rush hour zones, a policy described by Mayor Rob Ford as "a cash grab." Toronto was awarded Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) gold status from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in April 2015, an award criticized by local cycling advocates. TTC board He was appointed to the Toronto Transit Commission by City Council under the Mayor Rob Ford administration in December 2010. He was one of 5 councillors on the TTC board who voted in 2012 to terminate the services of the TTC General Manager Gary Webster. Andy Byford was hired as Webster's replacement. The five councillors who supported Webster's termination, including Minnan-Wong, were removed from the TTC board by council on March 5, 2012, as a result of a motion by Councillor Karen Stintz, chair of the TTC board. On December 2, 2014, he was appointed again to the TTC board by city council after the election of Mayor John Tory with his tenure ending with the end of his term of office as a councillor on November 15, 2022. Ontario provincial 2018 election On January 20, 2018 he was acclaimed as the candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario for the riding of Don Valley East for the 2018 provincial election. He placed a close second to the Liberal incumbent, former cabinet minister Michael Coteau. During his run for the Don Valley East seat, Minnan-Wong stated that he would take an "unpaid" leave from Toronto City Council, remitting the salary he would have collected from the 30-day provincial campaign period to either the city or a charity. He ultimately donated his councillor salary for that period to the City of Toronto and directed the money be spent on roads. "Stick to knitting" controversy In an interview published on August 30, 2017, in the Toronto Sun, Minnan-Wong said in reference to outgoing chief planner of Toronto Jennifer Keesmaat that he wanted the planner to "stick to knitting". Although Minnan-Wong had previously also used the term to describe men he was accused of making a sexist comment by Keesmaat. Minnan-Wong apologized for his words and said that they were taken out of context. 2018 municipal election After the 2018 Ontario general election Minnan-Wong ran for Toronto City Council in the 2018 municipal election in newly constituted Ward 16 Don Valley East, winning re-election. Minnan-Wong was the only one of seven councillors on the TTC board to be re-elected. He