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Rob Ford

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 99.232.241.204 (talk) at 05:04, 25 September 2010 (→Criticism and controversy: added comment and reference to Ford's endorsement of Pastor Wendell Brereton). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Rob Ford
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 2) Etobicoke North
Incumbent
Assumed office
2000
Preceded byElizabeth Brown
Personal details
Born (1969-05-28) May 28, 1969 (age 55)
Toronto, Ontario
SpouseRenata
Children2
ResidenceToronto

Robert Bruce "Rob" Ford (born May 28, 1969) is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada representing one of the two Etobicoke North wards, Ward 2. Ford is a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2010 election. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election when he defeated incumbent Elizabeth Brown.[1]

Personal life

Ford is a lifelong resident of Toronto. He is the son of Doug Ford, who was a Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament during Mike Harris's first term as premier, and his family runs a printing business. He studied political science at Carleton University, but left 2 credits before graduating to help his sister with personal problems.[2]

He resides in Etobicoke with his wife Renata and their daughter and son. Ford is a supporter, volunteer and/or member of the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal, Terry Fox Foundation, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Etobicoke Chamber of Commerce, Toronto Board of Trade and the Toronto West Rotary Club.[1]

Ford actively supports high school football programs in Toronto. He donated $20,000 to equip a football team at one high school and has started a foundation to fund teams at other struggling schools.[3]

In 2008, Ford faced assault charges stemming from allegations made by Ford's wife, but the charges were withdrawn two months later.[4] The Crown attorney said "there was no reasonable prospect of conviction" because there were "credibility issues" with allegations by Ford's wife due to inconsistencies in her statements. Ford said that he was glad the ordeal was over and that he and his wife have sought marital counselling.[5] Outside court, Ford said, "I'm exonerated. I'm not guilty. I'm just glad this is over."

Political views

Ford was one of the council's supporters of former Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario Mike Harris. He backed Jim Flaherty in the 2002 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, displaying a sign supporting Flaherty in the window of his office at Toronto City Hall.

In 2003, he supported increased funding for the TTC. He also supported the inquiry into the MFP scandal.[6]

He said, “If I was the chief, I would have moved in Saturday afternoon and cleaned house” about the 2010 G-20 Toronto summit protests. He also said, "I don't think there should be an inquiry or review... I think our police force was too nice."[7]

City councillor

Ford has been a strong critic of the perks that are afforded to city politicians.[8] He regularly proposed motions to cut back such spending. All of his proposed cutbacks have been defeated. He has also made headlines by claiming the least amount of money budgeted for councillor office expenses.[9] Ford has consistently filed an expense budget of $0 or close to it.[citation needed] As of 2007, councillors are allowed a maximum office budget of $53,100. In November, 2007, Ford was investigated by the city's integrity commissioner over his spending habits. In a report to the Executive Committee, the commissioner concluded that Ford had failed to report office expenses that he had paid for out of his own pocket. He also printed flyers at his family's printing business for distribution to his constituents, again at his own expense. City policy requires that these expenses must be paid through the councillor's budget rather than with personal funds.[10] As of November 27, Ford refused to comply with the city's policy.[11]

In March 2007, Ford opposed providing city funds to build bicycle lanes on roads. During the 2007 city budget debate, he said, "I can't support bike lanes. Roads are built for buses, cars, and trucks. My heart bleeds when someone gets killed, but it's their own fault at the end of the day."[12] [13] At the May 25, 2009 Council meeting to discuss reducing Jarvis St. from five lanes of traffic to four, Ford called cyclists "a pain in the ass" for motorists.[14]

In May 2010, the city's integrity commissioner recommended the Ford be reprimanded for breaching confidentiality. In August 2009, Ford revealed the price of a residential sale on an AM 640 talk show that was still a confidential discussion. Commissioner Janet Leiper wrote in her report that "Ford failed to read the report, failed to check his assumption that the matter had been debated and could be revealed in public, and recklessly revealed confidential information to the public on the radio broadcast." The sale of the house was delayed a year due to Ford's indiscretion. This was the 4th time that Ford has violated council's code of conduct. In the previous minor breaches Ford was not reprimanded.[15]

