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Rob Ford's Toronto

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The quotes keep coming: You gotta have skin on you like an alligator

Here is what Mayor Rob Ford said at city hall after Justice Charles Hackland’s decision to kick him out of office.

“This comes down to left-wing politics. The left wing wants me out of here and they'll doing anything in their power to. I’m going to fight tooth and nail to hold onto my job. And if they do for some reason get me out, I’ll be running right back at them as soon as the next election hits. If there’s a byelection, my name will be the first one on the ballot.”

“I’m running for the great citizens of the city. I’ve fought for them for two years and I’m going to continue to fight for them as long as they want me here. The people are going to speak. I’m not going to have people saying that I can’t do this, I can’t do that. I’m going to fight for the taxpayers as I always have. I want to thank them for their support. The calls are coming fast and furious now, telling me to fight it, telling me to run again. I want to thank them very much. I’ll never give up on the taxpayers of the city.”

“We’re ready to go. It’s up to council inevitably, this appeal process. I’ll fight with the appeal, and if I lose there’ll be a byelection. And I guarantee I’ll be the first one in there and we’ll be up like we were two years ago.”

“Of course you're surprised. It's more disappointing than surprising. You just have to roll with the punches. You gotta have skin on you like an alligator.”
 
I’m not going to have people saying that I can’t do this, I can’t do that.

No Sir, you just had someone told you that - with authority vested by the law. Clearly that reality still hasn't gotten through his thick skull.

AoD
 
And that ^^^ is the crux of all Rob's problems. Sometimes, someone CAN tell you what you can or cannot do.
 
Mammo is lining himself up to replace Ford of course. He's the ultimate opportunist. Those of us who've been following his antics at City Hall know this without question but he's hoping that enough voters do not. Mammoliti has no chance at gaining any support on council to becoming the caretaker mayor and I think little in the way of being elected in a by-election.

Here's my Coles Notes on how I think the next steps will go:

- Ford will request a stay on the sentence to remain Mayor while the appeals process goes through. It could go either way, but the 14 days between now and when his ouster takes effect, hurts him more than it helps. It gives City Council the opportunity to prepare for the transition so if Ford's sentence takes effect in 2 weeks, it won't leave the city in turmoil which would be one of the reasons to leave Ford in place. Ford is now convicted and so the onus is on him to prove that he's innocent, not the other way around.

- The Appeal: A panel of judges on the Ontario Divisional Court will review the ruling. Let's not forget that Justice Hackland is a Superior Court Justice. He's not some lower court rookie. His ruling has the respect of his peers. Unless something is decidedly open to interpretation, the panel will be unlikely to find any fault in it. Hackland's ruling cleared up a lot of that subjectivity and gives solid explanations for excluding each point of defence.

In retrospect, the outcome of this case should have been very clear: Ford clearly broke the law and his defence was weak. The only thing blurring our vision was that it wasn't expected that a judge would sack a democratically elected Mayor of Canada's largest city. The panel on the Divisional Court will review the ruling in search of any inaccuracies. If Ford's lawyer can't find something inherently wrong with it, it's very very likely to stand.

The process of this single appeal will most likely not take long, certainly not much longer than the original ruling. In 3 to 5 months max, Ford will have emptied out his footballs from his office if he is granted a stay or renting a U-Haul in a couple of weeks if not.
 
Dear ford nation, suggestion, keep quiet and don't reveal your ignorance.

This is my first post on this thread and want to declare my "ignorance".

I ride my bike every day to work (from King/Bathurst to Don Mills/Eglington) for the past two year...I've never owned a car my entire life (I'm in my 30's) and consider myself 'green' by living standards. I AGREE with Ford not supporting bike lanes...because: painting a line on the road will not protect cyclists and it certainly will not encourage people to switch....and if does, what are we going to do with hundreds of more bikes on the road? There are just as many poor cyclists as there are poor drivers - I see it all the time (ask any daily commuter on a bike); the roads are not wide enough so road congestion will do more harm than good. Plain and simple, the solution of bike 'lanes' will not prevent accidents any more than cyclists & drivers being patient, cautious, and aware when on the road.

Now, the TTC essential service or privatizing garbage collection issue. IMO, I'm for it even though I KNOW it will cost me tax dollars. I want this as a tax payer. What I don't want is gawd damn strikes every year (why do you think I ride my bike and try to avoid waste when possible?). It's because services like this get paid regardless of the quality of service they provide, and then decide to strike and halt the city at will. I'm sorry, but I'd rather know I'm paying a premium (eventually or not) for guaranteed service. (Nay sayers hold your breath....I choose to accept this regardless if you don't)

"Subways, subways, subways"...ya he's says that, and probably made other counselors miserable who didn't say it with him, but I voted the guy to put in subways and would never vote for anyone who didn't say it. It costs money? What doesn't, but at least it will benefit a growing city in the long run. Nay sayers guess what, they're already taking about bringing relief to the core with a subway, so once again hold your breath.

