Mayor Rob Ford was supposed to speak at noon. An hour later, he had yet to show up.
People were confused. It was as though he’d disappeared into thin air. He’d been seen leaving City Hall just after 12:00 (still late but not unreasonably so) and then failed to materialize in the banquet hall at the Hilton Toronto, just 350 m away.
The sold-out crowd of 190 business people (whose tickets worked out to $100 each) waited impatiently. What the hell could have happened to him on his journey from Queen to Richmond?
Fortunately, the situation revealed itself to be less Picnic At Hanging Rock than Elevator To The Gallows.
When the mayor burst through a door a little past 1:00, reporters demanded to know where he’d been. “I got stuck in an elevator!” he yelled, as the media chased him – to the washroom, it turned out.
His assistant, Amin Massoudi, hollered for security to give him cover. A reporter repeatedly shouted at him to let go of her microphone.
It was awkward. And no one was willing to take his word for it. (The story was later confirmed by others who were trapped in the freight elevator with him.)
As often happens with Ford, whatever he may have said in his speech was overshadowed by the bizarre circumstances around it.
Just watch the video:
