Rob Ford's Toronto

[JWBF]

Prior to 1998, Rob or Doug would have had zero chance of becoming the most senior political figure in the municipality. They are the best argument against amalgamation I can think of.

Harris wanted amalgamation, for one reason, to control/break the non-conservative element in Toronto, unfortunately this has turned out to be another fail for Mikey's administration.

 

[SFO]

If Rob wins (likely), Mammo will continue to cosy up to him as before. If Rob loses, Mammo will try to worm his way into Tory's good books.

Not sure what's up in his race recently, but are we assuming Mammo win will again? Seems to me he's been under a heavy cloud...

 

[Jimmi T]

So what happens to this thread in December? Does it become Councillor Rob Ford's Etobicoke North?

 

[Yaitsme]

So what happens to this thread in December? Does it become Councillor Rob Ford's Etobicoke North?

just add the word "former" to what's already there lol

 

[Pickles]

We've got a pic of Rob at the scene of a fatal accident involving a City-owned veicle. What is he doing? Smiling for a selfie.. WTF are you guys doing taling about rhetoric. etc., etc. Why aren'y you DEMANDING that mainstream news report this! So far none of the 4 newspapers covering Toronto news are acknowledging the existence of the photograph at all. Don't you guys realize this could totally dissolve support for Ford in his Ward race? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/By0l4oGIQAApLLz.png

Before the 'selfie' was posted, everyone on Twitter was screaming at Toronto media to STOP reporting on Rob Ford's presence at the accident scene. Stop making the story about him.

I wasn't.

NOW... oh now it's okay to disrespect the victim and her family???

I see it differently. Someone who takes selfies at the scene of a fatal accident is doing the disrespecting, not those who draw attention to this.

Screw that dead lady, look -- Rob Ford was there... and he did something tacky!! Isn't he just soooo..... ewwww!


I'm sorry, but you can't have it both ways. What, exactly, should the media say about the Rob Ford selfie?? How is it news? Posing for a photo with a fan at that scene is not illegal. It did not impede efforts to save the lady or investigate the accident. It was a very (very, very, very, very, very) tasteless thing to do (in one's subjective opinion), but it's not news.

It certainly is news. Like leaving a funeral early to tag cars with fridge magnets in the parking lot (covered by a tv and papers), only worse. He's the chief magistrate for the City of Toronto which may be liable for this woman's death. In that case, the City may very well be sued. How does it help the City's argue that all due care was taken when its top elected offical posed for selfies (I've seen two different ones) at the scene of the accident.

This is the thing about some of the Ford haters; they have really become so blinded by their hate, they can't see past it.

I don't hate him. I want him out of office, though. I think his behaviour was despicable: disrespectful towards the woman, reckless in his role as mayor, unfathomably callous and very, very public. If you don't consider this incident newsworthy, than presumably you believe none of the videos and photos of him smoking crack, swearing, threatening, etc., should have been reported. After all, most of them caught private behaviour in the homes of family/friends or after hours in private restaurants/bars.

Nothing to see here folks. Cancer, you know.

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

Not sure what's up in his race recently, but are we assuming Mammo win will again? Seems to me he's been under a heavy cloud...

There was a Forum poll in early Sept that had him up only a few points on his closest rival 37% to 33%

 

[Bebop17]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the source of Ford's power and fascination comes from the way he's stubbornly and shamelessly clung to the mayoral seat for so long, through so many typically career-ending moments. Two-thirds of the city are in utter shock at how he won't go and no one can make him; the other third loves him for that same fact. The minute he's officially gone, it's over. He will have gone from the malicious stooge holding the city hostage, to just a garden variety malicious stooge. He has shredded his credibility and made himself an ugly spectacle in every way. Except for those who simply love ugly spectacles, what would motivate anyone to keep paying attention?

Having sat in far too many traffic jams of rubberneckers going the opposite direction from an accident, I despair for humanity.

 

[Kelly Girl]

Spadina Bus Blues.

I am always down with that transit plan!

Even if Underhill is out of the race, it would be better to vote for a Saxist, than a Sexist. Any horn players left in the race? We have one who blows his own horn, but he's only running for council now and trolling for votes on St Clair. and like his brother, he's definitely an uber-sexist.

 

[typezed]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the source of Ford's power and fascination comes from the way he's stubbornly and shamelessly clung to the mayoral seat for so long, through so many typically career-ending moments. Two-thirds of the city are in utter shock at how he won't go and no one can make him; the other third loves him for that same fact. The minute he's officially gone, it's over.

