Rob Ford

Rob Ford
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 2) Etobicoke North
Incumbent
Assumed office 2000
Preceded by	Elizabeth Brown
Personal details
Born	1969 Toronto, Ontario
Spouse	Renata
Children	2
Residence	Toronto

Rob Ford (born 1969) is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada representing one of the two Etobicoke North wards, Ward 2. Ford is a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2010 election. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election when he defeated incumbent Elizabeth Brown.

Personal life

Ford is a lifelong resident of Toronto. He is the son of Doug Ford, a former Member of Provincial Parliament, and his family runs a printing business. He studied political science at Carleton University, but left two credits before graduating to help his sister with personal problems.

He resides in Etobicoke with his wife Renata and their daughter and son. Ford is a supporter, volunteer and/or member of the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal, Terry Fox Foundation, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Etobicoke Chamber of Commerce, Toronto Board of Trade and the Toronto West Rotary Club.

Ford actively supports high-school football programs in Toronto, especially as a way to provide positive alternative activities for at-risk kids. He donated $20,000 of his own money to equip a football team at one high school and has started a foundation to fund teams at other struggling schools.

In 2008, Ford faced assault charges stemming from allegations made by his wife, but the charges were withdrawn two months later. The Crown attorney said "there was no reasonable prospect of conviction" because there were "credibility issues" with the allegations by Ford's wife due to inconsistencies in her statements. Ford said that he was glad the ordeal was over and that he and his wife have sought marital counselling. Outside court, Ford said, "I'm exonerated. I'm not guilty. I'm just glad this is over."

Political views

Ford is an advocate for stronger fiscal discipline at city hall and deep cuts in councillors' discretionary office budgets. Ford was one of the council's supporters of Mike Harris. He backed Jim Flaherty in the 2002 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, displaying a sign supporting Flaherty in the window of his office at Toronto City Hall.

While espousing fiscally conservative ideals, Ford's voting record has also supported traditionally "progressive" initiatives. In 2003, he supported increased funding for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). He also supported the inquiry into the MFP scandal.

He also said that the police were too nice to protesters in the recent Toronto G-20 protests.

City councillor

Ford has been a strong critic of the perks that are afforded to city politicians. He regularly proposed motions to cut back such spending. All of his proposed cutbacks have been defeated. He has also made headlines by claiming the least amount of money budgeted for councillor office expenses. Ford has consistently filed an expense budget of $0 or close to it. As of 2007, councillors are allowed a maximum office budget of $53,100.

In November 2007, Ford was investigated by the city's integrity commissioner over his spending habits. In a report to the Executive Committee, the commissioner concluded that Ford had failed to report office expenses that he had paid for out of his own pocket. He also printed flyers at his family's printing business for distribution to his constituents, again at his own expense. City policy requires that these expenses must be paid through the councillor's budget rather than with personal funds. As of November 27, Ford refused to comply with the city's policy.

In March 2007, Ford opposed providing city funds to build bicycle lanes on roads. During the 2007 city budget debate, he said, "I can't support bike lanes. Roads are built for buses, cars, and trucks. My heart bleeds when someone gets killed, but it's their own fault at the end of the day." At the May 25, 2009 council meeting to discuss reducing Jarvis St. from five lanes of traffic to four, Ford called cyclists "a pain in the ass" for motorists.

In May 2010, the city's integrity commissioner recommended that Ford be reprimanded for breaching confidentiality. In August 2009 on an AM 640 talk show, Ford revealed the price of a residential sale that was still a confidential discussion. Commissioner Janet Leiper wrote in her report that "Ford failed to read the report, failed to check his assumption that the matter had been debated and could be revealed in public, and recklessly revealed confidential information to the public on the radio broadcast." The sale of the house was delayed a year due to Ford's indiscretion. This was the fourth time that Ford had violated council's code of conduct. In the previous minor breaches Ford was not reprimanded.

