Idiot Party
The BBC reports that the race to elect the next Mayor of Toronto is heating up, but that the controversial incumbent, Rob Ford, is still in the pack despite the many problems he's had to confront in the past year.
Toronto's Rob Ford to face John Tory and Olivia Chow
By Daniel Nasaw
BBC News
Just weeks into the race, Ford maintains what appears to be a solid base of support
After a year of drunken antics, admissions of drug use, and crippling disputes with the city council, polls suggest Toronto Mayor Rob Ford could still win re-election in October. How do his challengers make their pitch to the city's typically staid voters?
As regular as the frigid spring rain falling on Canada's largest city earlier this month, Mr Ford stood before a pack of baying reporters and waved off the latest allegations of public misbehaviour.
The mayor had been denied entry to a luxury box at a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game at the weekend, and the reporters pressed him whether he was intoxicated.
"No, I wasn't. Not at all," the mayor said, declining to answer whether he was still using drugs at all.
It was the latest episode in what his detractors describe as the circus sideshow at city hall in this sprawling, diverse city of 2.6 million people.
After a year of drunken antics, admissions of drug use, and crippling disputes with the city council, polls suggest Toronto Mayor Rob Ford could still win re-election in October. How do his challengers make their pitch to the city's typically staid voters?
As regular as the frigid spring rain falling on Canada's largest city earlier this month, Mr Ford stood before a pack of baying reporters and waved off the latest allegations of public misbehaviour.
The mayor had been denied entry to a luxury box at a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game at the weekend, and the reporters pressed him whether he was intoxicated.
"No, I wasn't. Not at all," the mayor said, declining to answer whether he was still using drugs at all.
It was the latest episode in what his detractors describe as the circus sideshow at city hall in this sprawling, diverse city of 2.6 million people.
Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world - with some of the worst traffic in North America
Over the past year, Toronto and the world have seen Mr Ford turn the air blue in drunken rants, admit to using crack cocaine and to buying illegal drugs while mayor, and fend off allegations he associates with criminals. The city council has stripped him of most of his power and most of his staff have quit, rendering him effectively mayor in name only.
In October, the voters will have their say.
The race has just started but despite it all, early polling shows Mr Ford in strong contention against Olivia Chow, a left-wing member of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and John Tory, a centre-right Conservative, with about 30% of the vote.
Analysts say Mr Ford has a loyal base of support in the inner suburbs, which were absorbed into the municipality of Toronto in 1998. Younger, less-educated, and poorer Torontonians in particular back him, according to a recent survey of 634 voters by Forum Research.
"They're people who feel that they're talked down to by politicians," said Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto. "They can identify with Ford because there's little pretence about the guy."
Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said Mr Ford stacked up accomplishments before he became bogged down in disputes with the city council and later the drugs and alcohol woes. In particular, he privatised rubbish collection in a large swathe of the city and repealed a despised vehicle tax.
Over the past year, Toronto and the world have seen Mr Ford turn the air blue in drunken rants, admit to using crack cocaine and to buying illegal drugs while mayor, and fend off allegations he associates with criminals. The city council has stripped him of most of his power and most of his staff have quit, rendering him effectively mayor in name only.
In October, the voters will have their say.
The race has just started but despite it all, early polling shows Mr Ford in strong contention against Olivia Chow, a left-wing member of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and John Tory, a centre-right Conservative, with about 30% of the vote.
Analysts say Mr Ford has a loyal base of support in the inner suburbs, which were absorbed into the municipality of Toronto in 1998. Younger, less-educated, and poorer Torontonians in particular back him, according to a recent survey of 634 voters by Forum Research.
"They're people who feel that they're talked down to by politicians," said Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto. "They can identify with Ford because there's little pretence about the guy."
Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said Mr Ford stacked up accomplishments before he became bogged down in disputes with the city council and later the drugs and alcohol woes. In particular, he privatised rubbish collection in a large swathe of the city and repealed a despised vehicle tax.
"If the issue's about his accomplishments, he does well," Mr Bozinoff said. "That's what's been keeping him afloat."
Neither of Mr Ford's two major challengers are shy about alluding to his behaviour.
