Last week, we asked our audience for help. We set out to write an open letter to Rob Ford, from the residents of Toronto. The idea was to capture the general mood about Mayor Ford’s tenure, given all of the recent media attention.
We received a great deal of response for this appeal. More than most other recent Agenda appeals. We read every response, every comment, every email, and every tweet. Though Torontonians had different levels of verbosity, with a few choosing to share a handful of choice words, four major themes emerged. Here’s how the responses we received break down:
You must resign now, I hate everything you stand for – 21 per cent
I don't personally hate you, but you should probably resign. You’ve become a great embarrassment for this city, and your personal life is preventing City Hall from working – 35 per cent
I like you and I like the way you’ve done your job so I support you, but your personal life is a distraction, and you need some help in order to correct it – 32 per cent
You go, Mayor Ford! Show those downtown elites that they’re not the only ones who can run the city! – 12 per cent
We've attempted to synthesize these themes into an open letter to Rob Ford. Here's what we've come up with.
) in our ivory towers and look down on the tactic. The mainstream news brings it up, too. I don't see any sense in barking at the moon over something only 2 per cent of people will actually hear or bother to understand. And it may be low but it's hardly the lowest common denominator.
