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rfmcdonaldToronto city councillor and mayor candidate Rob Ford is a front-runner in the year-long mayoral competition that will end only with the actual election this October. He's a man with a penchant for controversy, two days ago saying that Toronto should take care of its existing population and strained infrastructure before dealing with new immigrants, today trying to recast a 1999 arrest (and conviction) in Florida for driving under the influence.
Ford has a long history of gaffes. In 2007, he said that "Oriental people work like dogs. … They’re slowly taking over." In 2007, repeating a--let's say--not-very-queer-friendly line of argument he used before and after, he opposed city funding of HIV/AIDS programs, saying “If you’re not doing needles and you’re not gay, you won't get AIDS, probably.” In 2006, a "drunken and belligerent Mr. Ford [was ejected] from a Maple Leafs game after he shout[ed] insults at an out-of-town couple. The attacks began after the man asks Mr. Ford to be quiet. Mr. Ford responds: “Who the fuck do you think you are? Are you a fucking teacher?” Failing to get a response, he turns his attention to the man’s wife: “Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?” Ford's politics are small-c conservative, favouring low taxes and little government involvement.
He isn't popular among downtown voters. But then, as eye weekly's Edward Keenan wrote in a 2006 article "The Rob Ford Problem" (subtitle: "Penny-pincher, name-caller, ward-heeler, right-wing raving lunatic -- if Rob Ford is as crazy as he seems, why do voters in Etobicoke like him so much?"), his appeal isn't directed towards downtown voters. Ford represents a riding in Etobicoke, a largely suburban city in the west of amalgamated Toronto, and whatever you think of the man or his politics he seems to have done a pretty good job establishing a reputation among his constituents as a man who's ready to help and who's very hostile to waste and corruption.
The election may become an affair of the suburbs versus the downtown. It's worth noting that the downtown core of Toronto, the recipient of heavy investment--heavier than the norm--in infrastructure and social services, is home to only a quarter of Toronto's population. A recent poll suggests that Ford is the leading candidate among decided voters, comfortably outpacing his nearest competitor George Smitherman.
The modern city of Toronto is a new entity. Incumbent mayor David Miller is a man who, notwithstanding the many, drew his support from the urban core. The mayor before that, Mel Lastman, is a man who drew his support from the suburbs--before amalgamation he was mayor of suburban North York--and whose term in office has a lot in common with Ford's style. Yes, this includes the controversies, everything from his lack of familiarity with the World Health Organization during the SARS epidemic in 2003 to the jokes about being cannibalized by "natives" he made in 2000 before visiting Africa to lobby for the 2008 Olympics Games.
Be warned.
Toronto mayoral candidate Rob Ford had six words for the City of Miami police officer who arrested him on drunk driving and marijuana possession charges 11 years ago.
“Go ahead take me to jail,” Ford said after getting out of his car and throwing his hands up in the air, according to a Miami police arrest affidavit.
Ford was pulled over by the officer for driving with no lights on at 1:30 a.m. on February 15, 1999, according to the officer’s statement.
“The defendant approached me and took all of his money and threw it to the ground,” the officer wrote.
“The defendant was acting nervous. When [he] spoke to me I could smell a strong odour of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. His eyes were bloodshot.”
The officer also noted finding “a marijuana joint cigarette in the defendant’s right rear pants pocket.”
Ford was charged and later convicted with driving under the influence after pleading no contest. His marijuana possession charge was dismissed.
Ford initially denied the drug charge when confronted by a reporter on Wednesday, and then later admitted to it without mentioning the driving under the influence charge.
Ford has a long history of gaffes. In 2007, he said that "Oriental people work like dogs. … They’re slowly taking over." In 2007, repeating a--let's say--not-very-queer-friendly line of argument he used before and after, he opposed city funding of HIV/AIDS programs, saying “If you’re not doing needles and you’re not gay, you won't get AIDS, probably.” In 2006, a "drunken and belligerent Mr. Ford [was ejected] from a Maple Leafs game after he shout[ed] insults at an out-of-town couple. The attacks began after the man asks Mr. Ford to be quiet. Mr. Ford responds: “Who the fuck do you think you are? Are you a fucking teacher?” Failing to get a response, he turns his attention to the man’s wife: “Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?” Ford's politics are small-c conservative, favouring low taxes and little government involvement.
He isn't popular among downtown voters. But then, as eye weekly's Edward Keenan wrote in a 2006 article "The Rob Ford Problem" (subtitle: "Penny-pincher, name-caller, ward-heeler, right-wing raving lunatic -- if Rob Ford is as crazy as he seems, why do voters in Etobicoke like him so much?"), his appeal isn't directed towards downtown voters. Ford represents a riding in Etobicoke, a largely suburban city in the west of amalgamated Toronto, and whatever you think of the man or his politics he seems to have done a pretty good job establishing a reputation among his constituents as a man who's ready to help and who's very hostile to waste and corruption.
Walking around Etobicoke, he's approached every minute or so by people thanking him for the help he's provided or telling him to stay the course on his penny-pinching. If constituents don't approach him, he goes to them, telling them to call him if they need anything.
Rob Ford may be a raving lunatic, but he's a raving lunatic who will come to your home and stand in the rain to ensure you get 15 minutes with the city staffer who can help you. And that, as anyone who's tried to navigate the city hall bureaucracy will know, is no small thing.
Rob Ford is planning to run for mayor some day: "I'll have a basic, common sense, easy-to-understand platform," he begins. "The grass is gonna be cut, the litter is gonna be picked up. When you phone city hall you're going to get an answer; you're not going to get bounced around to 10 different departments. There's gonna be people that are gonna be accountable down there. We're gonna run it just like a business." As he goes on, it starts to sound like a breathless child's Christmas list. "We're not going to have any fat, the roads are going to be paved, the transit system's gonna be a well-oiled machine, and it's going to be clean, and it's going to be safe, and we're going to have police and there's going to be a police helicopter. And I'm going to bring in the Guardian Angels... And garbage is a huge issue, I think we have to incinerate our garbage."
The election may become an affair of the suburbs versus the downtown. It's worth noting that the downtown core of Toronto, the recipient of heavy investment--heavier than the norm--in infrastructure and social services, is home to only a quarter of Toronto's population. A recent poll suggests that Ford is the leading candidate among decided voters, comfortably outpacing his nearest competitor George Smitherman.
The modern city of Toronto is a new entity. Incumbent mayor David Miller is a man who, notwithstanding the many, drew his support from the urban core. The mayor before that, Mel Lastman, is a man who drew his support from the suburbs--before amalgamation he was mayor of suburban North York--and whose term in office has a lot in common with Ford's style. Yes, this includes the controversies, everything from his lack of familiarity with the World Health Organization during the SARS epidemic in 2003 to the jokes about being cannibalized by "natives" he made in 2000 before visiting Africa to lobby for the 2008 Olympics Games.
Be warned.
