Rob Ford - Another Day, Another Apology

After a long and eventful day at City Council, wherein Ford had his power even further reduced, Rob and Doug Ford sat down for an interview with CBC's Peter Mansbridge.

It is long and painful to watch if you have an aversion to lies and buffoons.

Here are some highlights:

Rob Ford claims he has never been drunk while driving. (Yet, his staff have witnessed him drunk driving).

Rob Ford admitted, during the interview that he has, since becoming mayor,
- smoked marijuana at least once,
- smoked crack only once,
- been high on cocaine more than once (but then denied it - claiming it was when he was a teen, not recently (He has been seen snorting cocaine while he has been mayor),
- purchased drugs, and that this is an illegal act, and he agrees that people should think that he should be charged for buying drugs. (Then he tried to deflect from this admission by claiming that other councillors have purchased marijuana).

Rob Ford claims he has never been on drugs while in his office. He claims the last time he did drugs was "a year ago sometime."

He thinks that everyone has been as high or drunk as he has, to the point where there are memory blackouts.

And, on why he is not talking to the police:
His lawyer has advised him to not talk to the police [regarding any of the on-going investigations - there are current investigations regarding drugs, extortion and murder].
> Mansbridge: What kind of signal does that send?
Ford: Talk to my lawyer.

What kind of signal indeed.

Three Tory Nutters Escape

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/01/31/three_tory_mps_ask_rcmp_to_investigate_some_abortions_as_homicides.html

What can I say? How did these 3 get loose from their leash? How can this be a good thing for the Conservatives?

They know that abortion is not homicide by law in this country. Hopefully the RCMP will tell them so and this will end there.

Mayor Rob Ford Countdown Clock

Instead of checking the news to see when the exact time and date of Rob Ford's removal from office is, just bookmark the Mayor Rob Ford Countdown Clock page!

Stock up and champagne and party horns as the time is fast approaching.

Start the betting pool on whether he will have to be forcibly removed from office or not when the time comes.

A BBQ That Rob Ford Won't Enjoy

Mayor Rob Ford to face public Clayton Ruby cross-examination in conflict case

"Mayor Rob Ford has been forced to testify in open court, and face cross-examination from prominent lawyer Clayton Ruby, in a high-stakes conflict of interest lawsuit that could push him out of office.

The lawsuit accuses Ford of breaking provincial law by voting in February on the issue of whether he should have to pay back a total of $3,150 to lobbyists, clients of lobbyists, and a corporation whose donations to his football foundation he improperly accepted.

Ottawa judge Charles Hackland’s Friday decision to make him take the stand means he will face an unusual public grilling from one of the country’s top legal minds.

...

The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act says members of council are to recuse themselves from the debate and the vote on any issue in which they have a financial interest.

The penalties are severe. If a member of council takes part in a debate or vote despite a conflict, the law says the judge “shall” force him out of office and “may” bar him from rejoining council for up to seven years" 

Grill away Clayton!

UPDATE
More details in this Globe & Mail article 

Key segment of testimony so far, from the linked G&M article:

Ruby: You deliberately chose to make the speech you did and vote the way you did?

Ford: Absolutely.

Ruby: And you don’t regret for a moment having done that?

Ford: Absolutely not.

Mayor Rob Ford caught reading while driving

Mayor Rob Ford caught reading while driving

Listen (click the link) to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admit to reading while driving.

This morning, a photo was taken of him reading while he was driving (at a speed of about 70km/hr) on the Gardener Expressway (see photo at bottom of this post).

This appeared on Facebook later in the day

Okay, yes, some people will be upset about how the person who snapped the shot was also doing something they should not have been doing while driving. But the elephant in the room cannot be ignored. Rob Ford admitted to reading while driving - not just in this instance, but - in general. It is something he does regularly. And, he sees no problem in doing this. Doing this, especially in crowded fast-moving traffic, is a danger not only to himself, but to many people in the other cars around him. Lives are at stake here.

The other issue here is the fact that here we have the mayor of Toronto setting a horrible example (again) and just shrugging it off (again) as if it is no big deal. 

I won't go into details about all the other similarly foolish things he has said and done as they are so numerous that you have probably read all about them (unless you live in a cave).

More details here and here.
Photo by Twitter user @ryanghaughton.

Doug Ford + foot + mouth - brain =

Today on the Rob and Doug show. Doug Ford (speaking to Rob):

“They’re so many great teams, I wouldn’t want to pick one over the other. I guess (in the) Euro, you go back to the ancestors — boy, we go back quite a ways, but I’m not too sure — is there any WASPy teams on there? We’re just Canadian,” he said with a laugh. “Anyways — well, you’re married to the Polack, so you gotta cheer for the Polish team.”
....
Here's the best part (in reference to his Polish comment):
Doug Ford: “I didn’t realize it was derogatory."

Then, later in the show:
Doug Ford joked that homeless people should be given plastic bags to sell outside stores after Toronto’s bag ban comes into effect

From
Toronto Star: Councillor Doug Ford apologizes for using ‘Polack’ to describe Mayor Rob Ford’s wife

More Doug + foot + mouth - brains quotes here - from the same day on the show. Listener Mel has a good point that the mayor and Doug did zero preparation going into council to try to get the 5 cent bag tax stopped, so much of the blame of how things turned out must lie with them. Doug still has no clue and proceeds to put his foot in his mouth with his response to listener Mel.

Rob Ford Could Be Removed From Office In Early September

Mark Sept. 5, 6 and 7 on your calendars. That is when Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will be in court regarding his breach of a conflict of interest law. If the judge finds against him, he will be removed from office and banned from running for public office for 7 years.

Toronto Star
Mayor Rob Ford will be in court in early September refuting a conflict of interest allegation that, if proven, would force him from office.
Lawyer Clayton Ruby, representing a Toronto resident who filed the complaint, announced Friday that Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland will hear the case Sept. 5, 6 and 7.

Nail In The Coffin For Rob Ford On The Transit File

Rob Ford lost a another key vote today in Toronto City Council. Weeks ago, the councillors called a meeting to bring back Transit City (essentially), voted on it, and Transit City is back. Also at that time they formed a special panel to look into the options for Sheppard East. The panel came back and highly endorsed LRT for Sheppard East. Yesterday and today council met to discuss and vote on what Sheppard East would get - subway, LRT, or some combination. Today, council voted 24-19 for LRT on Sheppard East. 

Council has completed shut out the mayor and has taken over the transit file for Toronto. Now we can get back to building Transit City for all the city.

The mayor had control for his first year in office. He bullied people into wasting time and money and racked up his own brand of Gravy Train. But, council has finally said enough (or the Mushy Middle has decided to). They stopped his madness in the Portlands, and now they have put things back on track for transit evolution in Toronto after a year hiatus. Councillors now see that they can get things done if they work together, to hell with Rob Ford and his mad schemes and bully tactics.

I think the quote of the day that nails it on the head is from councillor Kristyn Wong-tam:
from Torontoist:
11:13 AM: Now up: Kristyn Wong-Tam. She calls Rob Ford’s cancellation of Transit City on his first day in office “flippant,” tells him “Mayor Ford, your time has run out.” Calm though—mood in the room now quite subdued. And then: “We cannot continue to follow a man with no plan… Mayor Ford had the ball in his hand and he fumbled.” She says that it is clear now councillors will be leading, not the mayor. “Toronto’s democratic deficit ends today.”

Coward Rob Ford Leaves Chaos In His Wake

Today, Toronto mayor Rob Ford bolted and ran when he saw that he could not win the day. He left a fractured and confused City Hall in his wake.

This mayor is finding by not working to gain a consensus, by not being willing to listen to reason, by not being interested in leading, that he is creating a great amount of chaos and confusion and is wasting more time and money than any Toronto mayor before him. 

What will it take for him to grow up and be a real mayor? I seriously don't think he can. 

Now, all you people who voted for Ford - next time, please THINK before you vote. Do a bit of research. Make an informed decision. It was sooooooooooooo obvious that Ford, when he became mayor, would be the disaster that he has turned out to be. We are still thanking you people for all these problems of the past 1.5 years. Thanks.

