Rob Ford, you will be missed.

Myself and Rob Ford days after he admitted to smoking crack cocaine.

Today, Rob Ford passed away after an 18 month battle with cancer. A father, brother, son, councillor and Former mayor of Toronto. Ford’s tenure as Mayor was one of the wildest rides of my life. As a journalism student we couldn’t have had a better way to learn. Let me share with you the memories I had as a student following Rob Ford.

Before being a journalism student I was in Liberal Arts, yet followed city council almost religiously. I wasn’t a fan of Ford when he started his mayoralty, but he started to grow on me. I didn’t quite understood why Rob Ford was such a hated man till I started doing my research. Always thought he was hilarious from what I saw in videos.

One time in the summer of 2011 my friends and I didn’t have anything to do, so we sat at the chairs beside Ford’s office. Rob walked out of his office with a football and said “Goodnight Boys!” waving his hand and walking towards the now infamous elevator. My friends and I didn’t make much of it. We were young and we just said goodnight back. Little did I know, Rob Ford would be a huge part of my future in journalism.

When I started journalism school we were given soft, fun stories. For me it wasn’t fun. I wanted to do something big, a real story that would make headlines in the news. And so I started chasing Rob Ford stories. The stories would simply be Ford denying that he used drugs, drinking in public and or fighting for a subway in Scarborough.

The day Scarborough was voted to have a subway was a wonderful day for Rob. He was ecstatic. Surrounded with Scarborough city councillors he was talking to the media in the council chambers. That was my first scrum with Rob Ford. Since then, I was hooked.

When Toronto Star writers Robyn Doolittle (Now with Globe and Mail) and Kevin Donovan wrote the article about Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine, I couldn’t believe it. I spoke to my classmates in disbelief and they told me “why are you surprised? Have you seen what he has done?”. I never took the article seriously. To me it was just another Rob Ford scandal that The Toronto Star wanted to write up.

Reading Crazy Town The Rob Ford Story infront of Mayor Ford’s Office

Fall of 2013 began, it was my second year in journalism school. Questions continued to follow Ford about his crack cocaine use. Getting back into the groove of school I continued to cover Mayor Ford. Those were the days where media would camp out outside his office, waiting for him to come out and ask him the question “Have you smoked crack cocaine?”. And it didn’t matter what the debate at council was, that question is almost guaranteed to be asked.

On October 31st 2013, I was in class with my professor and former CTV News Toronto Anchor Bill Hutchison when Police Chief Bill Blair spoke to the media after a successful police raid called “Project Brazen 2”. In the press conference Chief Blair said “We have retrieved a video file that was previously reported in the media”. Watching it live I yelled out to Bill “Bill! Toronto Police got the crack video!”. I jumped and clapped then making my hands into fists. This was the moment I realized why news is always exciting. Bill said to me after “Okay, now you got the news, get your notes ready for your live hit”.

November 5th. I was in radio class finishing off a news quiz when my classmate Ameer told me “Hey Kris, did you hear? Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack”. I immediately grabbed my phone and saw notifications from the news apps I have on my phone. Right after class I was scheduled to go to work (Black’s Photography). I knew Rob was going to speak again, so I skipped work and ran to city hall to join the scrum.

When I got to the front of his office there was dozens of members of the media. Cameras, reporters, step ladders, lights, and then there was me with my iPhone 4. I was squished by the glass with almost no way out. Norm Kelly came out of the office saying he spoke to the mayor. Next was a Rob Ford staffer who came out. A reporter from CityTV was behind me. She asked “Who are you with?” I was young and didn’t know what to say, so I just said “I’m a Seneca journalism student”. The reporter quickly said “You’re not that important, let me get infront of you”. I wasn’t sure how the journalism world worked yet, so I let her go infront of me. Later I spoke to one of my professors and told them the story. They advised me to say I’m with Say News (Seneca @ York). That was the first time I experienced such a fight to get their mic in a scrum.

Inside the Rob Ford press conference after he admitted to smoking crack cocaine. A photographer asked if I wanted a photo, so I posed.

