With a declaration that he is “the best mayor that this city’s ever had,” Rob Ford officially kicked off the 2014 election campaign by registering as a candidate Thursday morning.
The October 27 vote is almost eleven months away but Mayor Ford wasted no time getting his name on the ballot, reportedly arriving outside the election services office at City Hall before 8 a.m. on the day that nominations opened.
After paying the $200 fee and submitting his registration, he gave a four-and-a-half minute scrum to reporters in which he offered a glimpse of how he intends to handle the crack cocaine scandal on the campaign trail.
He dismissed any questions about his admitted drug use or ties to alleged drug dealers as “personal,” and said that instead he wanted to focus on the policy achievements of his first term.
Among them he listed winning council approval for a subway extension to replace the Scarborough RT line, scrapping the vehicle registration tax, and securing new deals with city unions.
“I’ve dealt with the issues that other mayors couldn’t deal with. My track record speaks for itself. If you want to get personal, that’s fine. I’m sticking to my record,” he said.
“I’ve been the best mayor that this city’s ever had,” he added.
So far, no other high profile candidate has registered to run against Ford. But TTC Chair Karen Stintz and former city budget chief David Soknacki have declared their intentions. NDP MP Olivia Chow, former Ontario PC leader John Tory and Public Works Chair Denzil Minnan-Wong are also pondering bids.
Ford told reporters that he welcomed all challengers, and said he was willing to hold more than 200 debates against his opponents.
“You’re going to see action like you’ve never seen before,” he vowed.
But while saying he wanted to run on his record, Ford gave an exaggerated account of his achievements since storming to victory in the 2010 vote.
He claimed to have saved the city “a billion dollars,” an oft-repeated assertion that has been rejected by Toronto’s top bureaucrat, City Manager Joe Pennachetti.
Ford said he had delivered “a lower tax increase than 2 per cent for four years.” In fact, he supported a 2.5 per cent increase in 2012 and a 2 per cent increase in 2013. Council has yet to vote on the 2014 budget, but staff are recommending a 2.5-per-cent hike this year, a portion of which would go towards covering the costs of the Scarborough subway extension.
He also boasted of his attendance record at City Hall, despite regularly skipping out of work earlier in his term to volunteer as a high school football coach, a position he lost in May in the aftermath of the crack allegations. According to court documents released last year, a former staffer told police that the mayor typically worked four to five hours a day.
Ford also made a rare reference to the June 2012 gang-related Eaton Centre shooting that left two people dead and five others injured, highlighting the fact that he was on the scene soon after the tragedy.
“Who was down there first?” he said. “I was.”
The reference prompted questions from the press about the mayor’s own ties to the Dixon City Bloods, a north Etobicoke gang that was the target of a massive police raid last June. Wiretaps executed in preparation for the sweep detailed the mayor’s alleged attempts to purchase the crack video from alleged gang members, as well as their alleged attempts to extort him over the footage. The mayor refused to say anything to reporters about his personal experience with gang-related crime.
After running in 2010 on a slogan of stopping “the gravy train” at City Hall, Ford confirmed that his catchphrase this time around will be “Ford More Years.” His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, will serve as his campaign manager. The councillor does not intend to run for re-election in his Etobicoke North ward this year, planning instead to run for the Ontario PC Party in the next provincial campaign.
The mayor wasn’t the only incumbent to register on Thursday morning. After filing his papers Councillor Gord Perks, who is hoping to win a third term as the representative for Parkdale-High Park, offered his own account of the mayor’s first term.
“We’ve lost important revenue streams, transit service is becoming more and more crowded, investments in community centres, libraries, recreation – they’re all suffering,” Perks said. “So yeah, the mayor’s record does speak for itself. It’s about disinvestment in community.”
bens@nowtoronto.com | @benspurr