See: Toronto Star: Toronto's Mayor Rob Ford Shuts Down Transit Debate.

Has Toronto's Mayor Become Irrelevant?

Photo of Rob Ford by Tannis Toohey
for The Toronto Star

Yesterday, Toronto City Council took over the lead on transit planning in the city and voted to reaffirm most of the LRT lines outlined in the Transit City plan. Council voted 25-18 to reaffirm what was already a binding agreement between Toronto City Council and the provincial government. Rob Ford had been trying to derail this plan over the past year and had successfully pulled the wool over the eyes of some of the new and centrist councillors - until yesterday.

After the council vote, Ford claimed that the meeting was irrelevant and that the premier would continue to support his own plan (a fully buried LRT along Eglinton, and a non-funded short subway dream on an Eastern portion of Sheppard).

The provinces response? From the CBC article:

Despite Ford's hopes, Ontario Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli seemed to suggest the province would follow the will of council.

"Throughout the debate, the McGuinty government has maintained a clear stance — we wanted the city to come to a common position so that we all could focus on building much-needed transit infrastructure," he said in a statement. "Now that council has endorsed a position, we have asked Metrolinx to consider the impacts on current transit planning and report back to us as quickly as possible."

Is this the beginning of a change in the Mushy Middle? Will we see the centrists on council begin to vote for reason and their constituents instead of with the mayor? If so, then, over the next 3 years, Rob Ford may find himself outvoted and irrelevant through his own pig-headed uncompromising actions thus far.

UPDATE
Here is the list of how each councillor voted:
LRT For Toronto: Rob Ford Loses Bid To Control Toronto's Transit Future 

Two surprise votes in support of reaffirming the LRT lines were usual Ford supporters John Parker and Jaye Robinson.
Out of the ten Scarborough councillors, 1 was absent, 3 voted in support of the LRT lines, and the rest stuck with Ford and voted against the motion. 

See also
Openfile: After Yesterday's LRT Vote, Toronto Enters the Age of Minority Government
The mayor, having already lost one of the most important votes of his term so far, seems unwilling to face the arithmetic of Toronto's politics (he needs 22 votes on council, plus his own) and instead is working hard to alienate the very centre-right councillors he needs. In hushed tones, some council staff tell reporters they've never seen a mayor so unwilling to compromise. In particular, ruling out TTC Chair Karen Stintz' attempt at compromise (which everyone from Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) to Cherise Burda of the Pembina Institute seemed to be able to live with) left a number of staff shaking their heads.

Rob & Doug wasting Toronto Money - Again

Toronto agency backed by Mayor Ford spent $55,000 on single-source contracts - The Globe and Mail

Asked if there was a discrepancy between his anti-sole-source rhetoric and his backing of sole-source waterfront proposals, he said “it all depends” before referring all further questions to Michael Kraljevic, president and CEO of Toronto Port Lands.
“There are circumstances when sole-sourcing is acceptable,”
How much would it have cost for Rob and Doug to run their plan by council to see if they would support it before going ahead and spending $55,000?

Rob Ford's Gravy Train amount: $55,000

Toronto mayor Ford still confused after provincial election. Better chance now for Transit City comeback

NOW Magazine // Daily // News // Transit City’s minority report
Excerpts:

The results of the provincial election have encouraged progressives
still holding out hope for the resurrection of Transit City. 

Councillor
Adam Vaughan is among the devotees waiting for the transit plan’s
second coming, and lately he’s seeing good omens. One of them is that
the mayor’s replacement for Transit City has stalled, for the time being
at least. The province agreed to fund part of it (the underground LRT
along Eglinton), but so far Ford has been unable to secure enough
private funds for an extension of the Sheppard Avenue subway. 

Another
encouraging sign for Vaughan is the results of last week’s provincial
election, which saw the pro-Transit City NDP gain more power in a
minority government, and confirmed that “Ford Nation” no longer has the
ear of the province. The political playing field is looking rather
different than when Dalton McGuinty acquiesced to a newly-elected and
still popular Ford on Transit City.  