Amin Massoudi came out and said to have your media passes ready. I didn’t have one, all I had was a student card that said “JRN” (Short form for Journalism). And so I walked away, with all my hopes of being in the room for the most infamous moment of Toronto history fading away. Till I ran into a CTV Camera man who asked why I was leaving. I told him I didn’t have a media pass. He said “Just use your student card! It will work!”. And so I got in. I could barely see anything inside the small room, all I could see is cameras and heads. I stood at the back with Adam Vaughan who later walked out when Ford said he will not step down. And I also was standing right beside the reporter who asked me to let her go in front.

Days later I would go to city hall to try to catch Ford. And eventually City Council had a special meeting to ask Ford to get help. It was a very aggressive meeting. It seemed to be a meeting to just let Rob Ford know politely that he needs to step down. City Hall’s chambers were packed to capacity. With American news outlets covering the story as well. The crowd bled into the rotunda on the main floor. When one of the councillors was questioning staff, Rob Ford and his security guard walked around the chamber filming the crowd with an iPhone. The crowd started heckling and so did Rob. Then Doug Ford, Rob’s brother got into it as well. I rushed out of my seat and went to film the fiasco. The yelling and screaming lead to Rob Ford running over Councillor Pam McConnell. Speaker Nunziata called for a recess and all hell broke loose.

During recess in council, the Fords started heckling to the crowd inside the chambers. I can be see in the black and orange cap.

Later in the day they went back to normal council motions, it was quiet and Rob came to the side. I ran up to him and introduced myself. I was followed by media and I asked Rob if I could get a photo. (Which was the one above). I shook Ford’s hand and he said “If you need anything, and I mean anything you give me a call”. He handed me his business card and a magnet. Council was put on hold cause Ford created a lot of chatter with the media. Ford explained to council that “someone asked to take a photo and so I did, that’s all”.

Rob and Doug started to do rounds of interviews, basically with every network. Even CNN. Conrad Black hosted an interview with Ford. It was raved about. I was waiting outside Ford’s office for Conrad Black to come out. He took the backdoor and about a dozen journalists and camera men followed Black into the parking lot. We found him and asked him questions. He was very simple with his answers, some questions he didn’t even answer. I was working on a story about Rob Ford being a bad influence on youth. So I asked him the question “Do you think Rob Ford is a bad influence to the youth?” he answered “No, I do not think he is a bad influence on the youth”. That question made headlines.

Chasing down Conrad Black after his interview with Rob Ford. I can be seen over his right shoulder.

In J-School it was a requirement to take a documentary film class. My class was lead by James Cullingham who directed In Search of Joe Blind Death: The Saga of John Fahey and is the National Director for CAJ (Canadian Association of Journalists). By that time I was known with my classmates that I was a Ford-a-holic. I did all my stories on Ford. So it wasn’t a surprise to them when I said I was going to do a Rob Ford Documentary. I worked closely with James to produce my documentary and it required many hours at city hall.

With all those hours spent waiting for Ford outside of his office, I met some really amazing people. I met Momin Qureshi a 680 News reporter who also graduated from Seneca. I also met Robyn Doolittle, Natalie Johnson, Cynthia Mulligan, and many more. Momin helped me get an internship with 680 News, which till this day I am thankful for.

I knew my documentary wouldn’t be anything without an interview with Rob Ford. I sent an email and called Rob Ford’s office to request an interview. Using his line of “If you need anything let me know” to try and get the interview. With no success, I decided to go another route. Ask Doug Ford for an interview. The Thursday I was supposed to interview Doug, he surprisingly flew out to Los Angeles to be on The Jimmy Kimmel Show. His office cancelled on me. But I continued to push for an interview. Eventually the Tuesday he came back, he opened a twenty minute slot for me. I knew this would be a great opportunity for my journalism career. I was stumped on how to ask questions. Do I ask the the hard ones? Or do I start soft and go hard when he is relaxed. I went over my questions with Bill and James. I had 24 questions for him.

