If punchline mayor Rob Ford loved this city half as much as he claims to, he would make the only choice available to him, one clear to the rest of the world as this sad soap opera unfolds: he must resign.
In this shameful saga, each day is more unbelievable than the last. Ford was elected to “clean up” City Hall can he really claim to be fulfilling his promises as he turns this great city into an international laughing stock?
Remember the Mel Lastman “scandal” when the then mayor got his picture taken with a Hell’s Angel? At least he wasn’t behaving like one.
David Miller got his hand slapped for leaving his lights on during Earth Hour. And what about poor Adam Giambrone, who dropped out of the mayoralty race against Ford for having office sex? Seems almost quaint now: a little backroom banging – no crack, no crowds, no drunken roaming through City Hall screaming obscenities, clutching a half-empty bottle of booze and smacking staffers.
Is Ford really such a narcissist that he thinks he can manage this shameful, mendacious scandal, or wish it away? His linguistic loop-the-loops, his claims that he didn’t lie about his drug use, are an insult. Rob Ford has a history of lying, behaviour that should be unacceptable in every politician, whatever their politics.
The mayor only comes clean when totally cornered he’s determined to get away with anything until the facts are completely irrefutable – and then he feigns contrition. And wouldn’t it be safe to assume this admitted liar is lying about no longer lying? Why should we believe him when he says he’s only done crack once?
By his own reluctant admission, he is out of control, careening around this city in “a drunken stupor,” and his “I was drunk” defence sounds horribly like that of a boozed-up frat boy trying to explain away a drunken rape.
Can the mayor really believe he is fit to lead one of the most wonderful cities in the world when he admits he routinely gets “hammered” – think Taste Of The Danforth – yet refuses to do anything about it?
He said on his weekly radio show, “I can’t stop drinking right now” but promised to get drunk only in his basement. Pretty sure getting loaded all alone is the definition of an alcoholic. Toronto deserves better than a booze-soaked mayor fumbling with the keys to the city.
And speaking of keys, it’s easy to imagine our out-of-control chief magistrate sliding behind the wheel of his giant, gas-guzzling Escalade and endangering himself and constituents unlucky enough to be in the kill zone of his careening car.
Will it take felonious harm to himself or a citizen to drive this embarrassment from office?
Even if he’s hanging on for the sake of his cruel right-wing agenda, he must realize that any hope of effectively pushing through his slash-and-burn policies is up in smoke because of the disaster that is him.
And his and his brother’s gutless attack on police Chief Bill Blair is shameful. The two would rather slander the integrity of our police force than own up to their own critical failings.
Balls? Yeah, they’ve got them, in the worst sense. A law-and-order mayor and his bro attacking the police for pursuing lawbreakers would be unbelievable if it weren’t actually true.
We’ll take Blair’s “No fear, no favour” approach over the “Party on, Garth” mayor any day.
Does Ford really think his antics will up the business ante and drum up job-creating interest in this city? Even before his crack confession, Ford’s soiled reputation followed him on a recent trip to Austin, where local press and Toronto reporters were more interested in the charges facing his pal Sandro Lisi than his talking up this tuneful town.
Can the mayor believe he can drop in on any city in the world now to promote Toronto entrepreneurialism without being drowned out by talk of his crack and craziness?
And with more bombshells to come from the redacted police files and rumoured second or third video, this will only get worse.
Love this town? Then leave, Mayor Ford get the help you so desperately need and let us get back to being a world-class city. Finally put this city ahead of your ego and anger.
Subways, subways, subways? No, Rob Ford: resign, resign, resign.
michaelh@nowtoronto.com | @m_hollett
