What's the deal with Mayor Rob Ford??

[OttoVonBismarck]

Toronto Mayor Rebuffs Calls to Resign

By ALISTAIR MACDONALD
Nov. 3, 2013 7:38 p.m. ET

TORONTO—Toronto Mayor Rob Ford called on police to release a video that they say appears to show him using crack-cocaine, as the embattled politician rebuffed growing calls for him to resign and made an emotional apology to Canada's largest city for past mistakes.

But during dramatic remarks Sunday on his weekly talk show, the mayor didn't fully address the accusations that have captivated Canada, that he has used the drug. Instead, the mayor apologized for excessive public drinking, while portraying himself as a hard-working public servant at the center of a media conspiracy to depose him.

The saga began last week when the chief of Toronto police said investigators had recovered a video file that depicted activity "consistent" with media reports about images showing alleged drug use by Mr. Ford.

Adding to the controversy in a case that is bringing global attention to a city that often strives for it, the police also announced Thursday that a man with close ties to Mr. Ford was arrested on for "extortive efforts" to retrieve a video recording.

The police chief, Bill Blair, said Thursday there was nothing in the video that could lead to an arrest and said it would be up to the courts to determine whether to pursue charges against the mayor.

During his address, Mr. Ford said Mr. Blair should release the video so people could judge for themselves. "Chief, I am asking you to release the video now," he said on a weekly radio show that he hosts with his brother Doug Ford, who is a Toronto city councilor.

Striking a characteristically defiant tone, Mr. Ford said he wouldn't step down.

"I have made mistakes and all I can do is apologize," he said. Mr. Ford said those mistakes were mainly related to two widely reported episodes when he had been seen drunk in public. "I shouldn't have got hammered" those nights, he said.

Mr. Ford didn't address allegations of drug abuse or the content of the video, which police say show him smoking crack-cocaine. He declined to answer one caller who asked "what drugs you have ingested through a glass pipe," repeating that he couldn't comment on a video he hasn't seen. In the past, Mr. Ford has said that he doesn't use and isn't addicted to crack-cocaine.

But even as Mr. Ford says he wants to "move forward," he is facing growing calls to step down from city councilors, business groups and once-sympathetic editorial writers.

While Thursday's revelations triggered a media frenzy that stretched beyond North America's fourth-largest city, the mayor's approval rating inched up that day. Some observers say Mr. Ford retains a core support of Torontonians who believe that he has reduced taxes and is the victim of a liberal media conspiracy.

The mayor and his brother used their show to portray the mayor as a hard-working public servant and his family as being harassed by the media.

"It's full-on attack," Doug Ford said.

Most callers to the show offered support for Mr. Ford, while some suggested he address his "troubles" and step down. The radio show opened with a clip from the Bee Gee's 1970s hit "Stayin' Alive."

A poll by Forum Research, quoted in the Canadian press, showed Mr. Ford's approval rating rose five percentage points to 44% on Thursday, the same day the police revealed investigators had recovered a computer file they said shows images consistent with media reports that Mr. Ford has used crack-cocaine.

Mr. Blair also said police have arrested and charged with extortion Alexander Lisi, a 35-year-old who sometimes chauffeured Mr. Ford to events, according to photos in the media. Police said Mr. Lisi, who is also referred to as Alesandro, "made extortive efforts to retrieve a recording."

Mr. Lisi's lawyer and Mr. Ford have declined to comment on any of the allegations. On Sunday, the Toronto police department declined to comment.

It was in the course of investigating Mr. Lisi that the police said they recovered, in a June 13 raid, a hard drive from which the police's computer-technology section recovered files last week that had been deleted.

Police documents also released Thursday, which were used to obtain a warrant for Mr. Lisi's arrest, reveal a close relationship between Mr. Ford and Mr. Lisi, who is also facing charges on drug trafficking and other offenses, after an arrest last month. According to the heavily redacted documents, the two met in parking lots and once in "the woods" and Mr. Lisi was observed placing an envelope and, on a several occasions, bags in Mr. Ford's car.

Mr. Ford's tumultuous tenure began in October 2010, after he was elected by a wide margin, winning support from Toronto's suburbs with pledges to reduce wasteful spending and cut down on government perks that plagued previous city administrations.

But his reign proved controversial from the start as he embarked on a long-standing feud with the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper by circulation, and faced a litany of allegations, from conflicts-of-interest lapses to reading while at the wheel of his car.

The constant stream of controversy has made Mr. Ford an unusual object of fascination in Canada. In Toronto, his defenders say Mr. Ford has been targeted by "the downtown liberals" and a media at odds with him and his conservative suburban supporters. Mr. Ford points to a number of achievements in the city, including reducing taxes, cutting costs and driving a hard bargain with transport unions.

But detractors say Mr. Ford is hurting Toronto's reputation and arrived at City Hall already with a history of gaffes, controversy and brushes with the law. Mr. Ford was arrested and convicted in Florida in 1999 for drinking and driving. As councilor, Mr. Ford referred to Chinese-Canadians as "Orientals" who "work like dogs" and in 2006 was ejected from a Toronto Maple Leafs' hockey game for unruly behavior. He apologized for the Chinese-Canadian and hockey-game incidents.

On Sunday, Mr. Ford promised he will run for Mayor again. "My name will be on that ballot on January 2," he said.

Write to Alistair MacDonald at [email protected]

I guess I don't follow the news in Canada closely enough, I'm sure this is big news up there. Since when does Toronto elect an obese crack head to be Mayor? 

[crazy canuck]

Someone doesnt follow the Canada Politics thread as closesly as he should.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Someone doesnt follow the Canada Politics thread as closesly as he should.

Yes, I certainly must apologize. I never would have imagined such an interesting debacle/character would exist north of the border.

[Caliga]

It's almost like Toronto is an American city now or something.  I thought only we elected obese crack head mayors.

[Barrister]

I guess I don't follow the news in Canada closely enough, I'm sure this is big news up there. Since when does Toronto elect an obese crack head to be Mayor? 

You'd have to see the guys they had before to try and understand why voters would elect Ford.  Even when first elected people knew he wasn't going to be more than a bit different as mayor...

[Siege]

Who cares? Canada is not a important country.

[garbon]

Someone doesnt follow the Canada Politics thread as closesly as he should.

Yes, I certainly must apologize. I never would have imagined such an interesting debacle/character would exist north of the border.

You also think most of the threads here aren't interesting but still continue to post...

[Camerus]

Who cares? Canada is not a important country.

Canada's relative global insignificance is to me one of the greatest attractions of living there.

[Siege]

I was joking. Canada, Australia and New Zeland are pretty high in my list of countries I like.

[OttoVonBismarck]

You also think most of the threads here aren't interesting but still continue to post...

I've posted here for over a decade, I think I have the right to insult the forum as a whole from time to time.

[HVC]

You also think most of the threads here aren't interesting but still continue to post...

I've posted here for over a decade, I think I have the right to insult the forum as a whole from time to time.

your wife's gonna be pretty sad at your 10 year anniversary, isn't she?

[sbr]

[OttoVonBismarck]

your wife's gonna be pretty sad at your 10 year anniversary, isn't she?

She would probably be particularly angry about it being in the future tense, since it was four years ago.   

[DGuller]

your wife's gonna be pretty sad at your 10 year anniversary, isn't she?

She would probably be particularly angry about it being in the future tense, since it was four years ago.   

To be fair, HVC wasn't exclusively using future tense.

[Admiral Yi]

Let's diagram Hillary's sentence.

Which, BTW Hillary, was very well constructed.