The day came and we walked into his office. Set the cameras up and Doug was ready. His assistant asked if he wanted her to stay. She insisted for herself to stay just incase it get’s too much for Doug. Surprisingly, Doug answered all my questions. Even about Rob Ford and his drug problems. After the interview we spoke off camera. He offered me a job with the campaign they are running. We took pictures and he offered to show us Rob’s office. On our way out we got caught in a media scrum. That was the first time I felt bad for the Fords who always get surrounded by press. When we got into the office, Doug gave us T-shirts that said “FORD NATION”. We walked into Rob’s main office. It was filled with memorabilia and a giant framed picture of his father, Doug Ford Sr. What an experience. When other news outlets can’t get an interview with the Fords and me, a student journalist scored the greatest interview in my career.

Doug Ford and I following our interview.

Continuing my work on the documentary we traveled to Etobicoke to check out the spots that were notable to the crack scandal. We went to the front of his home, we went to the home where Rob Ford posed with two murdered men, and The Steak Queen where Ford rambled inebriated in a patios accent.

After the documentary was completed, it was presented to Seneca. In the audience was Seneca President David Agnew. It was later uploaded to YouTube and was taken down due to copyright issues (I will fix it when I get the chance).

The documentary closed the book on my journalism schooling and following Ford almost everywhere. When Rob checked into rehab we all knew it was for good. The day that he returned it was deja-vu all over again. Dozens of media outlets camped out outside his office waiting for those elevator doors to open. When he returned many were glad and he looked much healthier than he used to. That was the last time I scrummed with Rob Ford. I ran into Rob a few times during the election. I believe the last time I saw and spoke Rob Ford was at Taste of the Danforth. That day he followed me on Twitter and it was one of the happiest days of my life (Such a low standard of happiness)

Ford returns from rehab. I’m in the red plaid shirt.

Wherever you maybe now Rob, I hope you are at peace. It was a wild ride and I thank you for letting me be part of it. You were a huge part of the City of Toronto and a huge part of my journalism career. Cancer is the worst way to go. I’m thinking of your family during this difficult time. You were one time the most hated person in the city, but at the same time you were one of the most loved. Don’t worry, we will take care of the city the way you wanted to take care of it. We will fill those potholes, we will save the money, and we will never forget what you’ve done for us.

Rob, thank you.

John Tory is the New Mayor of Toronto

Just like many politicians, my last post was filled with empty promises.

I sincerely apologize for not being able to post any blogs weeks before and after the election.

A family matter came up, and I had to attend family.

I will soon continue to write blogs on this page when I get the chance.

In the meantime….

Yes. John Tory has been elected Mayor of Toronto, which ends Rob Ford’s era as Mayor. But don’t count him out. He’s now the seat holder of Etobicoke North Ward 2. Expect some fireworks when issues are brought forward.

Return Special!

It’s been a while since I last updated this blog of mine and the election day is coming real close. As of today there is 9 days left till the day of October 27th. The day we’ve been hearing since last November.

Since that day is drawing closer and closer, I thought to myself that I should write a blog every day from now till October 27th.

So that is what I will do.

From now until Election Day, I will publish a post each day.

Stay tuned!

Doug Ford Popped Debate Cherry

Doug Ford attended his first debate and he came out swinging.

The debate was held at York Memorial school. You must have been a resident of Ward 11 or 12. But I know how to sneak in, and I did.

The crowd grew, many Ford supporters were in attendance while Tory’s supporters weren’t as large. Chow had supporters too, but not as many as Tory or Ford.

While waiting in line, I met this lady. She said she used to go to this high school with Gail Kim (The former WWE Ladies Champion). The lady had a poster of two tiny Toms, one a little bigger than the other and the hashtag “#Ugh” on the side. She said that the city’s finance isn’t used well.

However, later on when she was seated, a man walked up to her and took the sign out of her hands and crumpled it then walked away. Yells rang out “Get that man!”. He returned and gave back the crumpled sign. But the drama doesn’t end there.

The room was filled, standing room only. As the candidates walked on stage they were received with cheers and boos. Including chant battles. Such as “Ford More Years”, “We Want Tory”, and “O-C”.

I’ll admit, I was a bit excited to see Doug Ford walk on stage. First time to see Doug and he looked a bit nervous but we all knew he will be throwing haymakers.

The debate was tough to listen to. Heckling coming from the crowd ever thirty seconds. Until one attendee couldn’t control her emotions. She started to heckle about Ford Nation doing what is best for the city and other Ford Nation beliefs. Eventually her heckling got too out of control, Olivia Chow decided to stop talking until the situation was handled. Police Officers came and escorted the female Ford Nation member out of the building.

