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Rob Ford's Toronto

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TOareaFan said:
Here is a bit of outisde observer advise to people who want, for whatever reason, to rid the city of Mr. Ford long term. Convince Mr. Madger to drop this case, tell Mr. Ruby to back off.........Ford's opponents are making the exact same mistake again. While it is possible (possible, but not a "for sure") that this case will lead to Mr. Ford losing his job for the balance of this term, there is no chance he gets a ban from holding the office again.

So, his next campaign....."To get his job back"....."I raised $3k for kids football....they kicked me out of office for it"....seriously, the whole "conflict of interest" angle will only play to people who take the time to follow this stuff.....but they/we are, by far, not the majority of people....the general public read headlines (if that), the catch soundbites, there is a reason a short messaging system like Twitter is so popular............remove him from office now and Man of the People Ford will be back in two years telling the everyday guy to vote for him as opposed to the guys who hijacked democracy over $3k in donations to minor football"......if they couldn't punch holes in "Cut the Gravy"....good luck to them with that!
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If he does lose the case, there is still the option to appeal. In this case he would still stay on as mayor. Maybe just before the next election he would drop the appeal and run again.
 
Is that right, Burloak? In the event of losing the case, but merely by declaring his intention to appeal, Ford would get to stay on?
 
Lenser said:
Is that right, Burloak? In the event of losing the case, but merely by declaring his intention to appeal, Ford would get to stay on?
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I'm no lawyer, so I cannot say for sure, but it does sound like it is quite believable that this is the case.
 
Lenser said:
Is that right, Burloak? In the event of losing the case, but merely by declaring his intention to appeal, Ford would get to stay on?
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In any legal matter, if an appeal is avaiable the punishment is not administered until appeals have been exhausted/squashed/dismissed.....no reason to suspect this would be any different.

I think the "easy" way out here for everyone is for the judge to find him in conflict (clearly he was), censure him but allow the situation to remain "as is" because his vote did not affect the outcome (ie. he simply turned a majority of nine to a majority of 10)......so while there was an inelligible vote cast, it was not material in the outcome of the issue.

Then his opponents should spend the next 2 years coming up with a strategy to defeat him.....rather than walking down this electoral black hole he seems able to lead them down (again).
 
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TOareaFan said:
Here is a bit of outisde observer advise to people who want, for whatever reason, to rid the city of Mr. Ford long term. Convince Mr. Madger to drop this case, tell Mr. Ruby to back off.........Ford's opponents are making the exact same mistake again. While it is possible (possible, but not a "for sure") that this case will lead to Mr. Ford losing his job for the balance of this term, there is no chance he gets a ban from holding the office again.

So, his next campaign....."To get his job back"....."I raised $3k for kids football....they kicked me out of office for it"....seriously, the whole "conflict of interest" angle will only play to people who take the time to follow this stuff.....but they/we are, by far, not the majority of people....the general public read headlines (if that), the catch soundbites, there is a reason a short messaging system like Twitter is so popular............remove him from office now and Man of the People Ford will be back in two years telling the everyday guy to vote for him as opposed to the guys who hijacked democracy over $3k in donations to minor football"......if they couldn't punch holes in "Cut the Gravy"....good luck to them with that!
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I hate Ford more than most, but I really really really hope he isn't removed from office over this for exactly this reason. The same shills who got him elected in the first place will galvanize his base by hammering Joe Six-Pack with a message of "Those petulant lefties who couldn't accept Ford as mayor hijacked democracy to have him ousted through a loophole. And all he did was try to raise money for those poor kids. Those downtown elitists think they know what's best for you; they'll even take you to court when you tell them otherwise."

Guaran-fucking-tee.
 
^ and considering what Gavin has just written here, I think it's time to stand back from this all and ask ourselves "just what has happened here?".

We have had our time wasted for two years by an incompetent part-time mayor who has no interest in this city whatsoever, a man who probably coveted the position to broadcast his own petulant anti-urban stance, and perhaps to also trumpet his personal "foundation".

This city can't afford to waste time on appeals, and it would be great if city council had better things to do than to continue to slap down this nincompoop mayor. It's hard to know what is the best outcome from this, but I for one would like Ford gone.

The surburbanites who voted Ford were anti-city before mayor Ford was elected, Gavin, and that ain't gonna stop.
 