I also remember something about closing community libraries, homeless something or other, after hour youth programs....again, he said he would run the city like a business. I don't expect to see the fiscal report, but I'd think there's a purpose here. I haven't gone to a library since I plugged into the internet back in 1995. If the library didn't have customers, then the people have spoken. I don't know what the deal is with the homeless, so I'll skip on this one. But funding for youth programs, I donate every year to community programs (like Brandon Street Community) so it bothers me to read about funding cuts. But I can't put faith in what I read because people typically hate Ford and the whole story isn't stated. So again, I have to trust the decision was made with a heavy heart.

And finally...the media blow ups about him on his cell phone (while driving), flipping someone off, eating KFC while on a diet, kicking people off a ttc bus to escort his football team...Honestly, the dude is human. Ok, the TTC bus thing was weird and it's something I wouldn't have done if in his shoes, but it doesn't have any validity to me choosing to vote on issues that are important to me.

I guess I'm writing this because I will vote for Ford again, unless another qualified candidate (nay sayers hold your breath, Ford was a qualified counselor prior to running for mayor) can capture my issues. Yes, Ford did not fulfill most of my issues or hold true to his campaign speech (really wished the land transfer tax was abolished), but because counselors/protestors gave him an uphill battle pretty much the whole way.


....and now the shit storm I've caused begins!
 
Not a shit storm, but ...
I think you're right, bike lanes aren't the safest options. But we do need improved bike infrastructure and Ford hasn't done anything to work towards that. He thinks bikes don't belong on the road; okay fine, so give us safe off-road options.

Sure someone has to pay for subways. However, Ford wasn't going to the taxpayer for that (because unlike you, he isn't willing to pay a premium). Remember, he didn't think there was a revenue problem ... at first. Then he figured it out and realized he couldn't pay for subways -- well that and his cavalier "the private sector will pay" attitude.

And sure he's human, but it's not just one foible of flipping someone the finger. It's multiple incidences of his "I'm above the law/the rules don't apply to me" attitude over years, both as a councillor and as mayor, that make sure I will never vote for him.

And as for libraries, maybe you don't go, but a lot of people do. In fact, library use is up year over year. Toronto Public Library has done a great job of reinventing itself to meet today's changing digital needs. They're not just about books on shelves any more.
 
I AGREE with Ford not supporting bike lanes...because: painting a line on the road will not protect cyclists and it certainly will not encourage people to switch

In your, no so informed, opinion.

. What I don't want is gawd damn strikes every year

I wasn't aware of yearly garbage strikes...ford nation reveals!

but I voted the guy to put in subways and would never vote for anyone who didn't say it.

We all want subways...only some of us are aware that they cost money, you apparently aren't.

Nay sayers guess what, they're already taking about bringing relief to the core with a subway, so once again hold your breath

'they' don't include rob ford...this wasn't his idea, nor did he support it...nice try though.

I haven't gone to a library since I plugged into the internet back in 1995

Clearly.

I don't know what the deal is with the homeless, so I'll skip on this one.

Thanks...there are many other points tyou know nothing about as well...should have skipped those too.

And finally...the media blow ups about him on his cell phone (while driving), flipping someone off, eating KFC while on a diet, kicking people off a ttc bus to escort his football team...Honestly, the dude is human.

Just wow.

Yes, Ford did not fulfill most of my issues or hold true to his campaign speech

...didn' tyou post to back him up, and that other poster who thinks he succeeded?

I stand behind my post, ford nation is rather ignorant....and seemingly proud of it.
 
I'm very anti-Ford but in a Ford v. Chow contest I would have a hard time reconciling my desire to see Ford out of office with my desire to not have a card-carrying member of the NDP establishment as mayor. I would actually prefer to see the Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday finish Ford's term and have a proper mayoral contest in just under two years. Except I believe he prefers the by-election route.
 
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My brother just revealed to me that he voted for Ford "because he was the lesser of all evils". I won't get started on how you could have had a worse mayor than Ford but a lot of those regular people who voted for Ford for one reason or another clearly didn't know his history and now they do. They will not be voting for him again.

Then you have hardcore hard heads who have managed to remain ignorant to the obstructionism, fantasy goals without plans to achieve them, lies to the electorate and the media, divisionism, lack of leadership, personal use of city resources and overall how unfit Ford is for office ... Well those people will fall within the 15%-20% of people who might still vote for him. Otherwise, I'm confident that if any major candidate can get a relatively easily achievable 30%, Ford will not be re-elected if he manages to put together a campaign with financial supporters and run in 2014.
 
And finally...the media blow ups about him on his cell phone (while driving), flipping someone off, eating KFC while on a diet, kicking people off a ttc bus to escort his football team...Honestly, the dude is human. Ok, the TTC bus thing was weird and it's something I wouldn't have done if in his shoes, but it doesn't have any validity to me choosing to vote on issues that are important to me.

Oh, I get it. You're an end justifies the means kind of guy. Specifically you'd vote somebody based on a single issue that is actually somewhat small in the grander scheme of things, like the promise (but not the money nor a viable plan) to build a subway to a place that may need it less than other parts of the city. You know that Ford isn't responsible for building or finding funding for an inch of subway, and there was no evidence that he would have been able to achieve this, right?
 
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