The debate continued. Chow and Tory were hammering on John Tory. Rarely Ford attacked Chow.

When the transit debate came up, Chow pulled out her map on a hardboard. Following Chow was Ford. Doug brought out a much bigger sign of his map and said “You want a transit plan, here is one”. The crowd went crazy. Tory didn’t bring a prop.

More fireworks erupted. A crowd question created echos of “Ohhhhh”s and “Ouuuu”s. That question? “As Mayor, will you march in the Pride Parade?”. Why was it a big deal? Doug Ford was opposed of “Buck Naked Men” walking down the parade. Also his brother Rob never attended. Doug circled around the question saying he supports everyone whether they are gay, bi, pink or purple. But didn’t answer if he will march. The crowd was yelling “Yes or no?” (Me included). One man heckled back at me and said “He answered the question already”. No he did not. Eventually he said he will attend and support the parade. But didn’t say he will march.

After one comment Ford said about cutting useless spending, the man behind me told me they should cut ALL libraries. I asked him why, and he said “cause I don’t use it and books are useless to me. I care about seniors”. Which prompt me to reply with “Don’t seniors read books too?”. With no reply he continued to tell me not to yell out and cheer. I (as a man who doesn’t back down to a shouting war) said “How about you use the books you don’t use to cover your ears?”. One thing I don’t like is someone telling another to be quiet without a “please” and instead saying “shut up”. Another man infront of me pulled a man infront of him down because he was standing to take a picture. Politics can get dirty.

Some more punches were thrown. Ford decided to attack John Tory the most. Saying that Tory is “used to receiving everything on a silver platter”. Also asked Tory which committee was incharge of purchasing to prove that he has no experience at City Hall. Tory had no answer. Then Ford attacked both Tory and Chow saying that they both live downtown and they have easy access to a subway.

By the end of the debate half of the room had left. Tory and Chow scrummed yet Doug rushed out. I asked Tory about Ford ducking the Pride question and Tory said “I think his failure to answer the pride parade question is telling … It speaks to the attitude you have to have”

By a long range, Doug Ford won the debate. Besides the Pride answer he answered all questions fully. Chow came in a far second and out of the pack running out of air was John Tory. He was hammered and left speechless by Chow and Ford’s attacks.

Expect 5 more weeks of these fireworks and the campaign will get filthy and dirty as October 27th comes near.

We will just have to wait and see.

Mayor Rob Ford Has Cancer

Mayor Rob Ford has been diagnosed with Malignant Liposarcoma, an extremely rare type of cancer. Ford will undergo 3 days of chemotherapy, then will be released for 17 days. He will go through two cycles of chemo.

Dr. Zane Cohan announced today that the results of the tests have resulted in the discovery of the specific type of tumor Ford has in his abdomen. He called the tumor “fairly aggressive” and it hasn’t spread to other organs of the body.

The press conference comes after days of Mayor Ford in hospital and very little to no information was released to the media. The decision to inform the public came from the Ford family, who has been in and out of Mount Sinai Hospital as of late.

Doctors had discovered one tumor during the first biopsy. The size was around the same as a baseball, 12 cm in diameters. Then they also discovered another one which is around 2cm x 2cm in the second biopsy.

Shortly after the announcement from Dr. Zane Cohan, mayoral candidates Olivia Chow and John Tory spoke at City Hall regarding the recent news of Rob Ford’s condition. Chow said “I wish Rob Ford well, I know how it feels like when a family receives bad news”. She is referring to the time when her husband Jack Layton was diagnosed with cancer twice. The first was prostate cancer, the second time caused his death in 2011.

Chow also battled thyroid cancer back in 2004, and won her battle when it was removed. After Layton recovered from his first fight with cancer, he survived until her suffered again. This time Layton and his family decided not to announce what type of cancer he was suffering through (To this day, only his close friends and family knows). It was a decision that Jack believed would have helped those who are affected from that specific type of cancer. He hoped for them not to be discouraged by his failing health. Layton succumbed to cancer on August 22, 2011 following a successful second place finish in the federal election in May of 2011.