Criticism and controversy

Ford and fellow councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who occupies a neighbouring ward, have often scrapped with each other and these exchanges have made headlines in local newspapers.[16] Controversy erupted when several councillors reportedly heard Ford call Mammoliti "Gino boy" in the debate over the 2002 budget.[17] Mammoliti filed a complaint for the ethnic slur.[18] Mammoliti's son Michael filed his papers to run against Ford in the 2003 municipal election but withdrew at the last moment.[19] In March 2003, in a debate over the budget of the Toronto Zoo, Ford called Mammoliti, who chairs the zoo board, a "snake" and a "weasel" in council.[20] [21]

In 2002, Ford strenuously objected to the possibility that a homeless shelter would open in his suburban Etobicoke ward.[22] Later in the same year he was quoted while berating an anti-poverty activist, "Do you have a job, sir? I'll give you a newspaper to find a job, like everyone else has to do between 9 and 5."[23] In 2005, Ford told a homeless protestor, "I'm working. Why don't you get a job?"[24]

In 2006, allegations arose of his conduct at a Toronto Maple Leafs game. Two audience members alleged Ford instigated a shouting match.[25] Security at the Air Canada Centre later ejected Ford from the venue. Initially, Ford denied involvement, claiming mistaken identity. The following day, Ford confirmed the allegations and announced his apology to the couple.[26] He cited "personal problems" as a reason for his behaviour.

Further controversy erupted in a Toronto City Council session when Ford argued against the city spending $1.5 million on AIDS prevention programs. Ford stated that "(AIDS) is very preventable," and that "if you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn't get AIDS probably, that's bottom line."[27] With respect to the increasing rates of women contracting the disease, Ford said; "How are women getting it? Maybe they are sleeping with bisexual men."[27]

Ford has also drawn criticism for endorsing the views of Pastor Wendell Brereton, a former OPP officer, who is running for counsellor in Ward 6. Paster Brereton suggested online that same-sex marriage could “dismantle” a “healthy democratic civilization.” “We’re together. We have the same thoughts" Ford said at a news conference with Pastor Wendell Brereton. Ford also added that he "support[s] traditional marriage. I always have.”[28]

Police photo after Ford's 1999 arrest for DUI and marijuana possession.

Again sparking controversy in March 2008, during a debate at City Hall, Ford said "Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out ... that's why they're successful in life. ... I'm telling you, Oriental people, they're slowly taking over, because there's no excuses for them. They're hard, hard workers." He drew criticism for those remarks from Mayor David Miller, budget chief Shelley Carroll and other councillors.[29][30]

On August 19, 2010 it was revealed that Ford was arrested in Miami for driving under the influence (DUI) and marijuana possession charges in 1999.[31] According to the statement recorded by the arresting officer, Ford was acting nervous, had blood shot eyes and had "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath". Ford threw his hands up in the air and told the police officer, "Go ahead, take me to jail."[32] Until he was confronted by reporters,[33] Ford said that the marijuana charge had "completely, totally slipped my mind" because the more serious issue during that arrest was the DUI charge.[34] (A charge which he initially denied, claiming instead he was arrested because he "refused to give a breath sample".)[35] Ford also admitted to an assault charge he received after a hockey fight when he was 18, but that it was later dismissed.[36]

On August 26, 2010, the Toronto Star reported that Ford had responded to an E-mail enquiry from a prospective voter through the mechanism of a computerised form letter, and when filling out the form letter, apparently forgot to replace a bolded entry field in the second paragraph of the letter reading "Insert vague response on policy".[37][38]

