How about that Rob Ford?

Is this what it will finally take to keep Rob Ford from being re-elected? Blaming this incident on a conspiracy against him is just so expected and appropiate.

"I have no idea. Someone's trying, obviously out there to get me. I'd like to know who these people are. I have no idea." When asked if the allegations were bogus, Ford said: "Absolutely. It's slanderous if you ask me."

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News from cp24.com

Hitting The Drink

Rob Ford prides himself on his prudent spending as a city councillor, but temperance apparently wasn’t on the agenda during an admittedly drunken evening at a Toronto Maple Leafs game on April 15th.

According to public complaints, Ford was the epitome of obnoxious during a tense battle between the Leafs and rival Senators, spewing obscenities and bullheaded political jargon.

When the complainant asked him to “tone it down a little,†Ford apparently responded, “Who the f*** do you think you are? Are you some kind of right wing Commie bastard?

“Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?"

Initially, Ford denied he was even at the game, but soon backtracked and owned up to the less than exemplary behaviour.

“I’m both embarrassed and humiliated by the whole series of events and I sincerely apologize to anyone that I've offended,†he said with a sheepish shrug.

Ford spent what he calls the toughest day of his career issuing apologies instead of his usual political barbs.

“I made a mistake. I'm only human. I don't know what more to say. I sincerely apologize.â€

The complaint, in the form of a 2-and-a-half-page letter, comes from a couple who sat behind Ford. They outline a rare evening out ruined by the councillor’s brutish behaviour.

“I have no idea (why I acted that way),†Ford said. “Just obviously one too many beers. That's the bottom line. I don't know. It's humiliating. It's embarrassing. It's out of character and I can guarantee it will never happen again.

The Integrity Commissioner has not yet decided if a formal investigation into this matter will be launched.



Public Complaint

My wife and I are not “Big City People†but had the opportunity to attend a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game on Saturday April 15, 2006. As parents of two beautiful young boys aged two and four, and having just experienced our first major move into a 160 year-old “new†home, we had been looking forward to a rare night out such as this one for quite some time.

We spent the better part of the day at the Home Show in Toronto, checked into a hotel, went out for dinner and walked into the Air Canada Centre for 6:30pm, where the Leafs were preparing to take on the Senators.

The A.C.C. was all abuzz as the players and Leaf fans such as myself were clinging to slim hopes that they could squeak into the playoffs and hopefully lineup for yet another first round match up with the Ottawa Senators.

The game started with a bang as the Leafs got out to an early lead. Their momentum and lead over the Senators grew as the game went on. Although my wife and I are far from regulars at such events, I had the honour of attending a number of games at Maple Leaf Gardens throughout my youth.

For me as a young child there was absolutely nothing that could compare to the experience of attending a hockey game.

Reflecting on my youth as this game went on, I couldn’t help but feel as the Leafs entered into the third period, that this was one of the most exciting action packed games that I could ever recall.

With approximately 7-8 minutes remaining on the scoreboard my wife and I (and almost everyone else in our section for that matter) couldn’t help but overhear a rather large gentleman behind us who was becoming extremely loud and obnoxious.

He was dominating a conversation that was primarily political in nature, with two young gentlemen that were sitting immediately behind my wife and I.

For approximately the next 5 minutes the rather large gentleman proceeded to bellow out political jargon and impose his will on almost everyone in our section.

At times he was physically standing up with his arms raised high in the air, shouting politically motivated obscenities. My wife and I were doing our best to avoid eye contact with the gentleman and ignore him altogether.

Unfortunately for us we were caught right in the middle of this gentleman’s boisterous tirade. The following quotes were and remain in our minds:

“My sister was a heroine addict and was shot in the head.â€

“You right wing Communist bastards.â€

“Green Party f***ing rules.â€

The situation became even more uncomfortable for us. I remember quietly saying to my wife that “at least there were no kids around.â€
My wife responded with “look right beside him.â€

Sitting two seats to the right of this gentleman (who was continuing on with his rant) was a young boy that was approximately 7-8 years old, sitting beside his father.

The father had a look of extreme discomfort on his face. As I glanced around and back to my left one row and approximately 5-6 seats over, there was another young boy of approximately the same age.

