Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford died on Tuesday at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital after fighting cancer.
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“(Rob Ford) was above all else a profoundly human guy, and he will be missed”, Tory said.
One of the several American comedians who’d spent part of 2013 teasing Ford, before hosting him on his late-night show, tweeted a thoughtful message.
Ford, who had been serving as Toronto city councillor, underwent surgery for the cancer in 2015, but months later, doctors found two new tumors.
Ford said he had “nothing to do” with it.
Ford makes a speech to supporters at the Woodbine Banquet Centre shortly after winning his Ward 2 seat on city council October 27, 2014.
For all the good, there is the bad, the well-known stories that will always haunt the Ford political name, but he’s left some positives for Toronto as his legacy, and hopefully his passion and pride in making Toronto a great place to live will endure.
But as he sought a second term in 2014, Ford was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Ford was photographed reading a newspaper while driving on a highway, accused of groping a female city councilor and was sued for conflict of interest in connection with soliciting donations for his charity, the Rob Ford Football Foundation. Video surfaced showing the mayor drunk and allegedly smoking crack cocaine.
Ford emerged from rehab a seemingly different man, admitting for the first time that he suffered from alcoholism and vowing to stay clean for the good of both his family and those he represented at city hall. As a rookie politician, Ford built a name for himself by railing against councillor office budgets, using his own money to pay for his expenses and giving his cellphone number out to any constituent that needed his help.
Ford refused to step aside, even after the City Council stripped him of most of his powers. He dropped out of university after a year and worked at the family business.
Truth be told, I never met Rob Ford and admittedly was not one of his biggest fans.
Also at Queen’s Park, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown expressed condolences, noting that the “entire province mourns the loss of Rob Ford” . But those who did attend the high school during Ford’s time as coach say they are heartbroken by the news.
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“The city is reeling with this news, and my thoughts are with his wife Renata and their two children, as well as Rob’s brothers Doug and Randy, his sister Kathy, his mother, Diane, and the rest of their tight-knit family”, Tory said.