Mr Tory, a former corporate chieftain, commissioner of the Canadian Football League, and Conservative provincial politician, has released a "Code of Conduct" in which, among other things, he vows to "respect and defend our laws, not break them", and to "show up for work each day".
"We need change in the city," he told the BBC in an interview over a half-pint of beer in a crowded bar before the start of a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game.
"If we want to have a liveable, affordable, functional city, then we need a change in leadership, because we're just not getting things done under the present leadership."
He said the "sideshow" made it difficult for the municipal government to focus on easing congestion on the city's notoriously jammed roads, to keep taxes low, and to slash spending.
"The city needs to have somebody who will mind the pennies but at the same time will be able to work with others, because our system requires you to do that to get results," he said.
Wiseman says Ford will be hard-pressed to expand his support beyond his loyal base
Ms Chow, the widow of renowned NDP leader Jack Layton, immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong at age 13. She says her story will appeal to Toronto's extraordinarily diverse population - 46% of Toronto metropolitan area residents were foreign-born in 2011, according to Statistics Canada.
"I want to bring pride back to the city, respect and a sense of hope, because we have a great city," Ms Chow told the BBC in an interview in her campaign office in Toronto's Deer Park neighbourhood.
"Toronto is really diverse, we are strong. We have people coming from all over the world enjoying the city and living here quite harmoniously.
"Under Mr Ford, our city hasn't really moved forward. We're stuck. We're mired in scandal. I've seen other mayors - Vancouver, Calgary - out there selling their cities, talking about economic development, encouraging investment. We're not doing that, not only because of the scandals, but because Mr Ford's performance as a mayor is a failure."
Mr Ford's campaign declined repeated requests for an interview with the mayor, with his brother and campaign manager Councillor Doug Ford, or any representative of the campaign.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Toronto, the incumbent seemed to offer something for everyone to fault, even among people who said they supported his politics.
"I don't think he's doing a very good job," said a woman who gave her name as Maureen. "As for his personal record, that's despicable, but if he was a good mayor, it shouldn't have any bearing on who we elect."
Christina McLain, an actress and former teacher who described her politics as centrist, said Mr Ford was "very likeable in a sort of roguish way".
Tory, who campaigned at a bar before the start of a Blue Jays baseball game, boasts of his experience running a large corporation
"But I don't think he's going to be able to guide the city in the next few years. He's an addict. He's obviously mixed up with criminals."
"But I don't think he's going to be able to guide the city in the next few years. He's an addict. He's obviously mixed up with criminals."
A candidate's Code of Conduct
Excerpts from John Tory's 10-point pledge:
Excerpts from John Tory's 10-point pledge:
"I will respect the law"
"I will show up for work each day"
"I will not compile an enemies list"
"I will always treat city staff with respect"
"Not one public penny will be used on personal matters"
Source: John Tory campaign
At the University of Toronto, Prof Wiseman said he believed the polls overstated Mr Ford's support.
"Although he looks like he's running strong now, as more time goes by in this race I can't really see him picking up support," he said.
So who, after the past year, will vote for him?
"He got elected on what Bob Dylan called an idiot wind. In every culture you're going to have an element of the idiot vote, and he's the candidate of the idiot party."
Two Faces of Politics (24 November 2013)
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| Rob Ford |
Followed by the Reverend Paul Flowers - a well-known figure in the Labour Party, who has been in hiding ever since tales emerged of his drug habit emerged along with other damaging stories about his behaviour in public office.
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| Rev Paul Flowers |
Ford Fightback (5 January 2014)
If this article in the Times is to be believed Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford, is not dead and buried yet - and may even have the last laugh when voters go to the polls in next year's 2014 Mayoral elections.
If a politician in the UK faced similar charges to Mayor Ford, they would have been forced to resign long ago - but I think the reason the man has hung on is that he has at least stood up, admitted his failings and faced his accusers.
The voters like that kind of honesty even if they disapprove strongly of the Mayor's behaviour - and to some extent I agree with them, as I said back in November.
