By Howard MoscoeThe retirement of Trustee Stephnie Payne has triggered a race for the Downsview Public School Board seat that has attracted candidates from across the city; like flies to honey.There are 9 hopefuls chasing the ward 4 public school trustee position. In my view, the school board trustee position is one of the most important elected offices. Trustees set the tone and direction for our children’s education; the foundation of a civil society. Giancarlo Mosca became active on his condo board at San Romanoway when he took over his mother’s house. Mosca has attended Catholic schools for most of his life and in fact only became a public school supporter in September when he switched his school support in order to run for this office. Until then he has demonstrated little, if any, interest in our public schools. One wonders why he didn’t run for the Catholic School Board. I hope he finds a political career somewhere but not as a public school trustee here in Downsview.Spiros Papathanasakis might have some credibility if he were running downtown. In 1997 he finished 6th in the Metro Council race when he ran against Jack Layton and Pam McConnell “out the Danforth.” He managed to nail a seat on the old Toronto School Board for a term, but did little to distinguish himself as a trustee. Papathansakis runs a youth center in Cabagetown. I don’t believe that in a city as cosmopolitan as Toronto you need to actually live in a ward to represent it, but there ought to be some connection to that ward. One wonders why he would parachute himself half way across the city to seek votes in our community when he has had little connection to it at all.Sabrina Gopaul is a community activist and journalist. A mother of two, Gopaul lives in and was raised in the Jane-Finch area and attended local schools. Her oldest son recently graduated from high school, and her youngest will soon be starting elementary school. Gopaul, who is the head news correspondant for Jane-Finch.com, and had previously hosted a news show on CHRY-FM, was active in the Save our schools campaign, to prevent the closure of local area schools. According to her platform, Gopaul wants to promote smaller classroom sizes and holistic teaching methods, she would also like to promote stronger relationships between schools and the community.Mirtha Coronel and Kasim Dogan have also added their names to the ballot. Out of the 9 candidates, there are three that I consider to be serious contenders; Tiffany Ford, Michelle Minott and Matias de Dovitiis. I encourage you to check out their web sites for more information on their platforms. They can be found at www.tiffanyford.ca, www.michelleminott.com and www.matiasdedovitiis.ca. All are in favour of increasing school safety. I haven't yet met any candidate that wasn't. All three of the leading candidates reject the use of metal detectors in schools to screen out weapons.Every one of the candidates talks about engaging the community, improving school funding and everyone wants better opportunities for youth. All three of these are candidates who are worthy of your support. Tiffany Ford is not related to Rob, Doug or Henry and her campaign reflects youth and enthusiasm, a recent graduate of York University, she attended local Jane-Finch schools and has started her own communications business. Tiffany's campaign radiates energy, enthusiasm and a passion for her community. “It is crucial to advocate for better schools and quality education in marginalized neighbourhoods populated by African families in Toronto,” Ford said in an interview for Manyatta, a professional network within Toronto's African community. Some day she will make an excellent politician.Michelle Minott owns her own real estate business and her two children attend French emersion classes at Hilltop Middle School in the neighbouring Etobicoke ward. Minott recently moved back into the Shoreham neighbourhood and was honoured for her work in the community when she was presented with a wall of fame award. She is a community activist who serves as an alternate on the TDSB Parent Advisory Council. Minott was sharply critical of the retiring trustee. Stephanie Payne. “I'm not happy with the present trustee who is not doing her job,” Minott said. “[Payne] has failed to engage the community.” Ironically it was Payne who had recommended Minott for the Parent Advisory Council Position. Perhaps Minott was unhappy with Payne’s leadership or perhaps she was unhappy that Payne was endorsing another candidate; Matias de Dovitiis.Matias de Dovitiis has been a hands on community activist in this ward for the past 15 years. As executive assistant to Councillor Anthony Perruzza, he has helped hundreds of Downsview residents resolve their day to day problems with local government. He reflects the immigrant experience many of us share. Since his family moved here from Uruguay when he was 11 year old, he has been active in our schools and in our neighbourhoods.I could comfortably cast a vote for either Tiffany Ford or Michelle Minott, but I’ll be voting for Matias de Dovitiis, not only because I know his work at city hall best, but also because I know that he is ready to hit the ground running in a direction that I want to see this community go. Mosca complained to me that de Dovitiis’s run in partnership with Perruzza represented a conflict of interest. I couldn’t disagree more. If a councillor and trustee work together, the good that flows from that relationship is a huge benefit to the community. In 2000, I ran in partnership with an unknown trustee candidate. I’m a New Democrat and she is a Liberal. She got elected, and for three years, we had the privilege of pooling our resources for the benefit of the community. Her name is Kathleen Wynne and she is now the Premier of Ontario.-Howard Moscoe held elected office in Toronto for 32 years when he retired from Toronto city council in 2011. Prior to that, he was a junior high and middle school teacher for 35 years. Howard has taught at Elia M.S., Emery C.I., and Driftwood M.S., in our community. He was president of the North York Elementary Teachers’ Federation and became Executive Assistant to the North York Director of Education.