“Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto”.
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Ford appealed to conservative-leaning, working-class residents with his populist, common-man touch and with promises to slash spending, cut taxes and end what he called “the war on the auto”. He later admitted to using the drug.
For months, Ford denied his drug consumption or the existence of the video, but when Toronto police made a raid and arrested a group of drug traffickers who were in possession of the video, the then-mayor acknowledged that he had indeed smoked crack. “But, no, do I?” Am I addict? No. Have I tried it? One year earlier he had confessed to smoking crack cocaine with in a drunken stupor.
He refused to resign.
One after another, Rob Ford’s statements and actions became nightly fodder for TV comedians and an embarrassment to numerous suburbanites he championed as Toronto’s mayor. As well, I’ll bet many Torontonians were getting exhausted of the ‘circus-like atmosphere, and probably the worldwide media attention that went along with it.
His outlandish behaviour continued, casting an image sharply at odds with Canada’s reputation for sedate, unpretentious politics.
At a St Patrick’s Day party in a restaurant, a member of staff claimed Ford had said he wanted to perform oral sex on her.
Ford gained global fame for his gaffes and drug scandals.
Ford was repeatedly videotaped and photographed while intoxicated in public.
Ford entered rehab soon after the emergence of the video, saying he had struggled to get a grip on his personal demons.
The September 2014 diagnosis was pleomorphic liposarcoma, a rare form of abdominal cancer. He instead ran as a city councillor, and was elected with 58% of the vote. He promised to run again for mayor in 2018, if his health permitted. His brother later said two tumours had been found on his bladder.
His family still believes more research is needed.
On Tuesday, tributes poured in for the late politician.
John Tory is elected mayor of Toronto.
While Ford’s loud style rubbed many the wrong way, he could sometimes be endearing, dancing and clapping with abandon as a gospel choir sang on the floor of City Hall or posing for selfies with revelers at street festivals in Toronto. “My condolences and best wishes to the Ford family today”, he said. Ford and his brother Doug hosted a campaign event days before the October election that swept the Conservatives from power.
– Stephen Harper (@stephenharper) March 22, 2016Laureen and I offer our deepest condolences to the Ford family.
His inability to build consensus about how to tackle Toronto’s transportation issues helped foster a city with one of the world’s longest rush-hour wait times. Ford returned to Etobicoke after a brief move to Ottawa, married his high-school sweetheart Renata and has never left since.
He says part of that loyalty came from the way Ford related to the public.
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According to family, Ford was recovering after becoming “very weak” from previous treatment and was under 24-hour medical watch before his death.
