I felt sad to hear the court's decision to oust Mayor Rob Ford from office. In spite of what is said about him in the media (as if he was a wild beast who eats humans) he is indeed a caring politician who listens to people and tries to do something about their problems.
How many times has a politician replied to you personally -- aside from during an election when they pretend to be Santa Claus -- let alone show initiative to solve your issue?
I will never forget my experience with Mr. Ford. Even though I was not part of his constituency, he nevertheless responded to me and was willing to meet me personally and bring officials with him to study an issue I cared about. It was about an intersection in the Etobicoke neighbourhood where I suggested a traffic light be installed to ease the congestion.
Though I was out of the country, he did not ignore it and took the initiative to study the proposal, consult city engineers and write back to me about the outcome.
While I respect the court's ruling, I think there were other major breaches that warranted similar severe consequences, such as Ontario's $1-billion eHealth consulting scandal; the cancellation of two gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to taxpayers; the Ontario Lottery and Gaming scandal; the Samsung deal scandal; the Eco Tax scandal and so on.
Mr. Ford should not be treated differently than anyone else. I am not implying that he should be above the law. We should be fair when applying the severity of our legal system. Other politicians who have been involved in much more serious offences should have been treated as such, including expelling them from office and holding them accountable for the mishaps they have caused.
With respect, I consider the sentence against Rob Ford to be a little too harsh.
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| @ TorStarEditor : #robford here is an early look at Wednesday's front page of the Toronto Star. http://t.co/eVToRKDI |
The Toronto Star tweeted a photo fo their front page with an exclusive story on how the Ford brothers could be planning a way to maintain power if Rob were unable to run in a by-election. More details as they come.
More bad news for Rob Ford on Tuesday. The Don Bosco Eagles, the high school football team he coaches fell to the Huron Heights Warriors 28-14 at the Metro Bowl.
Rob Ford was consistent in one thing though. The mayor left today's council meeting to attend the football game. The mayor has been criticized in the past for missing key votes to coach his team.
A tired-looking Rob Ford appeared before dozens of reporters at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon. Ford made a brief statement to the media and took no questions. A full text of his statement:
Good afternoon everyone. I was elected two years ago by the people of Toronto to do a job. We have accomplished a lot in the past two years. But, that job isn't finished yet. I respect the Court's decision that was released yesterday. My decision to appeal is not a criticism of the Court. But, I feel it is important to work through the appeal system so I can continue to do the work I was elected to do. This entire matter began because I love to help kids play football. When this came to Council for the vote in question, I felt it was important to answer the accusations that had been made against me. I was focused on raising money to help underprivileged youth. I never believed there was a conflict of interest because I had nothing to gain. And, the City had nothing to lose. But, I respect the court's decision. Looking back, maybe I could have expressed myself in a different way. To everyone who believes I should have done this differently – I sincerely apologize. The people elected me to bring respect for taxpayers back to City Hall, and I will keep working to do exactly that for as long as I can – or, until the people elect someone else to do the job. Thank you. Unfortunately, that is all I can say at this time.
Ford at times appeared close to tears while he was delivering the statement. His voice appeared to break a few times and he was quickly escorted out of the room by his press secretary.
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| @ LindaNguyenTO : Suffice to say, the media interest in @TOMayorFord's news conference at 3:30pm is huge. Here's a pic of cams #TOpoli http://t.co/5e8Yg5jw |
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| @ JProskowGlobal : Mayor Rob Ford will read a prepared statement to the media at 3:30PM |
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| @ SidRyan_OFL : All due respects to Clay Ruby but court case was dumb politics. Ford is many things but hes not a criminal. Now he's a martyr. #TOpoli |
Mayor Ford's lawyers will be filing his appeal on December 5, the Globe and Mail is reporting.
The appeal to the Divisional Court will be the only one he's allowed and will determine whether he'll be able to stay on as Mayor. Earlier today the city solicitor said that Ford will likely receive a stay in his sentence, which means he would be allowed to stay on as mayor until the court rules on his appeal.
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| @ StrashinCBC : City hall security has been aggressive today protecting @TOMayorFord from media throng. Saw a guard physically stop. Star's Dave Rider.#sl |
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| @ kellygrant1 : Councillors are running all over the place. So Nunziata forces them back to their seats with a quorum call. #topoli |
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| @ BenSpurr : Well there we go. Pressed by reporters, Mammoliti says Ford should step down, at least temporarily, pending his appeal #TOpoli |
Toronto's City Council got a bit more clarity on the Ford case during Tuesday's meeting. City solicitor Anna Kinastowski outlined the legal road ahead for Mayor Ford and Council.
Mayor Ford will have to file an appeal to the Divisional Court and Ford's lawyers will likely ask for a suspension of the sentence — meaning Ford should be able to stay on as Mayor while the appeal is being decided.
The appeal to Divisional Court will be the mayor's sole appeal and it is binding. In the event the mayor does not receive a suspension of his sentence during his appeal, a scenario that Kinastowski said would be unusual and unlikely, the mayor's job would be vacant as of December 10th.
If the city were to hold a by-election to replace the mayor, the city solicitor says that her reading of Judge Hackland's ruling is that the mayor won't be able to run in a by-election and would have to wait until 2014 to run again.
The solicitor also clarified that Ford's legal fees are not being paid for by the City. "The City is not involved," Kinastowski said.
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| @ NPHallMonitor : "The mayor is the mayor, it is business as usual," said Anna Kinastowski, city solicitor, noting judge ruling takes effect in 14 days |
With Rob Ford possibly out of a job, speculation swirls around who will replace him. Will it be a city councillor? A former mayoral candidate? What about a warrior-princess?
This Hour Has 22 Minutes' Marg Delahunty makes her pitch why she should run the City of Toronto.
It's going to be a busy and possibly feisty day at Toronto City Council.
CBC looks at the road ahead for Mayor Ford and city council.
But if yesterday is any indication, that two weeks will be filled with intense legal speculation about whether Ford will seek a stay of the Hackland ruling while an appeal is heard, not to mention political intrigue as Ford opponents and supporters jockey to figure out how to replace him.If he does go, there are currently two options on the table: appoint a caretaker mayor to fill out the remaining two years of the term or call a byelection. And while it is early days yet, some councillors, including some previously loyal Ford supporters, are beginning to make their preferences heard.
As for the mayor, Ford has said he will appeal the decision at a divisional court. But in order to remain as mayor while the appeal is going forward, he would likely also have to apply for a stay of proceedings.
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| @ thechrisws : Via @jpags, the Toronto Star's Ford coverage includes a recipe for humble pie: http://t.co/BUWROeBz |
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| @ KatieSimpson24 : Mayor Ford speaking with his brother in council chambers ahead of today's meeting. #Toronto http://t.co/YrPtuTwb |
The Toronto Star profiles the 27-year-old who may have helped bring down the mayor. From the article:
“History will write him up as a hero,” left-leaning Councillor Joe Mihevc, who has known Chaleff-Freudenthaler since the latter’s childhood, said on Monday.“He’s an obstructionist who’s never been happy with Rob Ford getting elected as mayor,” said right-leaning Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong.
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| @ JProskowGlobal : "You can't put a price on democracy" says Doug ford on cost of by election. "We don't live in Egypt" |
A few things we'll be looking out for today:
1) The Argos Grey Cup parade will wind through the downtown core starting at 11:30. Will Mayor Ford show up?
2) City Council meets today. The city's budget is on the agenda and debate around that can get messy during the best of years. Some councillors have been saying they need a special session to deal with rulings around Rob Ford's court case. We'll see if this happens.
3) The Metro Bowl, the city's championship football game is scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m. Rob Ford's Don Bosco Eagles will be playing for the title. Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, has called for a rally before the game for supporters of the mayor.
Questions are being raised about an all-or-nothing provision in a previously little-known "draconian" law that was thrust into the spotlight Monday after it was used to unseat the mayor of Canada's largest city.
As we have come to expect with all things newsworthy, today's ruling that Rob Ford was to be removed from office was the genesis of a bunch of internet stuff.
At Toronto’s City Hall, surely the most ambiently lunatic building in Canada, a stage was set up to launch the Mayor’s Christmas Toy Drive. Eight small children had been procured to act as “honourary elves,” sitting cross-legged on a carpet at the foot of a Christmas tree, flanked by boxes of mini-trikes and construction cranes. A boxed CFL football sat ominously to one side. The mayor was scheduled to launch the drive at 1 p.m. An enormous crowd of reporters buzzed about. Interest in the mayor’s event had amplified to unusual levels by news that the mayor had just gotten himself fired.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been ordered out of office after being found guilty of breaking conflict of interest rules, but he's not the only Canadian mayor running into trouble:
Think you know Rob Ford? Buzzfeed lists eight of his more memorable moments.
