Mayor Rob Ford’s senior team once planned for the kind of fallout he now faces.
Nearly a year ago, when the first video showing the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine surfaced, senior staff — none of whom are with him any longer — urged Ford to go to a treatment facility for help.
It was one of three options presented to the mayor, and according to a police document — contents of which haven’t been proven in court — it was the one “everyone agreed would be the best option.”
The staff, some of whom have since joined Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly's office, were ignored — until Thursday, when Ford took a leave in the wake of renewed scandal over public intoxication, crude comments and crack cocaine use.
At a news conference, city manager Joe Pennachetti and Kelly vowed it would be “business as usual” after the mayor left his Etobicoke home early in the day for an undisclosed treatment facility.
Ford has relinquished all of his powers, temporarily, retaining only the title of mayor and leaving his bid for re-election in limbo. Kelly is now the de facto mayor.
Ford departed the city without addressing any specifics of the latest scandal — that he has been caught on a second video, seen by a Star reporter, smoking what appears to be crack cocaine; that witnesses saw him what appeared to be doing lines of cocaine at a Toronto nightclub; that he is heard in an audio recording saying he would like to “f---ing jam” mayoral candidate Karen Stintz; that he used a derogatory term for Italians; and that he criticized a provincial leader for supporting “all the gays.”
RAW VIDEO: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was driven away from his Etobicoke home early May 1, 2014.
There were no apologies for those actions Thursday, and no explanation for his behaviour other than a statement released Wednesday in which he admitted to having a “problem with alcohol.” He did not acknowledge drug use.
His brother gave an emotional press conference Thursday morning, while councillors and the Toronto Region Board of Trade called for his resignation.
“As an older brother, I am relieved that Rob has faced his problems and has decided to seek professional help,” Councillor Doug Ford said in a press conference, as he choked back tears. In August, Doug Ford had said he’d never even seen his brother drink.
“I love my brother. I’ll continue to stand by my brother and his family throughout this difficult journey.”
Meanwhile, Ford’s staff continued to slip in and out of his glass-walled second-floor office at city hall, where a “Keep Calm and Carry On” sign still hangs.
Ford was driven away from his home with a large green suitcase, accompanied by his chief of staff, Dan Jacobs. His criminal lawyer, Dennis Morris, told the Star the mayor left on a plane from Buttonville Airport in Markham for Chicago.
He is now expected to attend an in-patient rehabilitation program for substance abuse, Morris said.
“Thirty days isn’t the answer, I think,” the lawyer said about how long the mayor would be gone. “There’s no timeframe. Whatever’s required.”
When the Star and U.S. website Gawker broke the story of the first video last May, the mayor’s top staff presented him with three options, including going to a treatment facility, according to interviews contained in a police document.
Ford’s mother, Diane Ford, told CTV News she now knows her son’s problem is more than just weight issues — which she focused on in a bizarre sit-down interview with CP24 in November.
“I had no idea it was as serious as it was,” the Ford matriarch said. “He’s doing what he has to do, and it’s good.”
At city hall, deputy mayor Norm Kelly said this week’s events should be described as a “personal tragedy” and not as a “crisis of government.”
Kelly has assumed the remaining functions left to Ford after council stripped him of all but his statutory powers in November. Kelly will remain deputy mayor officially, but will oversee the mayor’s reduced staff.
Kelly said Ford did not indicate where he was going or how long he’d be gone.
“The actions of the mayor are inexcusable,” he said. “He’s taken the step that I and many others have advised for a long time.”
Municipal law requires the mayoral seat to be declared vacant if Ford is absent for three consecutive council meetings without being excused, Pennachetti confirmed. That means Ford must be in attendance at July’s council meeting to maintain his title of mayor. However, council regularly votes to excuse extended absences.
Kelly said he believes those who were targeted in Ford’s intoxicated rant, such as Stintz, deserve an apology.
Council colleagues, once split in their support of Ford on the chamber floor, agreed the mayor needs help — and should no longer govern.
Chief among them was Stintz, who said change was due in the wake of comments that “shocked and embarrassed” her.
“I am disappointed by the misogynistic language used by Mayor Ford. There is no place in this city for sexism or homophobia — especially in the mayor’s office,” Stintz said.
Others on council agree it is time for a change, whether Ford claims recovery or not.
“We’ve all over-imbibed,” said Councillor Shelley Carroll. However, “I’m still me. I’m a sloppier version of me when I’m drunk. I don’t become racist, I don’t become a misogynist or homophobe,” she added, referencing to the troubling comments made in the audio recording obtained by the Toronto Sun and released Wednesday. “There are things in this tape that people can’t live with in their mayor of this city, drunk or sober.”
Councillor Janet Davis said the mayor shouldn’t leave council hanging.
“We can no longer be held hostage to this sort of suspended animation he’s put us in, for saying this is just a leave,” Davis said. “I think it’s in the best interest of the city that the mayor resign.”
The board of trade, a top business lobby group that earlier called on Ford to take a leave, also called for his resignation Thursday.
“Last November, Toronto Region Board of Trade said the Mayor of the City must put Toronto first. It is increasingly clear that under current circumstances it is not possible for the Mayor to do that,” said president and CEO Carol Wilding in an emailed statement.
All those who spoke out Friday said they do hope Ford gets the treatment he needs.
“Whether you’re a friend or foe of Rob Ford, I think there has to be a general agreement that, better late than never,” said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, once one of Ford’s political allies.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti said he tried to get the mayor help for substance abuse through a treatment program he recommended in November 2012 and resigned from the executive committee in protest when he refused.
“They were waiting for him and he said, ‘No,’” Mammoliti told reporters. “He didn’t want to recognize the issue back then . . . If he would have listened to some of us back then, he would not be in this predicament today.”
Recap: The day after Ford announced his leave of absence
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