Toronto’s City Council seeks to isolate the drug-use mayor
Print Edition
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has admitted to the City Council that he has bought illegal drugs in the past two years.
The mayor made the confession under direct questioning by councilors who are debating a motion that would ask him to take a leave of absence.
Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong asked Ford if he had bought illegal drugs in the past two years. After a long pause, Ford replied: “Yes I have.”
Ford publicly admitted last week that he smoked crack cocaine last year in a “drunken stupor” but his comments yesterday marked the first time he admitted to having bought illegal drugs.
Ford declared he was feeling good about confronting angry City Council members as he arrived for the debate over a motion calling on him to step aside and get help for his admitted drug use.
Ford’s refusal to resign has confounded Toronto’s City Council, where many members agree that his erratic behavior — from smoking crack cocaine in a “drunken stupor” to threatening to kill someone in a videotaped tirade — has consumed Toronto’s politics and undermined efforts to tackle other challenges.
“Feeling great,” Ford said, as he arrived at City Hall.
With no clear legal path to force him out, the 44-member City Council is grasping for ways to shunt the larger-than-life leader aside and govern without him until next year’s municipal elections.
Toronto’s mayor already has limited powers compared to the mayors of many large cities in the US.
He is just one voting member in the council and his power stems mostly from his ability, as the only councilor elected by citywide vote, to build consensus and set the agenda. That authority, many council members say, has evaporated in the crack scandal.
“We really just have to build a box around the mayor so we can get work done,” said councilor John Filion, who has introduced one of two motions in the council designed to isolate Ford.
The motion being debated yesterday would call on Ford to take a leave of absence, apologize to Toronto residents for misleading them and cooperate with police.
The motion was introduced by Minnan-Wong, who has been supportive of the conservative Ford’s policies since the mayor was elected three years ago.
Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, also Ford ally, announced shortly before the debate that he would support the motion.
“I’m publicly advising the mayor to take some time,” Kelly said.
The Council has no authority to oust Ford because he has not been convicted of a crime.
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