“You’ve got a group of
councillors who support Transit City, and you’ve got a significant group
of provincial legislators from the GTA who want light rapid transit,”
says Vaughan. “Meanwhile you’ve got a mayor who’s still dreaming in
Technicolor when it comes to Sheppard avenue. The mayor’s just one voice
in a sea of people with a lot more power than him.” 

On the
transit file, Ford is looking increasingly desperate. The morning after
the provincial election, the first thing he did was venture out of his
cocoon of protective right-wing media for an interview on the liberal
CBC in which he publicly aired his demand for more provincial funding
for Toronto transit. 

A spokesperson for transportation minister Kathleen Wynne says the
province has no plans to give the city more transit money at this time,
but if that changes, NDP transit critic Cheri DiNovo says any provincial
funding should come with strings attached. 

“If the province is
going to be paying huge amounts for more transit, the province should
have a say in what it’s used for,” DiNovo says. “And Transit City is the
best way of spending it. I’m sure Ford would rather see something built
than nothing built. If we’re paying the piper we get to call the tune.”

...

There remains one development that could alter the political
equation. When Ford decided to cancel Transit City, he made Toronto
liable for the costs associated with work already underway. 

That
bill from the province is expected to be upwards of $49 million, but
mercifully for Ford, who is in the middle of a crusade to stop waste at
city hall, it has yet to arrive. Once it does, Transit City may start
looking a lot more attractive, says Vaughan. 

“There is no
$49-million bill to repay if Transit City gets back on track,” he said.
“For a city and a province looking to save money, the easiest way to
save money is to stop canceling things and to start building things.”

Doug Ford's backroom sweetheart dealings on waterfront breaks Ford Nation campaign promise and the Toronto Municipal Code

Toronto News: Doug Ford’s mall dealings spark complaint - thestar.com
Doug Ford claimed to various newspapers that he had been in talks with The Westfield Group regarding proposals for the Toronto waterfront development of the Portlands.

This has sparked a complaint to the City of Toronto's lobbyist registrar. According to the Toronto Municipal code code of conduct for councillors, councillors
“should not engage knowingly in communications” with anyone who should be registered as a lobbyist but isn’t.
The Toronto Municipal Code
states anyone communicating with a councillor or their staff on matters
including development, planning approvals and other specified topics
must first register with the city as a lobbyist.

The online lobbyist registry was created in response to the MFP computer
leasing scandal that revealed how lobbyists had wined and dined senior
staff and some politicians in the course of gaining contracts.

One of Rob Ford's campaign promises was to stop alleged backroom, sweetheart deals.

If the Westlake Group is not registered with the City of Toronto as a lobbyist, as it seems it isn't, then Doug Ford has admitted to breaking the Toronto Municipal code and one of his brother's campaign promises. And, Rob Ford, by allowing this to happen, or at least by not having immediately launched an investigation into the breach of code himself, is breaking yet another of his campaign promises.

Continue to put pressure on your city councillors to hold council and the Ford brothers accountable to the people of the City of Toronto.

Ford Nation is now a little clam. And, Tim Hudak is as out of touch as ever

Toronto News: Hudak plunges into dangerous liaison with Rob Ford - thestar.com

According to the Toronto Star, Rob Ford's popularity has been steadily declining since the election in Oct. 2010.

Ford’s popularity is sinking, according to polling data, as his hunt for
“gravy” falters and his administration wobbles. Just as the provincial
campaign takes off, Ford is wading into budget deliberations seemingly
eager to inflict deep spending cuts despite a promise not to.
...
And Tim Hudak must have drank a lot of the Ford Nation kool-aid because he thinks that, under the Miller administration in Toronto, services went down and a deficit was run.

Hudak told reporters after the more than hour-long meeting in Ford’s
mother’s sprawling bungalow they talked about the mayor’s efforts to
clean up the financial “mess” left by his predecessor, David Miller.


