Should Rob Ford resign? His council colleagues weigh in
Rob Ford—a man who generally hates talking to reporters—held not one but two explosive pressers today. The mayor followed up his surprise scrum at noon (where he admitted to smoking crack) with a much more choreographed event late this afternoon (where he vowed once again not to resign). There was clearly a lot for politicos to take in. In their post-press conference reactions, however, his fellow elected officials mostly stuck to the big question: should Rob Ford stay on as mayor? We round up their answers—and non-answers—below.
“Ford Nation is a failed state.”
—Councillor and frequent Ford foe Adam Vaughan, who says he doesn’t know how the mayor “can show up for work tomorrow”
“I think that he needs to take a break.”
—Councillor Paula Fletcher, reiterating her call for Ford to step aside and deal with his health
“I’d hoped today that this sad saga at city hall would have turned a corner. Unfortunately, it didn’t.”
—Councillor Mary Fragedakis who also thinks the mayor “needs some time”
“Mayor Ford has lied to Toronto & has taken no real actions to address his problems. He’s put his own interests before all. He must resign.”
—Councillor Josh Matlow, via Twitter
“There is no question that a void has been created by him admitting to smoking crack cocaine.”
—Councillor Karen Stintz, who stopped just short of asking Ford to step down
“I feel sad...We’ve become the laughing stock of North America, if not the world.”
–Councillor Jaye Robinson, one of the councillors calling most strongly for Ford to step aside
“I think it’s time for him to take a break...It’s very disappointing to have the mayor of Toronto admit to smoking crack cocaine. It’s something that I don’t think any of us ever expected.”
–Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, speaking about Ford’s impromptu confession before he put forward a motion asking Ford to step aside
“It’s not a surprise to me.”
–Councillor Maria Augimeri, who still says she won’t support a motion asking Ford to step aside
”I have empathy for the mayor as a human being … On a personal level I feel bad for the mayor.”
—Councillor John Filion, Ford’s longtime seatmate at council, who has his own motion seeking to curtail Ford’s powers
“There are laws in place around when municipal officials can be, must be, removed from office — that’s why I say the police service and the judicial system have to take action. We’re watching it with concern.”
–Premier Kathleen Wynne, explaining why the province won’t intervene, and throwing the political hot potato over to the cops and the courts
“As a human being and the mayor of Toronto, he should get help.”
–Justice minister Peter MacKay, who also called it a “sad day” for Toronto
(Images: Josh Matlow: Twitter; all other images from politicians’ official websites)