Lawyer Clayton Ruby, a Toronto citizen, Paul Magder and the mayor himself react to today's court ruling.
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| @ TorontoStar : #RobFord timeline: Mayor has had two years of ups and downs http://t.co/Gq23KVYl Story by @paulmoloney4. #TOpoli |
A number of HuffPost Canada bloggers have weighed in the Rob Ford case:
Blogger and comedian Josh Bowman lays out 10 things he learned from Rob Ford. From the blog:
People hate nothing more than hypocrisy in politicians. Corrupt politicians who complain about corruption. Lazy politicians who complain about waste. Lying politicians who complain about a lack of accountability. Nobody is perfect, but if you are going to launch an attack, do your best to live by the principles you espouse.
Katie Heindl says that we should say 'thank you' to Mayor Ford for actually making us interested in civic politics. From the blog:
Ford was, in his own fumbling toward ecstasy sort of way, successfully rallying the entire country. CNN, BBC, they all started paying attention to Toronto, playing into our forever-the-hated older sibling stereotype and need for attention. Sure, it was embarrassing to have a Mayor who looked nothing like Kurt Russell but wanted to pull some sort of reverse Escape From New York on us, but wasn't it kind of nice to pretend for a minute we had a real live liege lord?
While writer Abubakar Kasim said that the mayor doesn't deserve to get fired. From his blog:
While I respect the court's ruling, I think there were other major breaches that warranted similar severe consequences, such as Ontario's $1-billion eHealth consulting scandal; the cancellation of two gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to taxpayers; the Ontario Lottery and Gaming scandal; the Samsung deal scandal; the Eco Tax scandal and so on.
Niki Thomas echoes a familiar refrain, that Rob Ford had no one to blame but himself. Read her blog:
As an embarrassed former Ford supporter (a confession which I made a few months back) it didn't take me long to realize I had supported the wrong candidate. From the very moment he was inaugurated, by Don Cherry of all people, we knew we were in for a rough ride. Cherry was downright insulting during the ceremony, attacking "pinko commies" for their support of bike lanes, and bragging about the major changes Ford was expected to bring. The vitriol and anger being spouted during the inauguration were just a sign of things to come.
Premier McGuinty, at a press conference on the Windsor-Detroit Bridge, isn't answering questions on the Rob Ford court case. He says the matter is still before the courts.
He leaves it up to the appropriate ministry to look over the provincial laws regulating behaviour of municipal politicians.
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charliedemers
Let's all take a second to remember how much Don Cherry loved Rob Ford.
2 hours ago from web
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laurenonizzle
RT @tcote: Soylent green is Rob Ford. #GlobeBombshell #topoli
3 hours ago from TweetDeck
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| blakehounshell *Rob Ford, not Tom Ford. | ||
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CBCNews
Rob Ford video questions linger after denial http://t.co/H7Sxl8lxR2
8 hours ago from twitterfeed
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InklessPW
Our Nicholas Köhler takes the long view on Rob Ford's life and career. http://t.co/E4YtdxUM8V
9 hours ago from TweetDeck
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TabathaSouthey
Mr @ivortossell's great piece on Rob Ford is, alone, responsible for one-quarter of the traffic at macleans.ca today. http://t.co/0IfwGRvqoC
9 hours ago from TweetDeck
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InklessPW
This post by @ivortossell on Rob Ford is, alone, responsible for one-quarter of the traffic at macleans.ca today. http://t.co/pH8HFDXagy
9 hours ago from TweetDeck
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| Megan Has Buddy Cianci said anything about Rob Ford? | ||
| joshgreenman Join the club. RT @jbarro: So basically Rob Ford announced that he is not, at this second, smoking crack? | ||
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RadioCanadaInfo
[VIDÉO] "Je ne consomme pas de crack", dit le maire de Toronto, Rob Ford: http://t.co/xHab5KJWzB
10 hours ago from TweetDeck
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IbecameMyDad
Don't worry Mr.Towhey. "Got fired by Rob Ford" is probably a total resume booster.
12 hours ago from TweetDeck
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jbendery
".... because why not, Rob Ford, YOLO...." -- @dceiver on @HuffPostLive right now, talking and laughing about something.
