Toronto Needs a New Mayor

When is it time to throw in the towel?  The media circus that has surrounded the Toronto Mayor has had its ups and downs over the past 3 years. Some would argue the man was in over his head from the beginning. But 3 years later, the Mayor has defied the odds and political convention by putting his fingers in his ears and continued on his journey.  Yesterday however the frenzy reached new heights with confirmation by the Toronto Police that the infamous “crack video” does exist, is intact and is in their possession.  The revelation added to the intrigue with the possibility of a second video.  Perhaps more importantly was the charge that the Mayors friend was charged with extortion for his attempt to retrieve the video. Can all this come from “Toronto the Good” ?

 

It doesn’t take the reasoning of Sherlock Holmes to deduce that extreme measures are not taken to retrieve a video that either doesn’t exist or has nothing incriminating on it.  And in all my years I have never heard of anyone going to a known crackhouse, hanging out with crackheads, to smoke tobacco out of a crack pipe.   In my less than humble opinion, the evidence and innuendo have rendered the current Mayor neutered.   So Mayor Ford, Toronto deserves a Mayor that can go to work each day without attracting a constant side show.  If you are not ready to concede that you have a substance abuse problem, that’s okay, many addicts are the last to know they have a problem.  Hopefully you will come to that understanding before you die.  The truth of the matter is that if the substance abuse doesn’t kill you….the lifestyle will.   One person from the infamous photo is already dead.  But in the meantime, the city can’t continue to tolerate your behaviour.

Now to Ford Nation,  I understand your glee in getting your man into the Mayor’s chair.  It seemed like a good idea at the time…to teach the left a lesson on how to cut spending rather than raise taxes.  And sure Ford did a few good things, he contracted out garbage pickup, negotiated a new collective agreement with city workers, but this was in the shadows of constant nonsense.  And after all the antics, the conflict of interest charges, the drunken escapades, hanging out with and endorsing convicted criminals,  the bullying, the name calling, and the worst infraction…the constant lying... it’s time to move on.   Toronto deserves and needs a Mayor that is not distracted by addictions, and obligations to the criminal element. Toronto deserves a Mayor that honestly owns his/her missteps and mistakes. Toronto deserves a Mayor that invokes pride, not embarrassment,  when representing it’s citizens on the international stage, Toronto deserves a Mayor that respects the laws of the land and the rules of the office. So again Ford Nation… It’s okay to admit when you are wrong…we’ve all been there.  But continual denial of a problem that everyone else sees… makes you part of the problem.

 It’s okay to say good bye to Rob Ford as Mayor. In fact the wake up call might just save his life.  Plus he has a wealthy family business that will likely take him back. His kids won’t starve.  He is also not the only person in the city of 3 million to believe in fiscal conservatism.  Others with less baggage will come forward, once he gets out of the way.   Let’s all stop enabling a clearly sick man, and get on with the business of building a city.