Rob Ford's Toronto

[inyyz]

You and Rob Ford are much more similar than you are different. He's not some monster or alien or robot - he's just a human being (with everything that entails). He's done and said a lot of things that I wouldn't do, and I don't think he was ever fit to be the mayor of Toronto, but that's a totally separate issue.

Empathy isn't something people "deserve". You either feel it or you don't. And if you don't, you're the one with a problem.

Wow. Just....wow. Now I'm the one offended. I am nothing like Rob Ford. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Nope, sorry, can't do it for Rob, and I have no problem with that.

ETA: My apologies for both being the one to start using the word "empathy" and for continuing it here. I'm a little behind because I'm in Vegas, but that was a direct hit at me and I felt the need to respond. Now back to the slots...

 

[Cooper]

"Lost" as in by accident??? Or "lost" accidentally on purpose?

Y'all remember PB2 investigation is "still ongoing", right? And now that phone is conveniently at the bottom of lake!?!

Rob lost his phone again? I missed that one. What happened?

(PS. Thanks, Kat and Casita.)

 

[Hammertown_Hussy]

Robyn Doolittle mentioned Rob Ford's constituency work in Crazy Town -- see excerpts below. As well, she specifically mentioned it during her appearance on the George Strombo show, when asked how Ford built such a huge following pre-2010 election, when he seemed to have so many issues (even back then). So I am no fan of this guy (to put it mildly), but the constituency work reputation seems deserved.

P.S. Crazy Town is definitely worth purchasing if you are interested in Ford at all. It's become my reference text when reading this thread.

~~~

Crazy Town -- The Rob Ford Story
Robyn Doolittle
Penguin/Viking
ISBN 978-0-670-06811-1

snipped from p. 73, 74, 75:

... In most areas of Toronto, a councillor's assistant would take that call, forward the issue to city staff for investigation, and then the problem would get added to the heavily backlogged capital repair plan.

... "With Rob, they would call, and he'd say 'How's next Thursday,' then have the guy from public works at your door", said a staffer from Ford's council days.

... Soon, news of Ford's first-class constituent work got around Toronto, and he began getting calls from residents living outside Ward 2 Etobicoke North, to the immense annoyance of other councillors.

... He helped people in Scarborough and North York and downtown Toronto with the same vigour as he did with his own residents. Councillors grumbled and complained.

... Resentment snowballed. Eventually, a handful of councillors decided they needed to do something about Ford's meddling. It backfired on them in spectacular fashion.

... It was February 2005. A fed-up council asked the integrity commissioner to review whether it was appropriate for councillors to intervene in matters outside their wards.

... In September, Integrity Commissioner Mullan concluded that there was "no compelling reason" to ban councillors from helping in other jurisdictions.

~~~

Impressive as I hear from friends that many councillors are really difficult to deal with, if you can even get them to respond to your requests! That said, I also think Ford focuses on this type of work because it gives him the flexibility to go get wasted when he wants to--he just says he's making constit calls all day and no one would question it (while, now they do).

 

[tiffer24]

Rob lost his phone again? I missed that one. What happened?

(PS. Thanks, Kat and Casita.)

On one of his rehab "photo opps" last week, Rob was spotted in a Bracebridge Bell store. The clerk told someone later that he was looking to replace his phone as the one he had ended up at the bottom of a lake.

 

[John_Dee]

Everything I've read about Mayor Assclown's days as a councillor suggest he was very good at self-promotion - probably the only area in which he has any real talent - and very bad at accomplishing anything of real significance, just as Gavin states above. But even the petty "Oh, he got the potholes fixed!" level of crap he lays claim to is almost certainly vastly overstated. Think back to the ice storm from last winter: Ford was missing in action to begin with, and had no real power to actually, y'know, do anything anyway, being the Mayor in name only by that point. Clean-up and damage control was all being taken care of by the proper people, without any input at all from him. But once the media showed up, there was Ford, eager to shove his fat face in front of as many tv crews as were covering the scene. As with far too many other politicians of his ilk, often the most physically dangerous place to be standing is between Rob Ford and a television camera.

