[URBAN NOTE] "Coach vs. Mayor: Rob Ford should stick to the job he’s good at"

[rfmcdonald]

Metro Toronto's Matt Elliott has it right: if Ford clearly gets more pleasure, and more results, out of coaching football than being mayor, why should he stay in Toronto's top position?

For a guy who knows way more about passing footballs than he does about passing items at city council, ditching politics for sports is an obvious choice.

On the field, Ford has a respectable record. His Don Bosco Eagles routinely post winning seasons and challenge for championships. Even more impressive is that Ford essentially built the school’s football program from nothing, giving kids from low-income neighbourhoods a new chance to get involved in something meaningful.

[. . .]

In committee rooms and council chamber at city hall, however, the mayor’s been an ineffective mess. His antics routinely distract the public from important issues like transit, housing or taxes. And there’s a mounting pile of evidence that says he just can’t be bothered to show up to work as often as he probably should.

Even supporters who consider themselves fans of Ford’s core principles — slashing budgets, ending the war on the car, complaining about socialists, etc. — have got to realize that the mayor has killed any chance he once had at turning those principles into policy. He hasn’t won a significant vote at city council in almost a year.

The mayor simply doesn’t know how to score points in the city hall game. Rob Ford’s political playbook is nothing but a single scrawled piece of paper that reads “YELL ABOUT STUFF.” And, even though it’s a proven loser, he keeps running that same play.