Doug Ford wants to fill his brother’s council seat, whether he’s allowed to or not

Rob Ford’s cancer surgery in May will keep him in the hospital for a week or two, and “out of commission” for four months—and now Doug Ford, as if to prove that nature abhors a power vacuum, is already volunteering to take over his brother’s Ward 2 duties. Doug, who served as councillor during Rob’s mayoral term, floated the idea of a return to politics on Friday. While Rob is recovering, he told the CBC, “I’ll sit in the stands and I’ll flash a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on every single vote that comes up, even though it won’t be counted…They’ll need scalpers outside city hall because it will be a full house if I get down there.” That kind of unofficial council participation might be allowed, but anything more would likely be forbidden by law. Rob would have to resign his seat before Doug could be either elected or appointed to fill the vacancy. (And if there’s one thing we know about Rob Ford, it’s that he never resigns.)