City
Rob Ford removed as mayor of Toronto
Rob Ford is on his way out as mayor of Toronto. Justice Charles Hackland ruled this morning that Ford breached the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act with his actions at a council meeting earlier this year. He has 14 days to organize a transition to a new leader.
The case, brought by Toronto resident Paul Magder and handled in court by lawyer Clayton Ruby, stemmed from $3,150 in corporate and lobbyist donations to Rob Ford's private football charity that council's integrity commissioner Janet Leiper found were wrongly solicited using the mayor's official letterhead.
Council initially voted to make Ford return the money out of his own pocket but later had a change of heart in a later ballot on the matter. Instead of abstaining, the mayor voted to allow himself to keep the money the second time around, breaching the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The cash was never returned despite several reminders.
Ford has a chance to appeal as Justice Hackland declined to block the mayor from seeking re-election. It's not clear at this stage whether Ford can run in a by-election - if the city decides to hold one - to fill his vacant seat.
Here's the full text of the decision:
Rob Ford conflict-of-interest decision
Update 11:25
Here are some of the key quotes from the ruling.
"In my opinion, [Ford's] actions were characterized by ignorance of the law and a lack of diligence in securing professional advice, amounting to wilful ignorance."
"[Ford] has failed to show his contraventions of the MCIA were the result of a good faith error in judgement."
"Accordingly, I declare the seat of the respondent, Robert Ford, on Toronto City Council, vacant."
Update 11:28
It's still not clear whether Ford can run in a by-election immediately upon his removal. The City of Toronto Act suggests anyone who did take over as mayor would have a two-year term and have to run again with other members of council in 2014.
Clayton Ruby, the lawyer who represented Paul Magder, is due to speak immanently.
Update 11:45
Clayton Ruby, speaking at a press conference, says "nobody is above the law, Rob Ford included," continues that "he should have played by the rules of council."
"While we are pleased to have won this case, we are also deeply saddened by it" .... "Rob Ford did this to Rob Ford." Paul Magder, who brought the case against Ford, says "this is a sad day for Torontonians."
No word from the mayor's camp yet.
Update 12:30
Rob Ford still hasn't released a statement or addressed the media about his removal from office but, we hear, he's still scheduled to launch his Christmas toy drive at 1 pm. This could get weird.
Meanwhile, an ad for a "used Ford" has appeared on Craigslist. A bargain at a $1.
Update 12:35
Rob Ford has just spoken to the media. "I'm a fighter," he says "I've done a lot of great work for the city. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose." He also says he will "fight tooth and nail" to keep his job as mayor.
There's going to be an appeal too. Ford calls the decision "left wing politics." The CBC's John Lancaster notes calling the judge's ruling "a political decision" is risky, advises there are rules in place about discussing decisions of the court.
Update 1:21
Launching his second annual toy drive in the rotunda at City Hall, the mayor appeared visibly stressed and his voice broke several times. He congratulated the Argonauts on their Grey Cup win and said the campaign that distributes presents to toy drive programs "means a great deal" to him.
No mention of the court case, though he did scrum with media shortly before going before the cameras. Ford still says he will appeal the decision and stand in a by-election, if he's able.
Update 1:48
Things starting to settle a little now. Doug Ford says supporters of the mayor should head to the Rogers Centre tomorrow and cheer the Don Bosco Eagles to victory in the Metro Bowl. Looks like the mayor, if he can still be called that, will be missing the council meeting scheduled for that day.
Meanwhile, legal experts continue to discuss the ruling. According to Global's Jackson Proskow on Twitter, those in the know say Ford has grounds for a stay while he appeals but that he's ultimately unlikely to get the judge's decision overturned. Elsewhere, the Ford story has reached the frigid shores of Iceland (via Daniel Dale - @ddale8)
Update 2:53
We've had first movement on city council as a result of this morning's decision. Giorgio Mammoliti, a recent staunch Ford ally, says he's resigning from the mayor's executive committee, saying "some are suggesting that we rethink the political approach, and I have to start thinking about that."
Update 4:41
Here's something a little more considered on what lies ahead for Rob Ford to wrap up.
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Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Photo: "Good Friday parade, Little Italy, Toronto" by BruceK in the blogTO Flickr pool.
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Party time in the city, you know, the actual city.
Guess he's free to attend the Metro Bowl now. That should be awkward.
Also, Doug Holyday is a competent conservative, which means he has the same policies as Ford, but could get re-elected quite easily.
Oh, and FYI: the judge has (in your view) only voided the will of those not actually living in Toronto proper. Amalgamation has made Toronto a mess, and has made people like you think they have the right to decide what should happen downtown when you have no idea what kinds of factors are involved in shaping life there. So... basically, neener neener neener.
Democracy has been defeated!
@Riot Now, elected officials don't have carte blanche if they break the law they no longer deserve to hold office. The judge was correct in his decision, it showed how arrogant and how much contempt Ford had for the city.
And as far as him being an elected official, the people who live in the CITY of Toronto did not vote for him. Let him go back to the suburbs. He does not represent this city.
This is precisely what is going on in banana republics
I am stunned that you would still support Ford once he has lost the will of the people with his criminality
Rob Ford broke the law while in office, and is losing his job because of it.
We're not defeating democracy - we're upholding the law.
It was a very sad day when suburban conservatives hoping to save a few extra tax dollars (and afraid of the openly gay candidate) voted this ignoramus in.
He is an entitled, ignorant, hateful, homophobic, lazy embarrassment to this city.
And as Councillor Wong Tam pointed out this morning, from one perspective ousting him doesn't change much as Mayor Ford has been absent from his duties for some time.
Ford out!
Massive parade tomorrow.
Good Riddance Ford! ARRRRGGGGOOOOOSSSSS!!!!
Sad, sad day for democracy.
but a happy, happy day for justice and the rule of law.
Strange, I figured democracy would be on their side.
He should have known better.
Basically, he used city letter head incorrectly. He should be punished but not booted out.
He could've probably beaten these charges if he didn't consistently embarrass the city every two weeks or so ... ie: derailing a TTC bus for his football team, flipping the bird to drivers who call you out for talking on your cell phone while driving, refusing to receive a personal driver, etc.
I think his ideas weren't that bad. I'm not a left wing or right wing individual. I support him on privatizing garbage and making the ttc an essential service. He just wasn't the right personality for the job. He's too immature and rogue. Not everyone is cut out for politics. Rob is too childlike for the job.
That's why his punk a$$ got tossed out of office.
He lost his seat by frittering away pennies.
Go figure.
Ford was elected through democracy.
And he was ousted because of the fraud he committed. That is what a robust judiciary does in a democracy. It protects the people when elected representatives break the law. Kapish?
1) Nothing happens for the next 14 days.
2) Council could still vote to re-appoint Rob Ford. Or Doug Ford. Or Giorgio Mammoliti *shudder*.
3) He will almost assuredly appeal to the Divisional court, meaning the verdict will be stayed, and he will remain in office until they rule on the appeal.
So the downtown vs the suburbs showdown begins again but could get very ugly from the looks of it. Depending on the candidates, the suburbs could very well vote in a mayor that will put a casino downtown and basically go against anything the downtown voters would support. Those that wanted Ford out have gotten their wish but at what price?
Never come back plz obese Ford
That being said, being uprooted in the middle of a term never bodes well for the people, and this will certainly be messy. However, he should have just read his little "welcome to city council package", followed the rules. His own ignorance and disrespect for the position he carried got him here.
Why would you want a mayor running our city that uses his position wrongly? P.S. we're going to be a laughing stock in international media because of this bonehead's stupidity.
Time to seriously discuss de-amalgamation so both the old suburbs and old city can move forward instead of being stuck in the past and irritated.
And yes, other cities will laugh at us, but other mayors have done a lot worse (not in Toronto, in other cities)
After the judge's ruling, it's no longer "allegedly", it's a fact established in law.
Also, if a left leaning candidate wins the next election, be prepared for the right to start launching law suits and legal challenges at every opportunity.
