If you havent seen CP24s interview with Doug Ford, its worth a look-see, if only to see Ford flash that shitting-eating grin. He declares that we havent seen the last of him politically speaking.
A few months removed from that failed mayoral run, Ford is plotting a return to the political arena. The elder Ford has made no secret of the fact hed like to be PC leader one day. But thats not going to happen anytime in the next decade with Christine Elliott poised to take the reins of the party and may never if that upstart Patrick Brown manages to pull an upset and turn the party establishment on its head. A provincial election is still four years away.
Doug may still have his sights set on a run for a provincial seat. Hes always wanted to follow in the footsteps of dear old dad who was a Mike Harris backbencher. But now that hes had a taste of what being king of T.O. might feel like, what his heart may really be set on is a rematch with John Tory.
Lets just say Doug still cant get over that loss and is keeping his options open, just in case little bro, former mayor and current councillor Rob, doesnt run in 2018. And with his lingering health issues Rob told Global News hell know in a few weeks whether the tumour in his abdomen is operable thats a distinct possibility.
Besides, its always been the feeling among PC party higher ups that Doug hasnt done enough to earn a shot at the party leadership. A stint as mayor would provide the proving ground and go a long way toward addressing those concerns.
Doug is not the only one who thinks he could have won against Tory if he had had more time and money, forced as he was into the breach when his brother fell ill and had to abandon his run. Doug lost by some 60,000 votes, but how much of his success had to do with brother Robs popularity has always been the question. Rob doesnt think Doug has his savoir faire with voters. He told the Sun as much. That old sibling rivalry rearing its head again.
It has always been love-hate between the Fords. Doug was one of Robs biggest enablers when the crack fiasco was going down and folks were urging Rob to get help. Doug seemed keener on using Rob to hold on to whatever was left of the Ford family political legacy, real or imagined. Then cancer struck and Doug was thrown into the fire. Rob didnt want to give up the race, waiting till the last possible second to sign the papers withdrawing from the contest. Cold irony this time is that its little bro who is standing in the way of a possible Doug versus Tory part deux. Now thats some kind of twisted, but its the Fords were talking about.
Clearly, what Doug may have lacked in Robs charm (if you can call it that) he more than made up for in smarts during the campaign. He proved a solid campaigner. And judging from his appearance on CP24 he seems to be working on the charm thing, taking lessons from whomever may be advising him these days to smile more often, just to take that edge off.
Doug is still ever present behind the scenes as well, figuring, strangely enough, in the story of the mystery tunnel. Turns out Doug helped broker the deal that put tunnel digger Elton McDonald in touch with the cops, without a SWAT team descending on his house. Apparently, MacDonalds boss is an acquaintance of Fords. Dougies already busy building that Rolodex like Rob used to, one favour at a time.
The audacity is still as present as ever, however. It takes balls for a guy known for throwing $20 bills at people to ask those same folks who voted for him to pitch in a couple of dollars so he can pay off his campaign debt.
Doug says he spent some $600K of his own money to finance his mayoral run. He says he received another $300,000 in donations. Its quite the bill alright, for someone who was officially in the race little more than five weeks. By comparison, Olivia Chow raised something like $1.9 million, just about double what Ford raised, but she was in the race for nine months.
But it should be chump change for a guy who has control of the Ford family trust rumoured to be worth in the ten of millions of dollars. Not to mention the handful of Florida properties he owns.
Ford seemed to have no problem reportedly, allegedly, supposedly donating his annual $100K salary while he was councillor to charity. No skin off his wallet then. Service above self, he likes to say. Whats changed?
Its always hard to know for sure when Doug isnt bending the truth. Doug told CP24 that he asked John Tory to hold a fundraiser to help with his debt. But a spokesperson for the mayors office says no such request was made. Turns out Doug may have asked Tory informally at a Christmas to-do.
But seriously, did Doug really expect Tory to come to the rescue, especially since most of his campaign debt was probably from cash he blew on those radio ads suggesting Tory wouldnt know who to ask to water the plants at City Hall, let alone run the city? Really now.
Maybe Doug should be asking little bro to sell some more of his crack-related paraphernalia on eBay to pay off his debts. Rob, however, seems to have his own financial campaign hangover. According to Doug, little bro is some $200K in the hole from his aborted mayoral run.
After the 2010 municipal election, Mike Harris and friends at the law firm Cassels Brock were eager to relieve Rob of his $800K debt. Of course, he held the keys to the city then. There was a harmony dinner to pay off the debts of all the mayoral candidates, including also-rans Rocco Rossi and Sarah Thomson. Doug brought it up during the CP24 interview. The citys power brokers want nothing to do with the Fords. But no hard feelings, says Doug. If you can believe that.
enzom@nowtoronto.com | @enzodimatteo