12 hours ago from web
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bruce_arthur
Featuring yet another Rob Ford photo. RT @cselley: My thoughts on today's, uh, developments at City Hall http://t.co/85CzhTbRrj
12 hours ago from Echofon
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MacleansMag
What to make of what Rob Ford said http://t.co/iaJaDGcR22 #TOpoli #cdnpoli #macleans
12 hours ago from web
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RadioCanadaInfo
Voici ce qui retient l'attention en fin de journée, en 5 titres: http://t.co/GRAH66aKA3 #RobFord #Washington #OACI #NPD #Polcan
13 hours ago from TweetDeck
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lisang
Commenters in response to the Gawker post on #RobFord seem pretty convinced that the mayor bought the video. http://t.co/Q1pmk0OJfW
13 hours ago from TweetDeck
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globeandmail
From @GlobeArts: Q&A: What The Daily Show's Samantha Bee really thinks of Rob Ford http://t.co/j7yOuQKlet #TVtonight
13 hours ago from dlvr.it
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daveweigel
Why doesn't Rob Ford just buy a shirt with a wider neck?
13 hours ago from TweetDeck
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lisang
#RobFord: "I *do not* smoke crack." Um, but *have you ever* smoked crack..? http://t.co/Q1pmk0OJfW
13 hours ago from TweetDeck
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| RosieBarton First up on @PnPCBC, Rob Ford finally speaks. But did he say enough? We'll have the video and reaction | ||
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kady
I guess the non-Rob Ford did sort of permit a question to begin being asked before responding angrily, but that was as close as it came.
13 hours ago from MetroTwit
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kady
Oh, that I actually did catch. @CinHamilton @kady You missed a doozy. #RobFord
13 hours ago from MetroTwit
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CoreyHutchins
"Rob Ford has just become the first mayor of a major North American city to officially deny smoking crack" in office http://t.co/OTjBosoFcs
13 hours ago from TweetDeck
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CanoeNouvelles
Le maire de #Toronto #RobFord nie en bloc d'avoir consommé du crack. http://t.co/PbZDSSu2Yt
13 hours ago from TweetDeck
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bruce_arthur
See No. 1 on the ever-expanding Rob Ford Incident File: http://t.co/washTgpOcp
13 hours ago from Echofon
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TorontoStar
Read the full text of #RobFord's statement: http://t.co/p6gRzv5KVr via @stargtanews. #TOpoli
13 hours ago from HootSuite
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TabathaSouthey
Guys, the "Rob Ford is Toronto's Bottom" tweet was a Shakespeare reference. You know a lot more about sex than you do about the classics.
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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vmarissal
Plutôt fumeuses, les explications de Rob Ford http://t.co/VcVtTyypJv
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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LP_LaPresse
Rob Ford: « je n'ai pas de dépendance au crack» http://t.co/Y58cr2DsZH
14 hours ago from dlvr.it
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mathewi
.@ckanal @troymore: yes, a very interesting use of the present tense there in Rob Ford's denial :-)
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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| ckanal Twitter outraged about Rob Ford's denial #TOpoli - http://t.co/TqcykcKVTv | ||
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BuzzFeedAndrew
I wish Rob Ford would have come out and said "I love smoking crack. I smoked cracked before this press conference."
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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LP_LaPresse
Dans un point de presse, le maire de Toronto Rob Ford a affirmé ne pas avoir de dépendance au crack. http://t.co/5oryuD61GN #topoli
14 hours ago from HootSuite
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ckanal
Crack allegations are false, #Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says. @HuffPostCanada story w/ details: http://t.co/L45ToxWUoD #TOPoli
14 hours ago from web
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fieldproducer
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack,interesting tense says 'I do not use crack' question is has he previously. http://t.co/IqcUbfMOyO
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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BuzzFeedAndrew
Rob Ford was *very* sweaty during that press conference, but I assume he's like that all the time.
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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TorontoStar
RECAP: What did #RobFord say about the video scandal? Read it here: http://t.co/uLhovCV4Lk On mobile? http://t.co/AQnUnq82KU #TOpoli
14 hours ago from HootSuite
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kampeas
"I do not tickle grown men and I am not addicklish." If Eric Massa had consulted with Rob Ford...
14 hours ago from web
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acarvin
I just registered #robford on @Tagboard: http://t.co/KMTVfdnBGH
14 hours ago from Tagboard
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BuzzFeedAndrew
Freaky Friday: Amanda Bynes and Mayor Rob Ford switch places but it's boring because they do the exact same things.
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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Irrigardless of the sum in question or the actual COF coming from his voting not to give the money back it's reputed that one of his donars did win a multi-million dollar contract (though again the amounts closer to a good lunch not a bribe of anysort). Theres the perception of impropiety & corruption that City Halls been given again thanks to the Fords. For this permanent removal from office was the only fair option!