Further, if you think that this is a 'pyrhic victory', then you have ZERO respect for the rule of law manifested in the judicary nor do hold any respect for the democratic process. Also, 'frivolous and vindictive lawsuits' rarely result in any sort of conviction, they are generally thrown out of court or don't even make it that far as there is no basis for them. This case was neither frivolous nor was it vindictive, it had to do with the rule of law,a very serious matter, and that's why Rawb Fjord was tossed.
Didn't Detroit have a succession of popular, corrupt mayors? That worked out great for them, didn't it?
"In view of the respondent's leadership role in ensuring integrity in municipal government, it is difficult to accept an error in judgement defence based essentially on a stubborn sense of entitlement (concerning his football foundation) and a dismissive and confrontational attitude to the Integrity Commissioner and the Code of Conduct."
The judge even admits that the Mayor's actions were "far from the most serious breach of the MCIA". But the law is the law, as they say. And if anything, a person in a position of such responsibility MUST be held to the same standard as any average joe schmoe.
The fact is, it appears Ford knowingly breached the Conflict of Interest Act primarily because he was pissed off at the Integrity Commissioner. Our great city shouldn't have to tolerate a civic leader with an attitude like that.
He's going to rise up out of that bathtub and getcha.
I kind of agree, but then again, the law's gotta have teeth or nobody pays attention.
Ford had plenty of opportunities to put this straight, and never took the matter seriously enough.
This is not a pyrrhic victory (2 r's, Mark!), but a Magna Carta moment, one that demonstrated that no one is above the law - not even our rulers.
Don't worry Mark, maybe you can find a job in the private sector after this. Just don't do like your current boss and admit that you never read the Employee Manual. Most businesses frown on people admitting they didn't bother to learn the fundamentals of their jobs.
Mayor Rob Ford called 911 when a CBC comedian showed up on his driveway; who accosted a CBC reporter who was simply doing his job by checking out a property the mayor Rob Ford wanted to buy near his house; who wanted the city’s accountability officers reformed out of existence when some of them questioned his conduct or decisions.
The fool knew that this (or something similar) was coming for a while, and didn't want to deal with it until it was too late. Now, he's going to get ousted, and all you can come up with is some weak nonsense about 'how the left will suffer'? If anything, I think that it's the neocon fools who vote for people like Ford that are suffering (as well as the politicians that they voted for), and something in the universe is causing a long moral arch towards justice that's seeing people like Ford (and Romney) get their asses kicked by a populace being tired of greed and stupidity dominating everything. If you are one of these fools, then yeah, I've guessed that you've lost today, and oh well, tough shit-better luck next time.
he was not a real face of Toronto,
he was taking the city backward!
under his administration there was no hope of development in the city!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are a myriad of rules/laws governing councilors and some are quite arcane. And there are a lot of areas which are grey. I can absolutely guarantee that EVERY councillor has solicited funds for some activity in his/her ward and some will be over the line and some will be near the line – remember, Ford’s sin was doing this on official letterhead (compounded by ignoring the ethics report and then voting on the motion in council).
Take for instance the dearly departed Sandra Bussin’s expensing of a $200 bunny suit for use in a parade in her ward. One of the reasons you are likely not hearing much from the Mayor’s worst enemies (ie., Vaughan) is that ALL of them have skeletons in their closets.
So before everyone dances on Ford’s grave, remember that this may be the first salvo in tit for tat actions against councilors. It would not be good for the City.
There are a myriad of rules/laws governing councilors and some are quite arcane. And there are a lot of areas which are grey. I can absolutely guarantee that EVERY councillor has solicited funds for some activity in his/her ward and some may be over the line and some may be near the line – remember, Ford’s sin was doing this on official letterhead (compounded by ignoring the ethics report and then voting on the motion in council).
Take for instance the dearly departed Sandra Bussin’s expensing of a $200 bunny suit for use in a parade in her ward - how would the Judge view that? One of the reasons you are likely not hearing much from the Mayor’s worst enemies (ie., Vaughan) is that ALL of them are likely nervous about something they have done which is similar.
So before everyone dances on Ford’s grave, remember that this may be the first salvo in tit for tat actions against councilors. It would not be good for the City.
Basically Ford's supporters are okay with corruption. #shocking