|
 Ford vowed to take City Council to court after it voted
overwhelmingly Friday to strip him of some of his powers over his
admitted use of crack cocaine, public drinking and increasingly
erratic behavior.
The motion, approved in a 39-3 vote, suspends Ford's authority to
appoint and dismiss the deputy mayor and his executive committee.
The council, which lacks the authority to force the mayor from
office unless he is convicted of a crime and jailed, also voted to
give the deputy mayor authority to handle any civic emergency.
The effort will continue Monday when the council moves to strip the
mayor of most of his remaining powers, including his office budget.
It would also appoint the deputy mayor to lead of his executive
committee. That motion has already been signed by 28 of the
council's 44 members.
The votes capped another frenzied week of twists and turns in a
scandal that has been the talk of Canada's largest city and
financial capital for months.
Recently released court documents show the mayor became the subject
of a police investigation after news reports surfaced in May that he
had been caught on video smoking crack cocaine. In interviews with
police, former staffers accused the mayor of frequently drinking,
driving while intoxicated and making sexual advances toward a female
staffer.
Ford stirred up further controversy and even offended Toronto's
football team when he wore a team jersey while making a
profanity-laced statement about the allegations Thursday.
It has been a stunning decline for mayor who was elected three years
ago with overwhelming support from Toronto's conservative-leaning
suburbs, where many voters felt angry about what they considered
wasteful spending and elitist politics at City Hall.
His mood swings were on full display Friday as he defiantly vowed to
fight the motion in court, then conceded he understood why the
council took the measures.
Then, in a flash of remorse, the 44-year-old Ford declared: "If I
would have had a mayor conducting themselves the way I have, I would
have done exactly the same thing. I'm not mad at anybody. I take
full responsibility."
The mayor, a conservative who touts his efforts to curb public
spending and keep taxes low, later made it clear he intends to seek
re-election next year.
"Councilors spoke today. The taxpayers of this great city will have
their say Oct. 27," Ford told a crush of reporters at City Hall,
referring to next year's municipal elections. Nearby, a few hecklers
shouted, "Resign! Resign!"
Ford said he didn't care that many council members were laughing at
him, noting he won a large mandate in the 2010 election and was
laughed at for years as a councilman before being elected mayor.
"They laughed at me for 13 years, but fortunately 387,000 people
never laughed at me. We'll see what happens," the mayor said.
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Ford's lawyer, Dennis Morris, accused the council of attempting an
illegal "coup" and said Ford has hired a municipal law expert,
lawyer George Rust-D'Eye, to challenge it. "Council clearly has the
power to amend or appeal its own bylaws, but at the same time it
doesn't have the legal power to restrict the statutory
responsibilities of the mayor of Toronto," Rust-D'Eye said.
Ford's brother and adviser, councilman Doug Ford, called him "the
mayor of the people" and said the rights of those who voted for him
were being trampled.
Friday's vote capped a week featuring a series of antics that
outraged city councilors.
On Thursday, Ford spouted an obscenity while denying that he
pressured a female employee for oral sex, saying on live television
that he was "happily married," and using crude language to assert
that he enjoys enough oral sex at home.
"If it wasn't for that stupid comment he made yesterday no one would
have thought this (the council's action) was appropriate," his
attorney Morris told The Associated Press.
"It was a turning point for public sympathy. That type of remark is
never ever appropriate in public," the attorney said, adding that
the "media have been attacking him like jackals" and Ford "lost it."
Ford said he was seeking medical help, though he declined to provide
details. Although the mayor has admitted to excessive drinking and
using and buying illegal drugs, he and his family insist he is not
an addict and does not need rehab.
Still, even Morris said the recently released court documents show
the mayor has a drinking problem. But he also criticized police for
allowing Ford to drink and drive while under surveillance over the
past six months.
"The problem drug Rob has is alcohol, that's obvious," Morris told
the AP. "What I found very strange is that the police allowed a lot
of this to go on under their supervision. If he was drinking and
driving and he was impaired, they should have stopped him."
Earlier this week, the council voted overwhelmingly to ask Ford to
take a leave of absence, but the motion was non-binding.
No matter what the council does, Ford seems intent to remain in the
limelight. The tabloid Sun News Network announced that the mayor and
his brother Doug, a city councilor, will do a current events
television show called "Ford Nation" on Monday nights.
[Associated
Press; ROB GILLIES]
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