As Rob Ford is punished again, councillors contemplate the Mayor Ford era, plan coup
Another day, another report from the integrity commissioner that Rob Ford did something he shouldn’t have. In this case, Ford violated city rules by using his office letterhead to solicit donations for his football charity. As council winds down before the election, it found time to vote in favour of the report, meaning Ford must now pay back about $3,000 to donors. Councillors seem to have hurried the process along to deny Ford the chance to make a scene. The Toronto Star quotes one councillor saying, “We didn’t want to let Rob give a big speech about helping kids… It’s not about the kids. He broke rules, which are in place for good reason.”
Meanwhile, the Toronto Sun asked councillors to contemplate life under a Ford mayoralty. Howard Moscoe was the most descriptive: “He won’t be able to pass gas without the permission of council.” When asked if he thinks Ford will be able to work with council, he added, “Depends how often he wants to pass gas.”
“I have yet to know that he’s read a report. The mayor needs to be intellectually engaged,” said Maria Augimeri. “You need to be an avid reader and promoter of the city. Simple pat actions won’t do. Band-Aid solutions won’t do… There is no quick fix [for the city].”
Kyle Rae, one of Ford’s nemeses on council, suggests that the denizens of the clamshell might revolt against Ford and basically work around the elected head of the city to get their work done. We can’t wait: if conservatives of all stripes were aghast at the idea of a Liberal-NDP coalition in Ottawa, the reaction to an anti-Ford coup in the city after the election is going to be positively nuclear.
• Council orders Ford to repay donations [Toronto Star]
• Councillors take shots at ‘Mayor Ford’ [Toronto Sun]
• Council spanks Ford silently [Toronto Sun]
• Ford ordered to pay back charity donations [CBC News]
• Council wouldn’t accept Ford as mayor, Rae says [CTV]
(Images: council chambers by Padraic, Rob Ford by Morecofeeplease.)
So, Kyle Rae’s contempt for democracy knows no end, apparently.
If Torontonians elect the wrong mayor, council as the Supreme Overlord can correct the incorrect election? We’re really in the “Bush” leagues with that one.
The idea of Ford as mayor is incomprehensible, but statements like Rae’s will only serve to harden the growing impression that these people at Council see themselves as a force above the rest of us.
What Canada does NOT need are intellectually deficient fools who believe slashing costs indiscriminately. Rob Ford is as un-Canadian as Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and their ilk.
Case in point: the Tamil refugees. The Ford way? “Ship ’em back!” The Canadian way? Investigate their claims on a case-by-case basis, and ship back those that do not qualify under our COMPASSIONATE and WELL-REASONED LAWS where we accept those who are suffering and live under hardship.
But make a very HIGH PROFILE case about those that are sent back (which based on what I know about the Tamil refugees so far is most of them). There are to many legitimate immigration applicants that these people should be allowed to jump the line.
But don’t just summarily send them back: investigate and accept those who qualify as refugees, and send back all the rest.
I dread the thought of Rob Ford being mayor. It will be a microcosm of the Harris years all over again, and no good for Toronto (and therefore, no good for the rest of the country).
so far Ford has done a great job, and it seems the “roque element” as been “Squashed into silence” . I wonder who the “roque” mayor is??? Adam Vaughan??
“If Torontonians elect the wrong mayor, council as the Supreme Overlord can correct the incorrect election?”
Yes. By law, council reigns supreme. The mayor does not have the power to overrule it. (I’m not sure what you meant by your “Bush” comment. Neither the House of Representatives nor the U.S. Senate overruled Bush, even though they too have that authority.)
HA HA HA! Remember back in 2010 when Rob ford used the wrong Letterhead?? That was such an embarrassment!
And Kyle Rae said that if Ford became Mayor, the council would revolt and end up working around him? Idiot! How would something like that ever happen? Ford would need to show poor judgement with something a little more then stationary decisions.