This gentleman had already ruined our evening and was proceeding to taint the experience of this game for a number of other adults and young children.

The gentleman continued on in an extremely loud way with his belligerence and obscenities to the point where I turned and calmly asked him to “tone it down a little.â€

He responded, again in an extremely loud way with a verbal assault on me personally. “Who the f*** do you think you are? Are you some kind of right wing Commie bastard? Fearing that the situation would escalate further, I did my best to avoid any conversation and/or eye contact with the gentleman.

At one point he shouted the following question at my wife and I, “Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?†and continued on with other extremely asinine comments.

The gentleman continued to question me and I did my best to continue to ignore him. He was demanding to know what my political beliefs were and was rudely asking what my profession was.

At one point he questioned “are you a f***ing teacher? And continued with “what the f*** is it that you do?â€

With approximately 2-3 minutes left in what I had completely forgotten was one of the best games I had ever attended, two men in black pants and yellow coats marked “security†finally came and escorted the rather large gentleman down the stairs.

As he stumbled his way down the stairs with security, numerous people in our section began to cheer in favour of escorting him away.

A lady followed closely behind the man as he slowly made his way down the stairs. As a number of the patrons continued to cheer, the lady turned around and pressed her finger to her lips as if to tell us to calm down and raised and lowered her arms as if to tell us to keep it down. Gestures that were dripping with irony.

As the time ticked down on the scoreboard, I turned around and had a conversation with the two young gentlemen who had been sitting behind us the entire game. When asked if they knew the gentleman they explained that “he just appeared with his wife and sat down beside us and started talking politics … here he gave us his card.â€

The two young gentlemen gave me his card and went on to say that they did not wish to keep it.

A rare night out indeed for my wife and I was truly crowned when I read the print on the gentlemen’s business card. It read as follows;

ROB FORD
Councillor
Ward 2, Etobicoke North
Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor
100 Queen Street West, Suite C40
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N2

When we returned home, we sifted through the various councillors and their pictures that are posted on the City of Toronto website. We clicked on the name Rob Ford and confirmed that this was indeed the gentleman that was responsible for completely ruining our experience of what was such an entertaining hockey game and for ruining what remained of our evening.

Generally extremely calm by nature, I have been troubled with the following emotion toward Mr. Rob Ford. I am angry with him for the way he spoke to my wife and I on Saturday April 15, 2006.

I am disappointed in him for the way that conducted himself in a public place. I am extremely embarrassed that such an individual is representing the City of Toronto and the people of Ward 2.

Shame on you Mr. Rob Ford for your inexplicable behaviour and for ruining such a rare night out.

Dan & Rebecca Hope.

I would be embarrassed to be represented by Rob Ford. He should step down as a result of this.

Any possibility of a lawsuit for those offensive comments?

I suppose I should be appalled, but that's actually the funniest thing I've read today. I don't know why people would complain -- seeing a drunken Rob Ford make a fool of himself must be the height of comedy.

^ and for some reason, I don't have a hard time imagining Rob Ford doing all this. He's the typical rude and obnoxious jerk who thinks he can do whatever he wants in public, regardless if it's socially unacceptable.

Miller should call for his resignation.

Hmmm... they have more in common than I thought.

The two-term councillor, first elected in 2000 to represent Ward 2, Etobicoke North, said he is still considering making a run for mayor in the Nov. 13 municipal elections.

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LOL! Breakfast Milk was ejected through my nostrils upon reading that earlier.

Tom Jacobek Part Deux?

When the complainant asked him to “tone it down a little,†Ford apparently responded, “Who the f*** do you think you are? Are you some kind of right wing Commie bastard?

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Oh, that Ford!

Hilarious. Good read.

From today's Globe:

Is bald-faced lying at city hall the new normal?

JOHN BARBER


I knew Rob Ford was lying as sure as I know the colour of my daughter's green eyes. I knew it because I'd heard him lie before, and also because the latest outrageous behaviour this councillor horribilis stood accused of -- being such a drunken lout at a Leafs game on Easter weekend that security guards removed him from the Air Canada Centre -- sounded typical.