Except that he's not going anywhere. Four weeks ago he was on his way out, looking to lose the election, then came the illness and the switcheroo. Now he's most likely to be easily re-elected in his ward. So once again he slips away from being ousted. Sure he'll no longer be Mayor, but he'll still be able to command as much attention as he wants, beating the same drum about waste and every other politician's duplicity. And imagine if he truly is dying of cancer over the next four years. The sight of once comically round Rob Ford, now 150 lbs but still once a month dragging himself into the public sphere to rant about his unique respect for the taxpayer, it will make him a folk hero for long after his death. He's Toronto's curse, probably well-deserved.

 

[inyyz]

CTV News at Noon respectfully reported on the fatality yesterday with absolutely no mention of Ford's presence. Let's hope other stations follow suit.

 

[casita]

He's Toronto's curse, probably well-deserved.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people to even out the good things that happen to bad people.

 

[SFO]

Except that he's not going anywhere. Four weeks ago he was on his way out, looking to lose the election, then came the illness and the switcheroo. Now he's most likely to be easily re-elected in his ward. So once again he slips away from being ousted. Sure he'll no longer be Mayor, but he'll still be able to command as much attention as he wants, beating the same drum about waste and every other politician's duplicity. And imagine if he truly is dying of cancer over the next four years. The sight of once comically round Rob Ford, now 150 lbs but still once a month dragging himself into the public sphere to rant about his unique respect for the taxpayer, it will make him a folk hero for long after his death. He's Toronto's curse, probably well-deserved.

First of all, I don't think Ward 2 is a done deal. Andray Domise has had a very good game to this point, and if any challenger has the power to overcome that name recognition inertia, I think it's him. Second, I guess we disagree because I'm arguing that Ford WON'T be able to command anywhere near the same level of attention. He's permanently branded himself as a fountain of undiluted bullshit, and abused the press while doing it. He's made a mockery of every principle he once claimed to stand for, and exposed himself as a fraud who slept off hangovers and got wasted in parks while pretending to work "18 hours a day" for the "taxpayers." Who's going to give him a platform to rant, or want to listen to the garbage content of those rants? Maybe he'll get another radio show. Who's going to care but the diehards and wingnuts?

tl;dr Nobody gives a f*ck what bad and obvious liars have to say

 

[Scarberian]

Sometimes bad things happen to good people to even out the good things that happen to bad people.

Somewhere in another plane of existence, Buddha is subtly smiling at you.

If Rob does win in Ward 2. I suspect he will carry on as Merryl. Just like his footbawl coaching, or ex boxing champs, he treats being Merryl as a title for life.

 

[casita]

If Rob does win in Ward 2. I suspect he will carry on as Merryl. Just like his footbawl coaching, or ex boxing champs, he treats being Merryl as a title for life.

I think it looks very inappropriate for a mayor to be "demoted" to a lower pay grade. Has it ever happened? Then again, this is Rob we are talking about. He turned Toronto politics into a whole new ballgame.

I expect he'll expect to be treated like an ex-president. Lots of attention, but no real power. Perhaps a book deal? Film rights to his biography?

Win or lose, Andray has received a lot of well deserved support and name recognition. I expect to be hearing more of him in the coming years.

 

[John_Dee]

Absolutely! I spoke earlier in the thread about Rob becoming like a 'super councillor', no actual power but an outsized microphone. It won't be just his expectations about access to city staff; the media will continue to give him an unwarranted pulpit from which he will decry that the gravy train is back, how much better things were when he was mayor, etc. Meaning Ford will continue to dominate and derail City Hall with his stupidity. I also feared he'd parlay it all back into another run at mayor.

That was all before the cancer diagnosis. Now we know he won't be around long enough to do much.

Do we know that for a fact, though? Not to jam on the ole tin foil hat too tightly, but doesn't it strike anyone else as suspicious that he was out 'n' about at all yesterday? The creep's supposed to be in a very bad way right now; certainly his conniving Famiglia have been exploiting that claim as much as they can. Yet here he is, swanning about in public, and (as usual) unable to resist mopping up all the attention he can get his grubby hands on. Never mind the macabre circumstances of this particular incident; Thug, Diane, and all their retainers (Worms, et al) have been blubbering non-stop for the past few weeks that poor, persecuted, martyred St. Slobbicus of Etobicokus is all but on death's door, so vote Ford and respect our family's privacy. Meanwhile, here's the man himself, gleefully putting the lie to official Ford Family Propaganda, and nobody finds that to be the least bit odd or noteworthy?