Toronto mayoral election

Main article: Toronto mayoral election, 2010

Ford declared his candidacy for Mayor of Toronto in the 2010 election on March 26, 2010.[39] The Toronto Star's Royson James noted that Ford's was the most raucous, jubilant, and enthusiastic campaign launch of the 2010 Toronto mayoralty race. Councillor Mike Del Grande says of Ford: "He’s very popular with ‘Joe Public.’ He’s definitely a contender, not a wild card."[40] At the campaign kickoff meeting he laid out his platform, organized into four main themes: "putting people and families first, focusing on the fundamentals, reducing waste and eliminating unnecessary taxes." Among his campaign promises, he said that he would repeal the vehicle registration and land transfer taxes implemented by David Miller and make the Toronto Transit Commission an essential service. He said there was "enough fat and inefficiency to slash costs while dramatically improving customer service." He also said he would work to cut the number of councillors on city council by half.[39]

In describing Rob Ford’s Toronto, the candidate said: "It’s going to be spotless. You go downtown now, you see all the graffiti — you aren’t going to have any graffiti there." Ford promised to improve services for residents of the city's low-cost housing, as he has done in his own ward,[citation needed] and to help bring homeless people in off the streets. He said "We’re going to help the people you see laying on the streets. A lot of them are drug addicts or alcoholics."[41]

On May 6, 2010, Ford fired a worker on his campaign team for sending a twitter message. The tweet attacked fellow mayoral candidate George Smitherman over recent comments about AIDS. The message read "Smitherman should spend less time attacking Ford for telling truth about AIDS, more time coming up with actual policies." The message relates to an earlier statement Ford made in council about AIDS sufferers.[42]

On August 17, 2010. the National Post reported that a computer user inside the Toronto Star company made edits to this Wikipedia page which Ford's campaign considered "very serious libel" and copyright infringement. Bob Hepburn, a Toronto Star spokesman, denied responsibility for the edits; "The Toronto Star owns a couple of these IP portals and they come under Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, which is a broader thing. The Toronto Star itself has a separate portal." said Mr. Hepburn.[43]

The latest poll, published on September 19, 2010, showed Rob Ford doubling his lead from 12% to 24.5% over second-place candidate George Smitherman (45.8% to 21.3% of decided voters).[44] The Nanos Research Poll asked 1021 "likely voters" from September 14 and 16 with Rob Ford receiving 34.4% of likely voters, Smitherman 16%, Joe Pantalone 12% and undecided voters at 25% [45]

