Reaction Roundup: Is this the beginning of the end for Rob Ford?
This week wasn’t a good one for Mayor Rob Ford. Between his brother Doug insulting Margaret Atwood (and then having Chapters Indigo take a decidedly pro-Peggy stance) and the mayor’s own problems with his middle finger, it’s beginning to look like, at least for the moment, the unstoppable Ford juggernaut that’s laughed at everything from the Jarvis bike lanes to the TCHC board might be coming apart a bit. And we’re not the only ones who seem to think so. More from the local press corps, after the jump.
• Arguably the most prominent scribe to take note of Ford’s troubles was Globe and Mail city columnist Marcus Gee. Gee suggests that things started to head south for Ford with his bullheaded decision to skip everything to do with Pride. We think Mr. Gee might be onto something there.
• The National Post’s Posted Toronto Political Panel—starring Jonathan Goldsbie, Chris Selley and Matt Gurney—is usually good for a frank disagreement (or three). But not this week. They all agree that the Fords aren’t looking so great, and lamented that the wheels are coming off the Ford bus before the mayor has actually done much of anything. If Ford was having a week like this three years into his term, that would be one thing. This is far worse.
• Ivor Tossell in the Toronto Standard argues that the mayor should be particularly concerned that even TV news reporters are starting to break from their generally favourable coverage. Ford’s embarrassing CTV interview (video: “Ford not allowed to answer question”) was bad enough, but having “blacklisted media” like the Toronto Star welcome CTV to their clubhouse could just be the start of an increasingly assertive press.
• At the Toronto Sun, even the letters to the editor are becoming anti-Ford. Think about that for a second. Of course, the comments threads are still staunchly pro-Ford.
• Hamutal Dotan at Torontoist provides a list of indictments against Ford, drawing heavily from just the events of the last week.
• Finally, blogger Matt Elliott proclaimed that this is the end of “the Rob Ford experiment” in Toronto, suggesting the “sheen of respectability that has coated the mayor and his inner circle since he took office last fall may actually be wearing off.”
Now, many of these folks weren’t fans of Ford to begin with, and this is just one bad week (a week that was almost certainly going to be bad for the mayor anyway, given that city hall was discussing painful budget cuts). But it’s hard to escape the conclusion that something has shifted this week and that perhaps the mayor’s standing in the city has changed from where it was only a month ago.
• Ten Things About Rob Ford [Torontoist]
• Is the tide turning against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford? [Globe and Mail]
• Posted Toronto Political Panel: The Fords come unraveled [National Post]
• Losing It [Toronto Standard]
• The end of Toronto’s Rob Ford experiment? [Ford For Toronto]
• Stintz backs libraries in budget cuts debate [CTV]
(Image: Ford, Shaun Merritt)
 and the mayor’s own problems with his middle finger, it’s beginning to look like, at least for the moment, the unstoppable Ford juggernaut that’s laughed at everything from the Jarvis bike lanes to the TCHC board might be coming apart a bit. And we’re not the only ones who seem to think so. More from the local press corps, after the jump.
• Arguably the most prominent scribe to take note of Ford’s troubles was Globe and Mail city columnist Marcus Gee. Gee suggests that things started to head south for Ford with his bullheaded decision to skip everything to do with Pride. We think Mr. Gee might be onto something there.
• The National Post’s Posted Toronto Political Panel—starring Jonathan Goldsbie, Chris Selley and Matt Gurney—is usually good for a frank disagreement (or three). But not this week. They all agree that the Fords aren’t looking so great, and lamented that the wheels are coming off the Ford bus before the mayor has actually done much of anything. If Ford was having a week like this three years into his term, that would be one thing. This is far worse.
• Ivor Tossell in the Toronto Standard argues that the mayor should be particularly concerned that even TV news reporters are starting to break from their generally favourable coverage. Ford’s embarrassing CTV interview (video: “Ford not allowed to answer question”) was bad enough, but having “blacklisted media” like the Toronto Star welcome CTV to their clubhouse could just be the start of an increasingly assertive press.
• At the Toronto Sun, even the letters to the editor are becoming anti-Ford. Think about that for a second. Of course, the comments threads are still staunchly pro-Ford.
• Hamutal Dotan at Torontoist provides a list of indictments against Ford, drawing heavily from just the events of the last week.
• Finally, blogger Matt Elliott proclaimed that this is the end of “the Rob Ford experiment” in Toronto, suggesting the “sheen of respectability that has coated the mayor and his inner circle since he took office last fall may actually be wearing off.”
Now, many of these folks weren’t fans of Ford to begin with, and this is just one bad week (a week that was almost certainly going to be bad for the mayor anyway, given that city hall was discussing painful budget cuts). But it’s hard to escape the conclusion that something has shifted this week and that perhaps the mayor’s standing in the city has changed from where it was only a month ago.
• Ten Things About Rob Ford [Torontoist]
• Is the tide turning against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford? [Globe and Mail]
• Posted Toronto Political Panel: The Fords come unraveled [National Post]
• Losing It [Toronto Standard]
• The end of Toronto’s Rob Ford experiment? [Ford For Toronto]
• Stintz backs libraries in budget cuts debate [CTV]
(Image: Ford, Shaun Merritt)){kind=link}
How does it matter now?
You can’t impeach a mayor, so unless he quits (unlikely) we’re stuck with him for the next 3 years.
At this point, my only hope is that councillors will start voting against his hare brained ideas.