5 things Rob Ford accomplished in 2012

It's the holidays, so I'm in a giving mood. That means now is probably the best time to think back to what Mayor Rob Ford accomplished over 2012, an admittedly difficult year for Toronto's political leader. From his vindictive (and expensive) firing of former TTC GM Gary Webster, to the loss of his subway-centric vision for Toronto rapid transit, to multiple court appearances, the mayor's failures were plentiful and embarrassing this year, but let's shake things up a bit by looking back at some of his accomplishments, even if a few of them deserved the tag "dubious."

He managed to remain mayor
You know you're in trouble when this is the first item on the list, but given the verdict in his conflict of interest case, Ford should probably thankful that he was granted a stay during the appeal process. It seems dubious that he'll win that appeal, so the bigger question is whether or not I'll be able to add this item to next year's list of accomplishments.

He coached the Don Bosco Eagles to the City Finals
You know you're in trouble when this is the second item on the list, but even if he had his struggles on the floor of city council, Ford was able to take his high school football team almost all the way, finally suffering defeat at the Metro Bowl. So apparently skipping out of all those council meetings paid dividends after all.

He won the bag ban battle
It's probably not entirely fair to credit Rob Ford for victory on this one, as it was really the threat of legal action from interest groups that scared city council to reverse its decision on banning plastic bags. That said, the final outcome was one that aligned with Ford's desires, so I'll throw him a bone on this one.

He implemented private garbage collection west of Yonge
Not everyone will agree that this is a good thing, but the privatization of garbage collection was something that Rob Ford wanted to implement and he was able to see it through. Despite some first week hiccups, the Green For Life pick-up service seems to be getting the job done just fine and at a better rate for the city (for now).

He continues to attract interest in Toronto politics
Has city hall ever been more entertaining? Possibly. But the presence of Ford and his brother on council (not to mention the rise of #TOpoli on Twitter) have ensured that scores of new folks are tuning into see what's going on in the clamshell. And while many of these new observers might be critical of the mayor and his policies, renewed interest in local politics is surely a good thing. Thanks Rob!

Photo by BruceK in the blogTO Flickr pool