References

  1. ^ a b "Toronto city councillors, Rob Ford". City of Toronto, Accessing City Hall. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  2. ^ Diebel, Linda. Rob Ford’s complicated life. The Toronto Star. April 23, 2010.
  3. ^ Grossman, David (2009-09-13). "Rob Ford a team player to schools". Toronto Star.
  4. ^ "Rob Ford charged with assault, threatening death". National Post. 2008-03-26.
  5. ^ Freed, Dale Anne (2008-05-22). "Assault charge against councillor withdrawn". Toronto Star.
  6. ^ "10 Worst Councillors". NOW Magazine. 2003-07-03.
  7. ^ Bilton, Chris (2010-07-07). "Beware the unmuzzled Rob Ford". Eye Weekly.
  8. ^ "Councillor Blames Politicians' Perks For Your Tax Hike". City News. 2007-04-24.
  9. ^ Vincent, Donovan (2007-03-19). "Who are big spenders at city hall?". Toronto Star.
  10. ^ Griffiths, Jeff (2007-11-08). "Councillors Office Expenses – Councillor Ford and Councillor Holyday" (PDF).
  11. ^ Vincent, Donovan (2007-11-27). "Reveal expenses, Ford told". The Toronto Star.
  12. ^ Byers, Jim (2007-03-08). "City decays as debt climbs". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-04-26. I can't support bike lanes... {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Recording of Toronto council session during which Rob Ford comments on cyclists". 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  14. ^ Hume, Christopher (May 26, 2009). "One small lane for mankind". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  15. ^ Grant, Kelly (2010-05-08). "Reprimand Ford for confidentiality breach, integrity commissioner says". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  16. ^ Cowan, James. Ford is known for his outbursts. National Post. February 28, 2003 p. A11
  17. ^ Wanagas, Don. "Sorry, Wrong Number". Toronto NOW online edition. Retrieved 2007-04-26. ...hardcore Conservative Ford allegedly called neo-Liberal Mammoliti a 'Gino boy'...
  18. ^ Lu, Vanessa. City hall verbal scuffle is over. Toronto Star, 15 April 2003, p. B02 The city spent $30,000 investigating Mammoliti's complaint.
  19. ^ No Byline. Ford hopes new team has 'right' stuff. The Toronto Star. October 13, 2003, p. B02
  20. ^ No Byline. Childish behaviour. Toronto Star. March 1, 2003, p.E06
  21. ^ "Recording of March 2003 council session". 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  22. ^ "Not in My Ward". Toronto NOW online edition. Retrieved 2007-04-26. This is an insult to my constituents to even think about having a homeless shelter in their ward...
  23. ^ Moloney, Paul. Councillors to activists: Get a job --- Noisy expulsion follows protest over housing sale. Toronto Star. October 30, 2002, p. B04
  24. ^ Porter, Catherine. Protestors storm council; OCAP denounces homeless plan Clarke shouts, Miller leaves. Toronto Star February 2, 2005 p. B03
  25. ^ James, Royson. Ford can forget his mayoral dreams. He was on private time, Ford says. Toronto Star. May 3, 2006. B05. Ford's statements include, "You right-wing communist bastards," and "My sister was a heroin addict and was shot in the head."
  26. ^ "Ford admits lying to media about drunken outburst". CBC News, Toronto. 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2007-04-26. I reflected on it last night, and talked to my family. I came forward and admitted (that I lied to the media about not being at the game). That's all I can do. I mean, I'm not perfect
  27. ^ a b "Councillor Rob Ford Under Fire Over AIDS Comments". CHUM Television, CityNews, Toronto. 2006-06-29. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  28. ^ Kelly Grant (2010-08-05). "Ford's endorsement of pastor for council stokes fear among gays". The Globe and Mail, CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc, Toronto. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  29. ^ Lu, Vanessa (2008-03-06). "Ford rebuked for Asian comments". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  30. ^ Gray, Jeff (2008-03-06). "Ford draws rebuke, saying Oriental people are taking over". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  31. ^ Dempsey, Amy (2010-08-19). "'Go ahead take me to jail,' Ford told police". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  32. ^ http://www.scribd.com/doc/36132032/Rob-Ford-Arrest-Report
  33. ^ Jenkins, Jonathan (2010-08-18). "Ford dodges pot bust in Florida". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  34. ^ Grant, Kelly (2010-08-19). "Ford forgot marijuana charge, confuses impaired driving charge". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  35. ^ Lamberti, Rob (2010-08-19). "'Go ahead, take me to jail': Ford during 1999 arrest". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  36. ^ "Rob Ford talks about criminal charges he's faced". Metro News. 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-08-19. {{cite news}}: Text "Canadian Press" ignored (help)
  37. ^ "Yours vaguely, Rob Ford". Toronto Star. 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  38. ^ "Rob Ford issues "vague" policy response: Toronto mayoral frontrunner slips up yet again". Macleans. 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  39. ^ a b David Rider. Rob Ford kicks off mayoral campaign. Toronto Star. March 26, 2010. [1]
  40. ^ Royson James. Rob Ford proves popular at mayoral campaign launch. Toronto Star March 29, 2010.[2]
  41. ^ David Rider. Rob Ford's bid for mayor will tilt campaign to the right. Toronto Star. March 22, 2010 [3]
  42. ^ Rider, David (2010-05-06). "Ford punishes campaign worker for Twitter message". Toronto Star.
  43. ^ Alcoba, Natalie (2010-08-17). "Computer inside Toronto Star company edited Rob Ford's Wikipedia entry". National Post.
  44. ^ "Rob Ford opens huge lead in mayor's race". Toronto Star. 2010-09-19.
  45. ^ "Ford holds commanding lead in Toronto Mayoral race" (PDF). Nanos Research. 2010-09-21.
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