Ford's complaints to Revenue Canada

Ford is the only member of council who has consistently brought the tax-free status of councillors' perks up for discussion at council, and he brought it to the attention of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which looked into the issue. On April 30, 2010, Gary Webster, the TTC's Chief General Manager, said that a CRA audit of the City of Toronto for 2006 and 2007 found that councillors should have been paying taxes on their complimentary TTC passes, worth about $1,100 a year. Councillors were told to surrender their free Metropasses immediately or risk paying back taxes on them. "Touchdown!” cheered Ford, who had been fighting for years to scrap councillors' perks. "It took 10 years but, at the end of the day, councillors will have to pay to get on the bus like everyone else," Ford said.

Criticism and controversy

Ford and fellow councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who represents a neighbouring ward, have often scrapped with each other and these exchanges have made headlines in local newspapers. Controversy erupted when several councillors reportedly heard Ford call Mammoliti "Gino boy" in the debate over the 2002 budget. Mammoliti filed a complaint for the ethnic slur. Mammoliti's son Michael filed his papers to run against Ford in the 2003 municipal election but withdrew at the last moment. In March 2003, in a debate over the budget of the Toronto Zoo, Ford called Mammoliti (who chairs the zoo board) a "snake" and a "weasel" in council.

In 2002, Ford strongly objected to the possibility that a homeless shelter would open in his suburban Etobicoke ward. Later in the same year he was quoted while berating an anti-poverty activist, "Do you have a job, sir? I'll give you a newspaper to find a job, like everyone else has to do between 9 and 5." In 2005, Ford told a homeless protestor, "I'm working. Why don't you get a job?"

In 2006, allegations arose of loud, unsociable conduct by Ford at a Toronto Maple Leafs game. Two audience members alleged that Ford instigated a shouting match. Security at the Air Canada Centre later ejected Ford from the venue. Initially, Ford denied involvement, claiming mistaken identity. The following day, Ford confirmed the allegations and announced his apology to the couple. He cited "personal problems" as a reason for his behaviour.

Further controversy erupted in a Toronto City Council session when Ford argued against the city spending $1.5 million on AIDS prevention programs. Ford stated that "(AIDS) is very preventable," and that "if you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn't get AIDS probably, that's bottom line." With respect to the increasing rates of women contracting the disease, Ford said, "How are women getting it? Maybe they are sleeping with bisexual men."

Again sparking controversy, in March 2008 during a debate at City Hall, Ford said "Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out ... that's why they're successful in life. ... I'm telling you, Oriental people, they're slowly taking over, because there's no excuses for them. They're hard, hard workers." He drew criticism for these remarks from Mayor David Miller, budget chief Shelley Carroll, and other councillors.

Mayoral candidate

Main article: Toronto mayoral election, 2010

On March 26, 2010, Ford declared his candidacy for Mayor of Toronto in the 2010 election.. The Toronto Star's Royson James noted that Ford's was the most raucous, jubilant, and enthusiastic campaign launch of the 2010 Toronto mayoralty race. Councillor Mike Del Grande said of Ford, "He’s very popular with ‘Joe Public.’ He’s definitely a contender, not a wild card." At the campaign kickoff meeting he laid out his platform, organized into four main themes: "putting people and families first, focusing on the fundamentals, reducing waste and eliminating unnecessary taxes." Among his campaign promises, he said that he would repeal the vehicle registration and land transfer taxes implemented by David Miller and make the Toronto Transit Commission an essential service. He said there was "enough fat and inefficiency to slash costs while dramatically improving customer service." He also said he would work to cut the number of councillors on city council by half.

In describing Rob Ford’s Toronto, the candidate said, "It’s going to be spotless. You go downtown now, you see all the graffiti — you aren’t going to have any graffiti there." Ford promised to improve services for residents of the city's low-cost housing, as he has done in his own ward, and to help bring homeless people in off the streets. He said, "We’re going to help the people you see laying on the streets. A lot of them are drug addicts or alcoholics."

On May 6, 2010, Ford fired a worker on his campaign team for sending a Twitter message attacking fellow mayoral candidate George Smitherman over recent comments about AIDS. The message read, "Smitherman should spend less time attacking Ford for telling truth about AIDS, more time coming up with actual policies." The message related to an earlier statement Ford made in council about AIDS sufferers.

As of July 21, 2010, he has yet to deliver a campaign platform.

External links

• Rob Ford profile on City of Toronto website
• Rob Ford's personal website
• Rob Ford for mayor
• Rob Ford Condemning Councillors' "free perks"