Still riding high, Rob Ford, Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor
On form: Mayor Rob Ford AP
By Tony Bonnici
His antics have both shocked and reviled outside observers but Rob Ford, the crack smoking mayor of Toronto, is still a hit with the electorate.
More than 40 percent of voters in Canada’s largest city still approve of the job he has done and one-third of them would vote for him again.
The findings may offer the beleaguered politician some crumb of comfort following his admission that he smoked the drug while in office and suffered the ignominy of the city council stripping him of much of his authority.
A Forum Research survey of 1,049 Toronto voters showed that 42 per cent of respondents approve of the job Ford has been doing as mayor of Canada’s largest city.
That’s down from 44 percent in a similar poll two weeks ago, but up from 39 percent in late October, just before Ford admitted he smoked crack cocaine while in office.
Indeed, support for Ford, who has had much of his authority stripped by city council over the past week, is still comfortably in the 37-49 per cent range that polls have shown over the past two years, Forum said.
In early 2011, shortly after his election as mayor, Ford’s approval rating was above 60 per cent.
The result suggests that Ford could still be competitive in next year’s municipal election, as 33 per cent of those polled said they would vote for him in October 2014.
“I think he is going to be viable (in the next election),” Forum President Lorne Bozinoff said.
“He probably needs about 43 per cent to win, he has 33 coming out of the gate. He needs to pick up 10 per cent among the swing voters.”
Ford swept to power in 2010 with a pledge to cut costs at city hall, winning 47 per cent of the vote, with two left-leaning candidates splitting the rest.
The poll shows Ford’s support is greatly concentrated in the western suburb of Etobicoke, where he lives, and in Scarborough, to the east of the city center.
His support is stronger among low income earners, and among those without post-secondary education.
Ford’s admission earlier this month that he smoked crack “in one of my drunken stupors” followed police revelations that they have been investigating the mayor as part of a drug probe.
Ford has also admitted he bought illegal drugs and has driven after drinking. He has been lampooned on late-night TV for his erratic behavior, which includes an expletive-filled rant caught on camera.
While Ford’s core supporters remain loyal, the poll showed a strong majority of Torontonians believe he is not fit for office.
Sixty per cent said Ford should resign, and the same number said they approve of recent city council measures to shift much of his authority to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly.
Facing the Music (16 November 2013)
I turned on the TV the other day and found myself watching live coverage on Sky News of the embattled Mayor of Toronto - Rob Ford - defending himself against fellow council members who were queueing hop to give him a good verbal 'kicking' over allegations of illegal drug use, crack cocaine to be precise.
Contrary to all my expectations I came away with a degree of admiration for the Mayor, who clearly has some big personal problems, because instead of hiding away and refusing to answer his critics Rob Ford stood his ground, apologised profusely for his and said he would not be resigning his office.
Let the voters of determine his fate at forthcoming elections - on the basis of his record as Mayor - was Rob Ford's defiant battle cry, and you know what - I respect the man for not rolling up into a ball or hiding under the duvet.
As far as I know, the Mayor has not hurt or injured anyone other than himself through his out of control behaviour which occurred during his private life - not while on official duties - so I think he has a point, particularly as Ford has sought counselling and support in fighting his demons.
To my mind that's something to admire rather than condemn - and the Mayor's behaviour is, arguably, no better or worse that other UK politicians I could mention.
Lord John Prescott springs to mind - the former Deputy Prime Minister was exposed as having an affair with a junior (female) member of his staff which clearly compromised his working relations - yet instead of resigning his position the old sea dog clung on to office (stripped of many of his responsibilities) while the woman's civil service career came to a shuddering end.
Fair or what?
Another example would be the former leader of Glasgow City Council, Stephen XXXX, who resigned his position abruptly in the face of damaging allegations about alcohol and drug abuse - and went immediately to ground instead of facing his critics.
Now maybe Stephen, a politician I had a lot of time for, was in no position to defend himself - maybe there was more to come out, I don't know - but if the problems did not cross over into his public life, then to me it was not necessarily a resigning matter especially if he was getting help and treatment.
So we'll se what happens to Rob Ford, time will tell, but I came away with a grudging respect for the man - which was not at all what I expected.