Meanwhile, Doug Ford has yet to begin his campaign for Mayor. On Friday, coming close to the deadline Rob decided to drop out of the race and let his brother Doug take his spot while Rob runs for Ward 2. The swap came to shock to many Torontoians and other international news outlets.

Today “Rob” was taken off the “Rob Ford Campaign Office” sign at the Scarborough location, slowly showing signs of change. And Doug Ford should be entering the full campaign soon.

When asked about continuing the campaign, John Tory said “That’s what we all want, we want the best news for Rob”, keeping his presser on the topic of the Mayor’s health. Olivia on the other hand was more sincere when the Doug Ford’s campaign was brought up. “I am not running against a person, I am running against their ideas” said Chow. Both candidates sent their thoughts and messages to Mayor Ford. Tory says “We do know Mayor Ford is a fighter”, Chow says “You got to take all the strength you have to stay hopeful, stay optimistic and say ‘I can beat this'” and Doug Ford releasing a statement with the final line saying “Rob will beat this”.

We will just have to wait and see.

I wish Rob Ford and his family the very best, and for a clean bill of health. Rob is a strong and confident man. He will get by this.

Smart Track Defenceless At Ryerson

John Tory decided to withdraw from the Transit debate at Ryerson yesterday.

Giving organizers 2 hours notice that he isn’t attending left Olivia Chow the only candidate to discuss transit.

Chow called out Tory saying he is “scared”. Chow addressed the audience with her plans for LRTs and a DRL with more buses now. It ended up a question and answer period between the moderator and Chow. The debate was supposed to feature the Top 4 candidates. Rob Ford dropped out and the replacement, Doug Ford has yet to begin his campaign, and Soknacki dropped out last week. Leaving it to be just Olivia and John. But a fight that Tory continues to keep punching wasn’t there to defend itself.

The choice that John Tory made to skip the transit debate made it seem that he truly doesn’t have belief that his Smart Track plan can really work. He has defended this plan at other debates though. Yet, when it came to the main debate of transit itself he decided to back out.

Yes, I understand that there’s almost a debate everyday (sometimes twice a day), but for such an important issue that affects all Torontoians and something he has pushed on for a while, it’s mind boggling why he didn’t attend. Tory’s Smart Track plan may possibly be his strongest platform and his strongest argument at debates.

I spoke to one of my friends who is a transit enthusiast (Yes, they exist). He told me that the plan is physically impossible to work. Something to do with the rails not fitting the subway trains on the GO tracks. A bit confusing, but there are some flaws in his plan. For the record it’s not called the Downtown Relief Line (which has been said by the TTC that the DRL is the top priority). I’m not going to get too deep into the conversation about transit because it can get easily dirty.

But back to the debate. A candidate named D!onne Renee (Yes that is an “!” in her name, and it’s not the way Russell Peters would pronounce it), crashed the one candidate debate. I spoke to her on sunday while I was at the G98.7 round table for candidates. She informed me that she finds it unfair that she isn’t invited to these debates that only consist of the Top 5 (now 3) candidates. She continued to question my decision on who I should vote for. I told her I am completely torn between candidates (I won’t say who), yet she insisted that I needed to think about the 2%. Which was apparently us. I asked if she knows she’s not going to win, yet she insisted if she doesn’t win, it’s the media’s fault. Somewhat even scared me a bit, she stared right into my eyes as if she was trying to hypnotize me in such a way. She warned me that she would crash the Ryerson debate if they don’t include her saying that now Soknacki dropped, there’s an open spot. And if Doug Ford were to take Rob Ford’s vacated spot it also won’t be fair. She crashed it, and security escorted her away.

Tory said he will also be skipping a bunch of debates. As did Rob Ford said a few weeks ago. Debates can take a huge toll on candidates, and the fact that there is about 20 or so left, it will start to get boring. Olivia is a nice lady, and her rejection for debates are highly unlikely. So if Tory and Ford both decide to skip the next 20 or so debates, it would leave Olivia Chow alone with long shot candidates, which to her is simple and could be done with her eyes closed.

We will just have to wait and see.

The Final Hour.

In one hour the whole Mayoral race changed.

