pitted against Leaside mayor Beth Nealson in an election dubbed the "Battle of the Belles" to become the first mayor of the newly amalgamated Borough of East York. “If you want someone beautiful and elegant, or glamorous, I'm not that”, Davidson said during the campaign. Despite spending the final days of the campaign in a hospital recovering from a heart attack, she won the election handily. After amalgamation, Davidson was still mindful of local sentiment towards the neighbourhood name of Leaside, and, while not making it official, insisted that the name 'Leaside' be retained for any public building or space. As mayor of East York, she sought to unite the new community by starting a centennial project. Her goal was the restoration of Todmorden Mills as a heritage museum. Despite mounting costs she reached her goal by raising funds through centennial grants and from private donations. The museum was opened on 22 May 1967. She remained an honorary curator until her death. Davidson also started and served as the first director of the East York Foundation in 1966, which was created with a goal of preserving cultural holdings and artifacts. Another of Davidson's lasting achievements was the founding of the "East York Dominion Day Parade". The 1 July celebration was first started in 1957 even before she joined the council in 1958. The parade is a local tradition, and even in post-amalgamation Toronto, it continues to be held annually. Davidson had a reputation for never mincing words. She would always say what was on her mind. When she ran for reeve in 1960 she called one of her opponents, Leslie Saunders, "bigoted, pigheaded and, in his attitude to women, a throwback to the stone age". During the East York mayoralty race in 1966 she called Beth Nealson a "wish-washy, prissy, sweetheart". Metro chairman Fred Gardiner once complained that she had "taken a yard" off his back. Davidson replied that he still had plenty of hide left to spare. She referred to Metro chairman Albert Campbell as a "maundering chairman, inclined to regard other councillors as grade one dunces ruled by himself as schoolmaster." In one exchange with Campbell, she retorted "Don't be addled man. Don't talk stupid!" Nevertheless, she had her supporters. Fellow Metro councillor, Bill Kilbourn spoke fondly of her. "Decent, fearless, independent. True was a thorn in the flesh of the smooth men at Metro (council)." In 1971