Closing in on $1,000? Either it's a bunch of fake bids or they running a stalking horse to make it seem like it's valuable.
Has anyone asked the integrity commissioner about this? Everything in the yard sale was either bought by him, is city property, or was given to him as a gift in his capacity as a politician:
1. Personal property: He can do whatever he wants.
2. Public property: Unless the item was declared surplus and acquired by Ford privately he'd be guilty of theft
3. Official gift: As a mayor/councillor he can only accept gifts that are of a nominal value. Ethically he shouldn't be profiting from them - or at a minimum paying the actual value of the gift back to the city.
4. He can just say he's doing it to help the kids, which absolves him of any ethical ramifications