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WORLD NEWSWednesday 23 March 2016
Infamous ex-Toronto mayor Rob Ford dies after cancer fight
ROB GILLIES
Associated Press
TORONTO (AP) — Knock-
ing over a grandmother
while rushing to the de-
fense of his brother, who
was insulting spectators in
the City Council chamber.
Threatening “murder” in a
profane, incoherent rant
captured on video. Swear-
ing and slurring, calling the
police chief a derogatory
name and trying to imitate
a Jamaican accent.
One after another, Rob
Ford’s statements and
actions became nightly
fodder for TV comedians
and an embarrassment to
many of the suburbanites
he championed as Toron-
to’s mayor.
But as he sought a second
term in 2014, Ford was di-
agnosed with a rare can-
cer. Malignant liposarco-
ma in his abdomen forced
him to do what months of
scandals could not — drop
his bid for re-election. Ford his mind and who ran for
underwent aggressive
chemotherapy treatments
but succumbed to the ill-
ness on Tuesday. He was
46.
“With heavy hearts and
profound sadness, the Ford
family announces the pass-
ing of their beloved son,
brother, husband, and fa-
ther, Councillor Rob Ford,
earlier today,” a state-
ment from his family said.
“A dedicated man of the
people, Councillor Ford
spent his life serving the citi- tics. His tenure as mayor of
zens of Toronto.”
Current Toronto Mayor
John Tory said Ford was a
“profoundly human guy”
and said “the city is reeling
In this July 15, 2014 file photo, Mayor Rob Ford pauses while
participating in a mayoral debate in Toronto. Ford, whose ca-
reer crashed in a drug-driven, obscenity-laced debacle, died
Tuesday, March 22, 2016 after fighting cancer, his family says.
He was 46.
with this news.”
“He was a man who spoke
office because of the
deeply felt convictions that
he had,” Tory said. “I know
there are many who were
affected by his gregarious
nature and approach to
public service.”
Ford rode into office in
2010 on a backlash against
urban elites. He cast an im-
age sharply at odds with
Canada’s reputation for
sedate, unpretentious poli-
until his death.
the country’s largest city Talk show host Jimmy Kim-
was marred by revelations mel, on whose show Ford
about his drinking prob- appeared, tweeted his
lems and illegal drug use. condolences Tuesday and
He was repeatedly video- called him “an unforget-
table guy who loved his job
and city like few men I’ve
met.”
When Ford was elected
mayor, his bluster was
widely known. A plurality
of voters backed him, ea-
ger to shake things up at
a City Hall they viewed as
elitist and wasteful. Ford’s
voter base resided mainly
in the outer suburbs, a re-
sult of the Conservative
provincial government’s
decision to force liberal To- toward a female staffer.
ronto to merge with five of
its neighboring municipali-
ties in 1998.
Ford appealed to conser-
vative-leaning, working-
class residents with his pop- of two school-age children
ulist, common-man touch
and with promises to slash
spending, cut taxes and
end what he called “the
war on the car.” He first
won as mayor by promising
to “stop the gravy train” of
government spending.
His supporters got perhaps
more turmoil than they ex-
pected.
The international spotlight
fell on Ford in May 2013,
when Toronto Star and the
U.S. website Gawker report-
ed the existence of a video
that appeared to show
the mayor inhaling from
a crack pipe. He denied
Associated Press
taped and photographed
while intoxicated in public.
But his popularity contin-
ued. After a scandal broke
about Ford’s use of crack,
hundreds of people lined
up for bobblehead dolls of
the mayor, signed by Ford
himself. Ford spent count-
less hours taking pictures
with residents eager to be
photographed with an in-
ternational celebrity.
Even after losing his may-
oral office, he was elected
by a landslide to a City
Council seat, a job he held
the existence of the vid-
eo but later backtracked
when police said they had
obtained it. Although he
became the subject of a
police investigation, Ford
was never charged with a
crime.
“Yes, I have smoked crack
cocaine,” Ford told report-
ers. “But, no, do I? Am I an
addict? No. Have I tried
it? Probably in one of my
drunken stupors.”
According to police inter-
views, members of Ford’s
staff accused the mayor
of frequently drinking, driv-
ing while intoxicated and
making sexual advances
Ford drew gasps when he
used crude language on
live television to deny tell-
ing a staffer he wanted to
have oral sex. The father
said he was “happily mar-
ried” and that he enjoys
enough oral sex at home.
Disgusted city councilors
turned their backs on Ford
in a council meeting that
day. Jon Stewart played
the clip of the remark that
night on the “Daily Show”
and yelled, “What? What?!
What?! WHAT!? WHAT!?”
Despite immense pressure,
Ford refused to resign. The
City Council stripped Ford
of most of his powers but
lacked the authority to
force him out of office be-
cause he wasn’t convicted
of a crime.