Absolutely!! But you continue, in the next sentence, by bringing up cases where other politicians have not been given their just punishment, as though the fact that justice was not done in some cases is justification for treating Ford in a lenient manner.
Your conclusion, "...I consider the sentence against Rob Ford to be a little too harsh.", is not supported by your arguments, especially considering Mr. Ford's attitude that he was above the law.
He was clearly promoted above his level of competence. Not all councillors are competent to be Mayor, and Mr. Ford has proven that.
I'm a great guy. I rarely park in marked "No Parking" zones. But the other day I was in a massive hurry. I could find no legal spots in the local vicinity, and made the decision to leave my car in a marked zone. I was planning to be in and out before it made any difference.
Alas, I was not as quick as the municipal bylaw enforcement officer who, utterly predictably and transparently, awarded me a ticket. I find the $55 fine to be harsh. I also believe that the e-Health boondoggle, prorogation and a teachers' strike are more significant issues, even if the jurisdiction is entirely different. Global warming is a big issue, as is intolerance and criminality. Maybe I should use these as opening salvos in a determined appeal of the sanction levied against me?
Something tells me whether I believe the sentence to be harsh or not is utterly irrelevant to due process. Something else tells me that if I were to judge our justice system based on whether I think I'm a great guy, was really in a hurry, didn't like the fine, or think there are bigger problems in the world, it might disqualify me from commenting on the justice system. At least, I think it should. Don't you?
He was warned several times and still went ahead thinking he knew better than everyone, that he and he alone is special. Sorry the verdict is fair and deserved.
In any event, Rob Ford broke the law. The law was in place for the larger purpose of ensuring that political power does not get abused. Not only did Ford abuse his power in this small matter, but he has a pattern of abusing his mayoral powers.
As a mayor, Ford's job was to love and promote Toronto, to have vision of the future for Toronto that could realistically be implemented, and to tackle in a systematic, consultive way the main issues facing Toronto.
Ford hates Toronto (although he loves suburban north Etobicoke). He had no vision or plan. His vision of Toronto is the master plan for unimaginative cities like Omaha that are vast parking lots and big box stores. Have you ever listened to his radio show? Is the kind of clown show a mayor of a big city should be doing? He's not the mayor of North Etobicoke. He was supposed to be the mayor of Toronto.
There are rules for those in power. When you break them, you lose your power. Rob Ford only has himself to blame.
The law says what it says and it gives a mandatory consequence. It wasn't the judge's prerogative to give Ford a different consequence. He followed the law.
Who cares what John Tory and others say? If they don't like the consequences of conflict of interest legislation, they have to move to have the legislators change it. Until then, there's nothing to be done.
Ford wasn't fired. He committed a breach of conflict of interest, and he got the legislated consequence for it: removal from office. The judge had no choice once he found that Ford knew or ought to have known he committed a conflict of interest.
As for his good deeds making up for his sin's? Mussolini had the trains run on time.
Ah yes, the caring politician who at one time suggested that libraries and homeless shelters were too expensive for the people of this city. A fine man who takes away from those with the least like free access to books, the internet, food and shelter.
A real gent of a man.
"How many times has a politician replied to you personally"
I have received call backs from Adam Vaughan, Pam McConnell and Josh Matlow have all called me back to answer my questions.
Now I'm glad you had a great meeting with Mr. Ford, but do you know what I don't want out of a politician? A man who doesn't read the rules and policies of his own job. It's not like he was asked to read a book by James Joyce and give a book report presentation to City Council. It's the hand book for HIS JOB.
I say we're better off that he's gone. Put someone in there that gives the title the respect that it deserves.
"Mr. McGuinty's courageous move to step aside especially when the environment at Queen's Park has become toxic and was difficult to do something constructive and at a time when stakes are high and finger pointing is the norm of the day, it was a decision that shows the quality of his leadership.
A true leader is the one who knows when the time is up and when to vacate the scene and give the chance to someone else."
You had an interaction with Ford and defend him for breaking municipal law and breaching the code of conduct for city officials on numerous occassions.
The judge had no choice, there is a minimum standard, if you are guilty of breaking this municipal law, you are out. And rightfully so!
Don't forget ... This is still early days, but the genie is out of the bottle. Time to dig!
In contrast, maybe we should hope the expulsion of Ford for his misconduct sets a trend for politicians in the future.