Kevin Davis

Donald Kevin Davis is a Canadian politician and former lawyer who has served as the 50th and current mayor of Brantford since 2018.

Early life and career Davis was educated at the University of Calgary where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and political science and at Queen's University where he earned a law degree. After graduating, he became a lawyer at Waterous Holden Amey Hitchon LLP in Brantford, and he became a partner there in 1983.

Prior to being elected as mayor, he served as Governor of Mohawk College, the president of the Brantford-Brant Chamber of Commerce, the Brantford Aquatic Club, the Brantford Boys and Girls Club, and was chairman of the Brantford Economic Development Board, John Noble Home and the Brant United Way campaign. Upon becoming mayor, Davis indicated the development of the "boundary lands", territory annexed from the surrounding County of Brant, was his foremost priority. In 2019, Davis came out in support of creating a supervised injection site in the city to deal with the epidemic. In addition to the opioid epidemic, her has also had to deal with homelessness and gun violence in the community.

In 2019, Davis announced he had stage 1 renal cell carcinoma, and underwent surgery to get a kidney removed.

Controversies

Arrowdale Golf Course sale During his term as mayor, Davis faced controversy for allegedly trying to "ram" through city council a decision to sell the Arrowdale Golf Course, according to leaked emails. He was criticized for not being transparent about the plan that would involve building affordable housing on the site. City council approved the sale of the club in 2020. The decision was later upheld in court: in January 2021 the Ontario Divisional Court dismissed a judicial review application opposing the sale, and in April 2021 the Court of Appeal denied leave to appeal. In October 2021, a small group of protesters, including members of Six Nations, briefly occupied the site, with the City characterizing the action as unlawful and referring the matter to police. The City finalized the land sale in 2022 and has stated that proceeds are dedicated to affordable housing and that a 17-acre community park will be retained on the site.

2024 resignation announcement On July 10, 2024, Davis announced he was planning on resigning as mayor effective at the end of the month, to become a member of the Licence Appeal Tribunal, a provincial body that adjudicates licensing activities, and also citing wanting to spend more time with his family and harassment as reasons for his resignation. Attention quickly turned to the financial and civic impact: a by-election was estimated at over $600,000 and would not occur until January 2025, leaving the city without an elected mayor for several months. On July 25, Davis announced that he had rejected the appointment and would continue to serve as mayor of the city until the end of his term, saying that he wanted to avoid a costly by-election.

Brantford–Brant amalgamation debate In January 2025, Davis used his strong-mayor powers to direct staff to commission an independent study on the potential amalgamation of the City of Brantford and the surrounding County of Brant, with a report due by the end of 2025. The proposal drew immediate and firm opposition from County of Brant Mayor David Bailey, who stated the county was “unequivocally opposed” and criticized the approach as “unproductive and misguided.” This created public debate surrounding what Brant County residents saw as a forced amalgamation.