Calls for Rob Ford's resignation mount after new scandal

Rob Ford has finally agreed to seek help for substance abuse problems, but many fellow politicians aren't mollified and are calling for the mayor's resignation in the wake of yet another scandal. Naturally those leading the charge are Ford's competitors in the mayoral race. "Rob Ford is not just a bad mayor. He is also a disgrace," reads a statement released by the David Soknacki office shortly after the news broke. "Toronto can't wait until October 27th. It is time for Rob Ford to resign, immediately."

John Tory tried his best to sound decisive by chiming in that "for the good of the city, I call on Mayor Ford to resign." Meanwhile councillors Josh Matlow and Jaye Robinson took to Twitter to call for the mayor's resignation.

Kristyn Wong-Tam didn't explicitly call for Rob Ford to step down, but she probably made the most powerful observation of the night. "Ford might rehabilitate his health but 30 days isn't going to cure his racism, misogyny, homophobia & chronic tendencies to break the law," the Toronto councillor wrote on Twitter.

While Karen Stintz derided the remark Ford made about her in the audio tape acquired by the Toronto Sun, she promised to make further comment about the situation later today. A resignation call is almost inevitable. Olivia Chow has, however, been curiously quiet. One suspects that she has her eye on a chunk of the Ford Nation vote that's less dogmatically conservative, and knows she needs to play it as cool as possible.

More resignation talk will surely follow today, though the odds are that Ford himself will stay mum until the peak of the firestorm blows over.

Photo by Jason Cook in the blogTO Flickr pool.