That must have been how it went back during his days as a councillor: A few vastly overrated hand-picked cases he involved himself in purely for purposes of self-aggrandizement. It gave him ample opportunity to pick up the phone and scream at city employees (which he'd surely get off on) who were likely going to get around to doing their jobs just as soon as the usual and ever-present backlog would have allowed. Shit, everyone knows the poor bastards are horribly over-worked and under-funded. So a few potholes got filled in maybe a week or two earlier than they might have. Oooh, big fuckin' deal. "He's a man of the peee-pul!" *Clutches pearls, swoons.*

Thus, Ford got his chance to simultaneously grandstand while acting as a bully - as usual - and also be ass-kissed by all of the Little People he was "helping." (Which, natch, Ego Boy would get off on almost as much as the chance to abuse city workers, don't forget.) And then go on to vote for ever more stringent policies that would ensure said backlog would get even worse, inconveniencing Ford's fan base even more. Nice racket, eh?

As for Robyn Doolittle, well, Crazy Town wasn't really meant as an expose so much as a quickie memior, and if there's a consistent criticism I've heard about the book (which I haven't read), it's that she bends over backwards to be "fair" to Ford, probably more than is absolutely necessary. It doesn't surprise me that she doesn't really look behind the hype of Ford's so-called "constituency work." Though she probably should have. Maybe some other author will produce a more scathing volume in the future that will do just that. Should make for fun reading...

 

[Cooper]

On one of his rehab "photo opps" last week, Rob was spotted in a Bracebridge Bell store. The clerk told someone later that he was looking to replace his phone as the one he had ended up at the bottom of a lake.

Ah. Thanks. That's kind of funny, actually. I wonder if it's true and, if so, how and why.

 

[animatronic]

He can handle the micro issues of returning calls and showing up to scream at potholes, but in terms of actual ward-wide accomplishments, he's done nothing. Rexdale has stagnated under him and his brother. No significant improvement to community housing, to employment, to transit (that he had any hand in), and he has consistently voted against motions that would actually assist his ward.

This myth of him needs to die. He was a terrible councilor.

He was good at one-on-one relationships for the purposes of securing votes. If he threw his name into Ward 2 against a wide field (with no incumbent to beat) his name recognition and misplaced loyalty would be enough for him to win.

 

[Jado]

He can handle the micro issues of returning calls and showing up to scream at potholes, but in terms of actual ward-wide accomplishments, he's done nothing. Rexdale has stagnated under him and his brother. No significant improvement to community housing, to employment, to transit (that he had any hand in), and he has consistently voted against motions that would actually assist his ward.

This myth of him needs to die. He was a terrible councilor.

You are bang on, Gavin. Now spread the good word!!

 

[Hammertown_Hussy]

On one of his rehab "photo opps" last week, Rob was spotted in a Bracebridge Bell store. The clerk told someone later that he was looking to replace his phone as the one he had ended up at the bottom of a lake.

Maybe he wants one that cops haven't tapped?

 

[GavinTheAlmighty]

He was good at one-on-one relationships for the purposes of securing votes. If he threw his name into Ward 2 against a wide field (with no incumbent to beat) his name recognition and misplaced loyalty would be enough for him to win.

You are bang on, Gavin. Now spread the good word!!

There are nine candidates currently running for election in Ward 2 (http://app.toronto.ca/vote/candidatesByWard.do?officeType=2&ward=2). Ford still enjoys a dangerously high level of support there, but he hasn't yet had to face re-election since the scandal broke, and there hasn't been any significant public micro-level analysis of his tenure as a councilor. Even his "Orientals" comment came in after his final election for councilor. Ford likely thinks that he could coast to re-election as a councilor, but I'm not as positive about that. He can't sustain a multi-pronged attack from all of those other councilors, and they really only have to compare themselves to him, not as much each other as there aren't any "celebrity politicians" running. Put him in front of a camera with a few hungry and knowledgeable candidates and you'll see him get devastated.

Full disclosure: I am working on the campaign for Andray Anthony Domise (http://andraydomise.nationbuilder.com/issues). I genuinely believe that he will be an excellent councilor for Ward 2 as he is very engaged in local issues and very frustrated with how little Ford has done.

 

[typezed]

Robyn Doolittle mentioned Rob Ford's constituency work in Crazy Town -- see excerpts below. As well, she specifically mentioned it during her appearance on the George Strombo show, when asked how Ford built such a huge following pre-2010 election, when he seemed to have so many issues (even back then). So I am no fan of this guy (to put it mildly), but the constituency work reputation seems deserved.