Rob out, Doug in.

How did it get to this? Let’s recap what happened.

A few days ago Rob Ford was brought to Humber River Hospital (Ward 7) after going to the doctor. He was experiencing pain in his abdomen. The doctor instructed him to go to the hospital. He did. He was diagnosed to have an abdominal tumor. Doctors were not sure whether it was cancerous or not. (Still has yet to be determined. Results should be in next week). The clock was ticking. Friday at 2pm is the deadline to submit and/or remove your name from the ballot to run for Mayor, Councillor, or Trustee. Everyone was wishing Rob well. Whether you disagreed with his politics or agree with them. Everyone wanted to have a healthy man at the end of the day.

But the question was still there. Looming in the air. Can Rob Ford continue on? And if not should he drop?

12:45pm: Jeff Silverstein (Rob Ford’s Communications Director) walks into the Clerk’s office for Elections. He pulls Rob Ford’s name out of the Mayor’s Race. Along with Michael Ford’s name for city councillor in Ward 2. It also included speculation that Doug Ford will run in his place.

1:15pm: Jeff Silverstein attempts to sign Doug Ford up for Mayor. Fails, missing additional paperwork.

1:25pm: Doug Ford arrives at city hall. Files in person to run for Mayor of Toronto. Jeff Silverstein also files Rob Ford to run in Ward 2, and Michael Ford for Toronto District School Board Trustee in Ward 1.

1:30pm: Everything is finalized. 30 minutes till deadline to remove or add name to ballot.

1:45pm: Doug Ford says “Yes, I am running for Mayor”

2:00pm: Ballot is officially closed. No names can be removed or added.

Within a full hour. The complete race for the seat of Mayor has changed. Was this expected? No.

How about a super quick recap.

1. Rob Ford drops out of the race for Mayor. Registers for his former council seat (Currently held by Doug Ford).

2. Doug Ford registers to run for Mayor.

3. Michael Ford drops out of the race to run for Council. Now running for TDSB Trustee in Ward 1.

Now that Doug Ford is running for Mayor, everything changes for their campaign. Doug cannot use any of the money raised for Rob Ford’s campaign (Including the $60 I spent for 2 bobbleheads). Doug must start from $0. He cannot use Rob Ford’s campaign offices. Must open his own. Merchandise from Rob’s campaign can be used. But must be bought for the original price.

But now everyone has the question in the back of their mind… Can Doug Ford run Canada’s largest city? Doug has only 1 term of councillor experience under his belt. Compared to Rob, he had 10 years (3 terms). Doug Ford isn’t Rob Ford 2.0, they have the same policies and beliefs. But the history behind the two are different. Doug never smoked crack cocaine while in office and became an overnight international sensation. There was no full police investigation on his personal life. But Doug has had is share of bad press. Maybe not as bad as Rob, but it was enough to create a stir. He apparently insulted those who are autistic. He accused the Chief of Police on being a liar. And he has been accused of being a marijuana dealer back in high school (which he denied).

But compared to Rob Ford’s slurs, lies, and drug use… it’s almost nothing. You can even say he might be the better of two evils.

Back in April, I had a sit down interview with Doug Ford in his office. (Will post some clips below)On camera, he was honest. But fell off the tracks most of the time. I had 15 questions set. I expected the interview to go for thirty minutes or less. It ended up taking an hour and a half, plus a tour of the Mayor’s office. By the way the interview I was going, I felt the passion Doug had for the job he currently holds. He seemed to care about everyone’s well being. At the end of it, he even offered me an opportunity to work on the Rob Ford Campaign as Director of Communications. He gave me his personal cell phone number to call him to set up a talk over coffee. I emailed his office back with my resume after debating whether I should apply or not. His secretary said they placed the email onto his desk. And I never heard a reply back. (It’s okay. At least I don’t have to be Jeff Silverstein) But Doug always talked about his brother and how his brother was doing this, doing that. Making the city better. There’s no doubt that him and his brother aren’t working together to create better infrastructure in the city. Doug had a giant check on his back wall for a park donated straight from his pocket.

The question still stands, is he ready to be Mayor? Personally, I don’t believe so. If he gets elected there is no doubt that Rob will be behind all his decisions as Mayor. Rob might even become the head of his war room. The Ford brothers are like two strings from a single stick of Cheese String. They are practically the same when it comes to their policies.

But what will happen for Rob in Ward 2? There is no doubt in my mind that Rob Ford will take at least 75% of the vote in Ward 2. Even if Rob doesn’t get up from his hospital bed till October 27th, he will win. The Ford name has been in that Ward for over a decade, and it’s not going anywhere. For Andray Domise running in Ward 2, he had a glimpse of hope when Michael Ford was running. Michael Ford is 21 years old with a High School Diploma. But now there is seriously no chance he will win this seat, yet he continues to campaign. Speaking to my candidate, rumor has it that one of the candidates for Ward 2 wanted to draw out, but the time was too short. He has decided to quit and just leave his name on the ballot.

At the end of the day, I feel bad for Mayor Rob Ford. He basically “quit” his job as Mayor. You’d think a Mayor who lived through all the scandals, the drugs, and the racial slurs could make it all the way to the finish line, but a tumor ends it all for him.

I sincerely hope that Mayor Ford returns with a full bill of health. I can only imagine what happened to Jack Layton, could happen to Rob.

If Rob Ford stayed in the race and won, then they find out the tumor was cancerous, I personally believe that he would repeat the same timeline Jack Layton went through.

Win the election out of no where, announce you have cancer, step down temporarily, and pass away weeks later.

I never want to wish death to anyone. But this is what I thought would happened. So I believe it was a smart thing to do by dropping out and running for a less stressful job. And if Rob cannot continue on with his job as an elected councillor for Ward 2, he can step down and the Ward could have a by-election (Less costly)

The Ford strategy was an amazing one. To keep the Ford name at City Hall and in the Mayor’s Chair. This is one thing I will guarantee. There will be a Ford inside the council chambers in December.

We will just have to wait and see.

Notes:

• If Doug Ford wins, I could easily say that I arranged a sit down interview with the Mayor of Toronto, before he was Mayor. (Just thought that would be interesting to say)

• My interview with Doug Ford: 

• If you want to discuss my post, please comment!

St.Clair-ize

St.Clair-ize? According to Rob Ford that is what other candidates want to do to Toronto.

The term “St.Clair-ize” came from Rob Ford today during the debate. It means making every line that are wanted to be turned into LRTs to be just like St.Clair’s streetcar line.

Let’s make things clear. LRTs aren’t the same as streetcars. They are two different vehicles. LRTs run faster (22km/h) and hold 30 people more than streetcars.

The Ford brothers are always insisting they are the same. When I interviewed Doug Ford back in May I showed him the differences between the two lines. Yet he said it does the same, and compared it to subways. Yes, subways can carry much more people and move faster than LRTs, but the problem here is the cost.

The cost for the LRTs in Scarborough has been fully paid for by the Province of Ontario, but since city council was indecisive and changed the vote back to subways, the city will need to pay for the cost and also the Federal government will too. Stephen Harper has committed $100 million towards the Scarborough subway line. The line would cost $1 billion.

But back to the “St.Clair-ize” theory Rob Ford suggests. Ford’s point was that with LRTs it will “rip up” streets and reduce the traffic lanes to two per side. Once again Ford hasn’t done his research. The LRT line in Scarborough won’t be going through any streets and won’t be ripping them up either. But if we were to St.Clair-ize other streets Ford would have a good point. It would reduce the amount of lanes on the street chosen. And one of those lanes will be open for side parking.

According to business owners on St.Clair, their business has gone down since they renovated St.Clair’s streetcar track. The tracks were changed to have it’s own separate lanes. Before the track lanes were open to other cars, which delayed the streetcars.

Ford stands up for business owners and the economy. If his business owners are not getting business, then he feels that he has let his taxpayers down.

I’m in favor of any transit that could move me faster. Yes subways will move me faster, but it would take longer to build. LRTs would be built faster, and it would be cheaper. At the end of the day it’s a choice that will be made by your councillor. It’s in your hands.

We will just have to wait and see.

David Soknacki Waves The White Flag.