TonyV said:
The surburbanites who voted Ford were anti-city before mayor Ford was elected, Gavin, and that ain't gonna stop.
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They are not moving either.....so, focusing on political strategy, what is the strategy to have them not vote Ford back in when he stands again? If, as you note, they and he were anti-city they already have a predisposition to vote for him....now, overlay the "they ignored your vote, overruled democracy, and kicked me out.....over $3k that other people gave to minor football" story...how does removing him now remove him forever (which I think is your goal....no?)
 
TOareaFan said:
They are not moving either.....so, focusing on political strategy, what is the strategy to have them not vote Ford back in when he stands again? If, as you note, they and he were anti-city they already have a predisposition to vote for him....now, overlay the "they ignored your vote, overruled democracy, and kicked me out.....over $3k that other people gave to minor football" story...how does removing him now remove him forever (which I think is your goal....no?)
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I think we all know that there is another Ford out there, possibly even waiting in the wings, and his or her opponents will have to be more skillful at exposing the dangers of dividing the populace of this city in the ways that Ford has done. Lessons must be taken from this waste of time, in other words.

Edit: Aside from all of that, it is so easy to counter that the voters can't be swayed by some minor football thingy - there's a major city here with complex issues, and this city needs leadership qualities in its mayor.
 
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This isn't unique to Toronto, but my god is the left ever awful at taking control of messaging. This could so easily be spun into "The law and order conservative won't accept the time for his crime. Instead, he wants you to 'hug-a-thug'." Or any number of anti-Ford soundbites...

Instead, we'll be on the defensive against attacks of usurping democracy for our personal gain in an overly-verbose "No, see, conflict of interest, flout his power, lobbyists, etc..." that will get lost in the noise.
 
As an aside, I should really write a book of Sue-Ann Levy Mad Libs.

Write your own Toronto Sun column! Choose a person (leftist/elitist/unionist), place (Socialist Silly Hall/downtown), boondoggle (St Clair/TTC/Nathan Philips Square), etc...
 
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Ford can only campaign for so much longer in the guise of the noble, high-minded outsider looking in at the stinky-corrupt city gubbmint. The man's got ten years' experience in that very system - something his fans keep wanting to overlook in their quest to see him as some kind of purist rescuer of the taxpayer who's somehow still ignorant of the rules and should be (inexplicably) cut some slack at every graceless mis-step.

Rob Ford is who he is. No doubt he'd raise a royal ruckus as he lumbered back onto the campaign bus but I still don't see him getting back in. You only get so many shots in this game.

I'd love to see him removed for this. And, strangely enough, I'd love to see him campaign again. I might have to break out the popcorn.

And if he doesn't get removed, I'm good with it. I am fully confident he will continue to step into messes of his own making. The longer he's in office, the more chances Torontonians will get to see just what kind of man he is.

In the meantime, inhabitants of the city will have to ponder how to, in the future, save themselves from such dubious circuses.
 
canmark said:
Apparently LGBT people are being encouraged to go to Rob Ford's backyard barbecue. Seeing as he was "too busy" to attend any Pride Week events, the idea is to bring Pride to him.
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I'm surprised no one has commented on this. I hope they go, in large numbers. But I wonder if Rob will backpedal and close the event to invited guests only? Or request extra security?
 
TonyV said:
Edit: Aside from all of that, it is so easy to counter that the voters can't be swayed by some minor football thingy - there's a major city here with complex issues, and this city needs leadership qualities in its mayor.
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Do you really think "they overruled YOUR vote over a $3k football donation that other people made" is substantially easier to counter than, say, "Vote for me and I will stop the Gravy"? Honestly, I don't.
 
Is it a plausible outcome that this process could result in a sort of referendum so that the public can decide Ford's fate through an election now instead of in two years?

I detest Ford so much that I will seriously consider leaving Toronto he gets re-elected. I can't rationalize living in the midst of a rednecked small-minded majority even if it is mostly the suburbs. I'm very worried about this situation and I hope they have a very thorough plan to deal with the repercussions of this case.

Ford would be the laughing stock of almost any other city - he wouldn't stand a chance in Vancouver, Montreal, Victoria, Seattle, Portland, Boston..., and virtually any city in Europe.

How is it that there are so many really dumb small-minded rednecks in the GTA?
 
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