council defeat the proposed sale.[14] Several media reports from this period depicted him as unable to maintain order over an increasingly dysfunctional council.[15]
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.[16]
Brown was defeated in 1994 by Frances Nunziata, who had spearheaded opposition to the Fairbank sale in 1990. The campaign centred on leadership issue: Brown pointed to his tenure in office, while Nunziata argued that he did not show decisive leadership during the controversy.[17] 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.[18]
Ideologically, Brown was described as a "moderate Tory", an "old-fashioned conservative",[19] and a "very Red Tory".[3] He endorsed David Miller in his campaigns for Mayor of Toronto.[3]
^Darcy Henton, "Close race shapes up in smallest city", Toronto Star, 7 November 1988, A6.
^ ab"Fergy Brown a candidate for York Mayor", Toronto Star, 25 May 1988, A6.
^"Davis appoints a Tory loser conservationist", Globe and Mail, 18 January 1978, P4.
^"The candidates", Toronto Star, 10 November 1988, A16.
^Geoffrey York, "Easy majority on first ballot", Globe and Mail, 31 August 1984, P1.
^Geoffrey York, "Eggleton wins seat on police board", Globe and Mail, 26 September 1984, M1.
^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.
^Laurie Monsebraaten, "Most of them came with their minds already made up", Toronto Star, 13 December 1988, A8.
^Tom Kerr, "Probe urged of parkland selloff", Toronto Star, 4 August 1990, A4.
^"Avoiding conflicts", Toronto Star, 9 October 1990, A12.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^Royson James, "Brown faltering in York", Toronto Star, 31 October 1994, A6.
^Royson James, "Winds of Change", Toronto Star, 15 November 1994, A1.
^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.
