Any of Ford's actual accomplishments would be small potatoes for a normal mayor. Because of the Ford Circus, with all the high-contrast sturm-und-drang the two of them are always banging up, the actual accomplisments get lost in the gale.
Just off the top of my head:
-A campaign that unequivocally stated: A free Sheppard Subway, no tax increases and no cutting of city services. Also: that city hall was awash, in waste, gravy and billions of mis-spent dollars.
Then, once elected:
-Ford has Don Cherry rant from the floor of council about 'lefties and kooks', setting the stage for a city to divide against itself. “This is what you’ll be facing, Rob, with these left-wing pinkos — they scrape the bottom of the barrel.”
-Declaring Transit City dead, improperly - but gumming up the works. Causing a year of delay and incurring cancellation fees to the tune of $65 million.
-Threatens to privatize naming of subway stops, and put ads in parks.
-Repealing the Vehicle Registration Tax, raises property taxes.
-Cuts to the library system: the urban affairs library closed. "We're not cutting libraries", Ford says.
-Turns away paid-for public health nurses from the province. Three months later, he accepts nurses.
-He votes against using provincial money to help people be screened for syphilis and HIV.
-Liquidates Citizen's advisory committees
-Snubs Gay Pride celebrations and related events for the first year, and moves to cancel funding. Shows up only for a flag raising his second year.
-Moves for the removal of existing bikes lanes on Jarvis without consultation to the Councillor of that Ward, Kristyn Wong-Tam...projected cost $200,000.
-Hires KPMG to make a report on the city's finances and where cuts might be available to be made. Report deemed unnecessary. Cost: $3 million
-Holds multiple marathon all-nighters to hear citizens opinions: citizens overwhelmingly against his proposed cuts. Although citizens have their allotted time to speak cut almost in half, many are not heard.
-Ford wants to cut $20 million in services, which includes affordable housing, subsidized child care, youth programming in priority centres, keeping arenas open weekdays, pools and homeless shelters, closing the high park and riverdale farms and selling the Toronto Zoo. Most of this is overturned by council. Etobicoke continues to receive mechanical leaf removal, much to the chagrin of areas that lost it.
-TTC routes are reduced.
- 2012: Ford declares a surplus, due to his fiscal management, then declares the city bankrupt the same day.
-Rob Ford publicly calls Waterfront Toronto a 'boondoggle', threatening existing waterfront plans. Hines Developers, with stakes in a mammoth waterfront development already planned, needs reassurances. Waterfront dedicated transit ends up delayed, which future development is contingent on.
-Doug Ford holds secret, behind closed door meetings to have a planner and renderer cook up a scheme for portlands revitalization without council's approval. The renderer is paid, but without record. This is revealed months later to have been going on for some time.
-Doug Ford, with a chair on Build Toronto's board, and Rob announce they want control of the Portlands returned to the city, and that they have developers lined up: mall developer Westfield Group. Their friend, Mario Cortellucci, a developer who holds prime waterfront real estate in the Hearn Generating Station was a contributor to their campaign. Again, it looks like the groundwork for move has been laid since at least election time.
Control of the waterfront is seized by council, but Dough Ford later manages to start an 'acceleration' review for the area.
When a casino is proposed for Toronto, the Fords support it - along with the idea of having it in the Portlands.
-"Woodbine Live" - a glitzy mega-resort and gambling attraction which of which Rob Ford beamed, 'I know how to deal with CEOs of huge corporations - that's how I landed the largest development in Toronto's history.'. Approved in 2007, as of 2012, it was just scrubland and weeds.
-Ford en route to court for accusing a city-approved vendor of having done consultation "behind closed doors". Outcome still pending.
-Ford en route to court in September for having "violated Ontario’s Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, when he spoke about and voted on a matter in which he had a direct financial interest." (Quote from Goldsbie, National Post). Possible punishment includes removal from office and suspension of running again for politics for seven years. Outcome still pending.
-Ford fights an audit of his campaign expenses, primarily over $77,000 in campaign expenses paid by Ford’s family company, Doug Ford Holdings Inc. Provincial law says candidates can only borrow from banks or other lending institutions, and cannot take corporate donations.
A judge says the audit of Ford can proceed.
-The police are called to the Ford house in January, regarding a matter about a break-in and an in-law.
-Ford calls 911 in fear after "Marg Delahuntey" shows up in his driveway. Police later say he did not verbally abuse 911 operators.
-The Ford household calls 911 over a domestic disturbance regarding his wife and children.
-Ford calls 911 after a Star reporter is seen in a public park behind Ford's property. Ford physically threatens him and accuses him of being a peeping tom. Police investigate and clear the reporter. The reporter declines to press charges. Ford begins to threaten other media outlets with being shut out of updates from his office if a) that reporter is present and b) they don't toe the line.
-Ford caught illegally talking on his cellphone while driving. Twice. The first time, he's accused of flipping the finger at giving a woman and his daughter.
-Ford declares a "war" on graffiti, and promptly has a city-sponsored mural erased. Business owners are uneasy about being billed by the city for graffiti they don't care about.
The Fords start a Sunday Radio Show. When a homophobic writer from the Sun makes ghastly jokes about George Smitherman and AIDS, the Fords chuckle in the backround.
Rob uses the show to push for 'Subways, Subways, Subways!'. Although Ford campaigns using actual disinformation he loses....-The entire subway file.
It is revealed as the vote is lost that Ford had suppressed a current, valid report of the situation done by the TTC. Instead of making it public, Ford had it hidden, and doesn't-quite-pay Gordon Chong to prepare a pro-subway report.
On losing the transit file, Ford fires Gary Webster - an esteemed civil servant - without cause. Then he proceeds to announce he will be switching into campaign mode for the next election, on the public dime, and on public time.
-On their weekly on-air talkshow, Rob Ford says Toronto Chief Medical Officer Of Health David McKeown’s $294,302 salary is “just an embarrassment”. Doug Ford calls in from Florida to say, “why does he still have a job?”. A formal complaint is filed. Doug says he won't apologize.
-Ford accuses centrist councillor Josh Colle as being "Two steps left of Stalin" on public talk radio, along with councillors Vaughan, Perks, David and Fletcher.
Ford privatizes garbage collection west of Yonge Street.
Ford negotiates a successful standstill with the City Worker's Unions, although he increases pay to the police union.
The city's debt goes into standstill for the first time since amalgamation. Good news! However, Ford then declares he wants to cut the Land Registration Tax, responsible for not only the year's surplus, but millions of dollars more. Also, he declares he wants to lower corporate tax rates in the core for real estate. Some pros, but the cons have no backup revenue plan.
-Ford shuts out the Toronto Star after he says an article about him coaching football was uncomplimentary.
-Ford ceases to release public information about his schedule as is par for the course for the mayor, a public employee. Information about his schedule can only be gained after the fact through Freedom Of Information requests. They shows his workday is generally cut in half, and he begins work around noon. Councillors decry him as generally not being on the job.
...and the topics du jour for June 2012 (so far):
After a gang-related shooting in the Eaton Centre, Ford votes against paid-for government assistance to gang-related areas in the city.
-Ford declares "war" on the city-mandated fee on plastic bags, which he calls a "tax". Ford's executive committee decides to bring it to council. Council votes on a motion put forth by David Shiner, a member of Ford's executive committee to get rid of the five cent fee - by outlawing plastic bags entirely! A flummoxed Ford memorably says, "It's the people's fault", and says Shiner must be a leftist.
- Ford, having voted against a strong mayor system under Miller, publicly considers furthering and entrenching that system for himself.
Anyone want to add anything?
