Campaign wizard Nick Kouvalis won’t help Rob Ford in the next election—unless the mayor goes to rehab

Nick Kouvalis, the mastermind behind the “gravy train” and with it Rob Ford’s 2010 election win, won’t help with Ford’s reelection effort unless the mayor goes to rehab first. Sources close to Kouvalis told the Globe and Mail that he’s concerned about what the pressure of another campaign would do to Ford’s health. (Asked to comment, the political strategist was predictably politic: “I love the Ford family, and I will do everything I can to help them.”). With Kouvalis out, the dream team Ford assembled for his 2010 mayoral run is in shambles: the mayor fired director of policy-turned-chief of staff Mark Towhey for his attempt to get Ford to seek addiction treatment, while executive assistant Kia Nejatian, who also played a key role in the 2010, resigned a week later. Ford, however, hasn’t let the exodus or the long wait until the 2014 election stop him from hitting the campaign trail as hard as ever. [Globe and Mail]