“Taxes went up and services went down and they have a significant deficit,” Hudak said.
Actually Tim, services were maintained or went up, and they ran a surplus, not a deficit. And the fact that Hudak thinks there still was a "gravy train" when it has been proven that, without a doubt, there was no "gravy train" at City Hall, goes to show just how out of touch he is with reality and Toronto.

And Ford has been asking the provincial party leaders for money for his failed Sheppard subway extension. The subway extension that was supposed to cost the taxpayers nothing since he would be able to get private business to pay for it all. But, no offers are forthcoming.

And then we have a quote from John Capobianco, a PC party activist and Rob Ford adviser claiming about Rob Ford:
“He was elected with a sweeping mandate for change at City Hall and he
has done a phenomenal job of cutting spending and keeping taxes down.”
Actually, John, Rob Ford has increased spending, and reduced income, and will have to put a huge tax hike in place to balance things out sooner than later.

Here is the most heartening part of the article:
But the Star has learned of polling data showing Ford’s
popularity steadily sinking from an almost 70 per cent approval rating
after the Oct. 25 election to only 45 per cent in early August.


Nelson Wiseman, a veteran political  scientist at the University of Toronto, also believes the Fords’  rock-star appeal has dimmed, scoffing at the mayor’s past threat to
unleash his “Ford Nation” supporters to topple McGuinty.


“Ford Nation is now a little clam,”  Wiseman said. “Sometimes it seems to be two people — Rob and his brother who, since the election, have come across like Abbott and Costello.

Doug Ford is not representing the will of the people

Toronto News: Australian firm eyeing waterfront mall - thestar.com
The driving force behind a member of city council should be the people he represents, the people of Toronto, not some rich foreign company!

An Australian company that’s one of the world’s largest shopping centre
owners is a driving force behind Councillor Doug Ford’s mall-based dream
for Toronto’s eastern waterfront, the Star has learned.

Doug Ford pours on the lies. Will the public continue to bite?

Do you like Doug Ford's preliminary plans for Toronto's waterfront? - Your Community
They have to keep piling it up. One lie after another. The next one has to top the biggest one before.

Regarding Doug Ford's plans to mess up the Waterfront development:
Ford says the private sector would fund the project. "People from all
over the world are calling us with billion of dollars to invest," he
said, "and Toronto's open for business."

Hands up everyone who believes this line. .... Didn't think so.

Doug Ford wants to replace this:
Sustainable Urban Design on Toronto's Waterfront (this is the plan in place/being developed)
with this:
Doug's Folly

Remember Transit City - a great, already budgeted plan to provide the whole city with rapid transit? Trashed by Ford Nation. Now they want to do the same to the Waterfront.

Can we get rid of Ford Nation now, please?

Right wing group Toronto Taxpayers Coalition backs contest to win lunch with Doug Ford

Toronto News: Readers wonder: What’s lunch with Doug Ford without any gravy? - thestar.com

These groups that purport to be in support of taxpayers are nothing but a front for hard-right-wing conservatives and libertarians who care nothing for anyone but themselves. They are greedy and would rather not pay any taxes than have the services and things that make the city great. What would they say if the services they rely on (water, electricity, firefighters, police, roads, etc.) no longer existed? 
The fact that the Toronto Taxpayers Coalition has set up a contest to win lunch with one of the main people (Doug Ford) behind the Let's tear it all down. Let's make Toronto a crappy place to live movement (aka Ford Nation) speaks volumes as to what they are all about.
Don't be fooled taxpayers. This group is not supportive of you (unless you are a fool too).

And still others would like to know more about the taxpayers coalition.

“An even more pertinent question: Who is the ‘Toronto Taxpayers
Coalition?’ It seems very strange that Doug Ford would be pumping a
non-partisan group in his talks that he has no links to. Also, it seems a
little stranger that there are no names whatsoever listed on the site.
Their ‘wiki’ only got action at the very beginning of the year and there
was just a huge flurry of comments and article updates. Who are these
people?”

They are definitely NOT a non-partisan group. They are about as conservative as you can get. Conservative as in Let's set the clock back a couple of centuries.

Rob Ford's War On Graffiti Is Out Of Hand and Costly

Strutting And Fretting « All Fired Up In The Big Smoke
Read the link for a story about someone getting a notice to remove graffiti from their back-alley garage door. The garage door is pretty much out of site. If Ford Nation is targeting situations like this, they must be spending a lot of money/resources to do so as this is obscured and petty.

Toronto - Shouldn't the mayor be held to account?

Ford should have known he’d break promises on service cuts and layoffs - The Globe and Mail
And so should the people of Toronto during the election campaign.

Lying or just plain stupid, he should still be held accountable.

Excerpt:
Mr. Ford ran for office claiming to be something different than the usual smooth-talking politician. He was the no-nonsense ordinary guy who would cut through the baloney and tell it like it is. As the whole city knows now – and should have known then – he was peddling a line of  guff. The idea that he could cut spending, taxes and debt without
cutting any services or putting a single person out of work was an obvious fantasy from the start. Now it is being exposed as such. Shouldn’t the mayor be held to account? Are we supposed simply to forget that he was elected on false pretenses? If his promises to avoid
service cuts and layoffs were fake, what are we to make of his election promise to achieve $2.8-billion (yes, billion) in budget savings over four years, to produce $1.7-billion in operating surpluses, to pay down debt by $800-million? It’s not hectoring to expect a mayor to be straight with the public.

A comment from below the article:
He's a liar, a common, garden-variety liar. You can dress it up all you want but he's just a liar. You should recognize him from playground days, he was the bombastic kid who would say anything.

Ford Nation deserves what they voted for. Trouble is, the rest of us have to put up with this joke of a man and his psychologically disturbed cronies on Council. He will severely damage Toronto and turn it into a second-rate city. It will be years before we overcome the destruction he will bring to the fabric of our city.

Think riots in London were bad? Wait till he cuts services here...that's the direction he's taking us.

If you mishandle this situation, you will not be sitting here four years from now

Toronto Spoke: “You’ve been very arbitrary with your choices,” says Jason Adam Robins « Ford For Toronto
Click the link to watch the video.
Here is the transcription of the video. Jason Adam Robins was one of the deputants to speak at Toronto City Hall to the Executive Committee.

Jason:

I'd like to start by saying I'd like to thank all the concerned Torontonians who have shown their support, or lack thereof, for the measures that this committee has seemingly pushed forward and is obviously going to pursue. I'd truly like to say that it's extremely disturbing that this Executive Committee is making decisions that affect so many and have an expectation of sacrifice for so many when they themselves don't seem to have any affect in this way, shape, or form. I don't believe that any of you [members of the Executive Committee] will suffer as a result of these cuts. I frankly believe that you don't understand what you are doing.

You're elected officials. I don't think you understand the weight of your office - it's clear by your choices that you don't. You've been very arbitrary with your choices up until now, and I don't really believe that that's going to change.

I ask you all this one question: Are you prepared to hinder and hang your entire political life on this KPMG report? Are you confident enough? Because, I guarantee it to you, if you mishandle this situation, you will not be sitting here four years from now.

What you have done, to your credit, is galvanize a giant machine of individuals who are fed
up with watching their democracy be hijacked by foolish behaviour. I truly hope that you are ready to reap what is coming, because sitting in this room and in this building for the last – I can't even count because frankly I've been here with them all day. And I haven't been
absent, mayor, I have been here the day, just like many others. All of these people are standing up in front of you asking you very kindly to think before you act. And I frankly believe, like many of the people sitting here in this building right now, that this is an exercise in futility. This is an ugly version of politics that us, as Canadians, and we as Torontonians, are not used to seeing. 

I urge you. I, in fact, warn you, if you do not change your ways, you will not be sitting
where you are today.

I don't expect that you're going to have any questions for me because I didn't sit here and put up any figures, and I didn't support a specific group, and I didn't do any of the things the litany of experts that have sat in front of you have done.

But, I urge you, with this balance or lack of balance with KPMG, why would you not take the
advantage of seeing these community leaders and sit down and see how the external factors of your decisions will destroy the social fabric of our city. Think of this when you are making these choices. I urge you.