Yes, I've seen Doolittle make these claims on different media appearances, and it always seemed to me that she was repeating conventional wisdom in efforts to be balanced to Ford and to make some easy analysis of his success. The examples you provide from Doolittle's book could represent nothing but shaming other councillors, meddling, showboating and self-promotion.

I've hung around City Hall for entertainment purposes. I often see other councillors in council or committee meetings or city events warmly greeting members of the public who they've obviously worked with on some public issue or constituent concern. I've never seen an example of this from Ford. The only interaction I've seen him make with the public is handing out business cards, or acting the celebrity with the selfie photos.

 

[dforthandbview]

Maybe he wants one that cops haven't tapped?

He'd have to get a new phone number. Think of all the contacts he'd lose if he did that. Maybe he has the phone numbers for his dealers/criminal buddies/ladies of the night on a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard with a giant "Rob Ford For Mayor" sticker on it.

 

[Lucinda]

Yes, I've seen Doolittle make these claims on different media appearances, and it always seemed to me that she was repeating conventional wisdom in efforts to be balanced to Ford and to make some easy analysis of his success. The examples you provide from Doolittle's book could represent nothing but shaming other councillors, meddling, showboating and self-promotion.

I've hung around City Hall for entertainment purposes. I often see other councillors in council or committee meetings or city events warmly greeting members of the public who they've obviously worked with on some public issue or constituent concern. I've never seen an example of this from Ford. The only interaction I've seen him make with the public is handing out business cards, or acting the celebrity with the selfie photos.

Thanks for your insight -- it's interesting to hear your views and experiences.

 

[OSS 117]

Robyn Doolittle mentioned Rob Ford's constituency work in Crazy Town -- see excerpts below. As well, she specifically mentioned it during her appearance on the George Strombo show, when asked how Ford built such a huge following pre-2010 election, when he seemed to have so many issues (even back then). So I am no fan of this guy (to put it mildly), but the constituency work reputation seems deserved.

P.S. Crazy Town is definitely worth purchasing if you are interested in Ford at all. It's become my reference text when reading this thread.

~~~

Crazy Town -- The Rob Ford Story
Robyn Doolittle
Penguin/Viking
ISBN 978-0-670-06811-1

snipped from p. 73, 74, 75:

... In most areas of Toronto, a councillor's assistant would take that call, forward the issue to city staff for investigation, and then the problem would get added to the heavily backlogged capital repair plan.

... "With Rob, they would call, and he'd say 'How's next Thursday,' then have the guy from public works at your door", said a staffer from Ford's council days.

... Soon, news of Ford's first-class constituent work got around Toronto, and he began getting calls from residents living outside Ward 2 Etobicoke North, to the immense annoyance of other councillors.

... He helped people in Scarborough and North York and downtown Toronto with the same vigour as he did with his own residents. Councillors grumbled and complained.

... Resentment snowballed. Eventually, a handful of councillors decided they needed to do something about Ford's meddling. It backfired on them in spectacular fashion.

... It was February 2005. A fed-up council asked the integrity commissioner to review whether it was appropriate for councillors to intervene in matters outside their wards.

... In September, Integrity Commissioner Mullan concluded that there was "no compelling reason" to ban councillors from helping in other jurisdictions.

~~~

Rob's constituency work was the equivalent of a mob boss handing out favours. "I'll do this for you, and maybe someday you'll do something for me, right? And if you come out against me, well...I have your address". On top of that, he's an unpopular guy with his peers who soaks up the positive vibes from the "little people" that perceive him as helping them out. He gets his ego stroked from it, whereas to most councilors, you know, representing constituents is just their job. They don't really have their self-worth wrapped up in getting thanked for doing it.

 

[LordWanker]

He'd have to get a new phone number. Think of all the contacts he'd lose if he did that. Maybe he has the phone numbers for his dealers/criminal buddies/ladies of the night on a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard with a giant "Rob Ford For Mayor" sticker on it.

If it was a corporate phone, i.e. City of Toronto issued, would he not have to contact a specific person for a replacement one and not from a retail store?