Soknacki who? You won’t need to know on October 27th, because he won’t be on the ballot running for Mayor anymore. Tonight, David Soknacki has officially announced that he will be leaving the race to become Toronto’s next mayor. He ran a strong campaign, but continued to trail with 4% in the polls. Far behind the top 3, he continued to run for nine months, attending debates and events to make himself known. He was the first major politician to announce his candidacy for Mayor. 

As I recall from January it was Soknacki vs. Ford. Ford had 35%, while Soknacki had around 7%. Clearly he didn’t have much of a chance from day 1. Yet he continued to fight for what needed to be changed. Showing perseverance he stuck through it even when Tory and Chow announced their hope to run for Mayor of Canada’s largest city.

Soknacki’s hope for transit in the city was clear, but many didn’t approve. He wanted to change the vote that has been debated on for the past four years, the Scarborough Subway. Soknacki wanted to invest into LRTs, a cheaper and faster (to build) solution. He also wanted to tackle the Police Budget, but that wasn’t a issue the other candidates wanted to talk about. 

His platform was the most realistic platform out of all (According to some Journalists). Whenever he was talking about his plans, it seemed more real and possible. 

Since Karen Stinz dropped out last month, it was a clear call that Soknacki should drop out too. Stinz left due to financial problems and poor poll numbers. She also ranked at about 4-5%.

Tonight he decided to drop out. He announced after not attending the debate that the Italian Community was holding. It was also his 60th Birthday. A right choice.

Unfortunately, it is sad to see many hours, days, and months go to waste. I wanted Soknacki to stay until the end. But I guess it wasn’t for him. Hopefully he runs for a city council seat so that all the time he spent campaigning doesn’t go to waste. Soknacki, the former budget chief could be a perfect fit for a city councillor. He was one before and it could be a great time for him to rejoin city council. His opinions and intentions were clear. As a city councillor he would be able to bring forward his ideas. Remember, the Mayor’s vote on council floor is just one out of forty four. And a councillor’s vote is the same. 

Soknacki could possibly win a seat in Scarborough. If he decides to run for council, it should be for Ward 43 – Scarborough East. Yes, it is held by Paul Ainslie but after Ainslie “flip-flopped” over the Scarborough Subway/LRT many voters may not approve of his choice and could lose steam. David Soknacki is also pro-LRT, but the Ward wouldn’t mind seeing a change. But there is just one problem with this seat. Ainslie endorsed Soknacki back in the early stages out the campaign.

We will just have to wait and see.  

 

Sarah Thomson Drops Out

The lady with dreads running for Mayor is no more. Sarah Thomson has decided to drop out of the Mayoral Race. But she won’t be off the ballot. Especially not in Ward 20 Trinity Spadina. Thomson has decided to leave the race for Toronto’s most prestigious title. She now has decided to run for Councillor in Ward 20. The seat that was left vacant by former CityTV reporter Adam Vaughan when he decided to run federally.

This may possibly be the best decision for Sarah Thomson. For her it was a long shot to win the Mayor’s seat. She ran in 2010 and also dropped out. Thomson also ran for Trinity Spadina federally, against Olivia Chow in 2011, but lost.

Her efforts in trying to make it into politics may finally pay off this election. She is now running for the council seat, but she will have a few hurdles to jump over. There are over 20 candidates running in Trinity Spadina. One of those candidates is Joe Cressy. Olivia Chow’s former assistant, and a former candidate who ran against Adam Vaughan in a by-election on June 30th, 2014. Cressy was able to garner 11,802 votes. And if those who voted for him this past June vote for him again, Cressy has it in the bag.

Thomson would need to work hard as she has been doing the past couple of months. If she made the decision to drop out earlier, she could possibly win the ward. But now that we’ve got less than 60 days till election day, her chances are there, but she would need to work really hard to get her name out and her policies in place.

She stood on the platform of “Anyone But Ford” and was hoping to split the vote so that Ford does not get elected. Thomson also stood as “The Only Liberal Candidate”. And now that she is running in Trinity Spadina, where they elected a Liberal for the federal seat, the question stands. Will the Justin Trudeau wave continue through into the municipal election? And has Trinity Spadina moved on from the Olivia Chow and NDP era?

We will just have to wait and see.