But he denied the story outright when asked about it on Monday by both The Globe and the Star. Mr. Ford said he hadn't been to a Leafs game in months, and accused unnamed enemies of trying to smear him with outrageous slander.

I was even more certain he was lying after talking to his accuser, an out-of-towner who had never heard of Rob Ford before April 15 and thought long and hard before writing a letter of complaint to city clerk Ulli Watkiss. Titled "A Rare Night Out," it told of a big-city treat ruined by the "belligerence and obscenities" of a nearby spectator who, before security guards finally came up to get him, obligingly left behind a business card identifying himself as Councillor Rob Ford, City of Toronto.

"As soon as I checked out his picture on the website the next day I knew with 100-per-cent certainty it was definitely him," the complainant told me. "My wife felt the exact same way."

And if you read their letter, you'd know why they complained. In addition to recording lunatic rants about "right-wing Communist bastards," it described a personal attack launched when the letter writer asked "the large gentleman" to "tone it down a little."

"Who the **** do you think you are?" the large gentleman responded. "Are you a ****ing teacher?" Failing to get any response, he turned his attention to the man's wife. "Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?"

Obviously it was Rob Ford. Nobody who has observed the man in action could fail to recognize the authentic and inimitable voice of the biggest buffoon in Toronto. Obviously he was lying when he denied even being at the game.

As Tom Jakobek once proved, the short, sharp lie is a formidable weapon in local politics -- even when it only serves to buy enough time to enlist potential corroborators. But Rob Ford is no Tricky Tom, who kept a team of top lawyers and investigators busy for more than a year before they finally managed to nail him. When Rob Ford tries to think, you can almost hear the rusty cogs grinding.

Yesterday morning I figured one good day's dirty work would be enough to crack him. His published denial in the Star would get the rest of the pack up and yelping. So it was labour-saving, not to mention sensible, when Mr. Ford began the day by admitting the story told against him was 100-per-cent true, to the first reporter who asked him.

Sweaty and unshaven at city hall soon after, he apologized to the letter-writers and any others he may have offended with his drunken tirade, dozens of whom had cheered when ACC security led him away.

"I made a mistake. I'm only human."

Barely.

"Why did you lie?" I asked him.

"I felt embarrassed," he said.

No apology for that, then.

The problem here is not that Mr. Ford was once again belligerent and appalling, constantly spouting what the letter-writer described perceptively as "extremely asinine comments." That's just normal. It's barely news. The problem is the lie -- bald and bold, as the automatic reflex of an elected politician sworn by many elaborate oaths to safeguard the public trust.

Is that the new normal?

In a better world, Mr. Ford would be voted out of office by outraged constituents. But this is city politics. Every incumbent's seat is always safe.

And just think, Premier Dalton McGuinty is right now extending the municipal term of office from three to four years -- with no limits on the number of consecutive terms any politician can enjoy. That is the tragedy of the Rob Ford farce.

jbarber@globeandmail.com

The hope is w/ city idol, somebody will actually run against him this year.

Any possibility of a lawsuit for those offensive comments?

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what the f....!

Nice article, shows consistency of behaviour in city council..

Ford can forget his mayoral dreams by Royson James (Toronto Star)

He's bumptious, foul-mouthed and a borderline bully.

Now add liar and occasional drunk to the description of Rob Ford — the Etobicoke councillor who insists he wants to be mayor, even as his political career teeters in the wake of boorish behaviour and drunkenness at a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game last month.

As usual, this politician, like so many before him, denied and lied until overwhelming evidence forced him to fess up. Ford admitted his lie after sleeping on it. But a slanderous act it was, nevertheless.

The voters of Ward 2, Etobicoke North may be a forgiving lot, but even they, notorious for embracing a councillor who routinely embarrasses them, may now say, "Enough. This guy's got to go!"

Mayor of Toronto? Please.

The rest of the city is not that blind to the follies of this burly bear of a man. Now, for sure, Ford's quixotic dream of running for mayor is over. He never stood a chance, despite his bold bluff that he is the one to take on David Miller, if former police chief Julian Fantino stays out of the mayor's race this fall. Now, if Ford runs for mayor, it will only signal he wants to go out in a ball of fire, a kamikaze spewing vitriol and invective on the city's largest stage, a municipal mayoral election.

In fact, what Ward 2 should be asking today is: Can we find someone more temperate to represent us?

"I'm going through a few personal problems, but it doesn't justify, you know, getting drunk in public and pretty well acting like an idiot, if you ask me," Ford told the Star yesterday.

He said he lied because he was embarrassed, but now he's prepared to face the music.

A day earlier, he said the allegations of a Durham couple that he verbally abused them and others at an April 15 game against the Ottawa Senators were "slanderous. This is unbelievable, I wasn't even at the game. So someone's trying to do a real hatchet job on me."

The couple, Dan and Rebecca Hope of Enniskillen, said Ford came in part way through the game, tried to engage fans in political talk, swore repeatedly at those around him, shouted insults at them and others, with kids within earshot.

They said, "A rather large gentleman proceeded to bellow out political jargon and impose his will on almost everyone in our section," and they were trapped listening to his "boisterous tirade," which included: "You right-wing communist bastards," and "My sister was a heroin addict and was shot in the head."

Anyone familiar with Ford's act at city hall since he arrived in 2001 knew this description was bang on. In fact, Ford has spoken about his sister's brush with gun violence and addiction. His father, Doug, was once a Conservative MPP for the area.

Ford set the tone during his first debate, telling his colleagues they had "a spending problem, not a funding problem."

On car-free day, he told a reporter: "I live in a car, buddy, I'm not into these car-free days. I'm 24/7 in a car."

His outlandish and controversial statements made him an easy target for councillors.

According to Ford, Gloria Lindsay Luby was a "low-life" and a "waste of skin." One councillor said she heard Ford call Giorgio Mammoliti "Gino-boy," a slur he denied. But he had other choice words for Mammoliti, including "scammer."

When the homeless protested at city hall, he called out to them: "I'm working. Why don't you get a job?"

A move in 2003 to allow shelters all across the city, instead of just downtown, earned his ire: "Homelessness is a cancer. What you're trying to do is spread the cancer across the city."

A year later, he opposed the pesticide ban with this: "My lawn is green, perfect, beautiful," adding he has lawn-care workers spray pesticides.

Those pronouncements made him almost a cult figure for the right. He could be counted on to poke Miller in the eye about all manner of spending. His own refusal to spend taxpayers' money and his rants against city spending made him popular.

"All I can say is hell will freeze over before I will spend taxpayers' money out of my office budget to support myself and my own enhancement in society. When you do those brochures, when you go and pay for your cell phones, when you take people out for lunch, that's only helping yourself in the next election," he said.

For example, while some councillors spent $50,000 of their office budget this past year, Ford spent $2.

Still, it is his inability to control his temper that has gotten him into trouble. In his first term, he was almost tossed from the council chamber for refusing to take his seat and heed the chair's ruling.

The Durham couple said when Ford finally left the hockey game, escorted out by security personnel at the ACC, their wonderful evening in town was ruined. They knew it was Ford only when a fan gave them Ford's business card.

The couple complained to the city clerk and the complaint has been turned over to the city's integrity commissioner.

Ford suggested yesterday that what he did occurred on private time and, as such, should be viewed differently. Not so. And the couple's letter sums up why:

"I am angry with him for the way he spoke to my wife and me ... I am disappointed in him for the way that he conducted himself in a public place. I am extremely embarrassed that such an individual is representing the City of Toronto and the people of Ward 2."

Exactly. A public official doesn't shed his cape once he leaves city hall. Public behaviour in a public place from a public official is a public matter.

Councillor Ford needs serious counselling.

The loud, personal attacks against fellow councillors can be dismissed as excesses born from the heat of battle. But add them up and you get a politician in need of a long timeout.

left behind a business card identifying himself as Councillor Rob Ford, City of Toronto.

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this must be one of the stupidest humans on the face of the planet. But as the article mentioned I doubt this will affect him at teh ballot box a year or so from now. Toronto's city government is a pretty sad state of affairs.

^^^Why is this the case? Is it just because no one cares about city politics, or is it because Toronto's governement has no real power so it doesn't attract the best of the best? Or neither?

Thoughts, please.......