Can Rob Ford court council’s mushy middle in the looming budget debate?

Now that Rob Ford and brother Doug have appeared for the first weigh-in of their public weight-loss campaign, the city hall press corps has packed up and headed home. Just kidding! There’s still the whole 2012 budget thing, which is quickly proving to be the mayor’s most difficult political test to date. A strong public backlash and pressure from council’s left forced Ford and co. to remove the most controversial cuts from the budget, but apparently Ford’s inner circle is fighting back by trying to woo council’s mushy middle, which should prove to be a key bloc in the upcoming vote. While Councillor Ford is already predicting a “huge victory” for the Ford agenda, we think he’s being a touch hyperbolic. Because this much is clear: the budget proposal isn’t going to simply sail through council this time round. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »