Considering the scandals that continue to plague city hall with Rob Ford as mayor, his refusal to respond to his critics in a way that would put concerned local residents at ease, and the need to return to the business at hand to make Toronto better, I’ve drafted two correspondences, two paths for Mr. Ford.
Read for yourself, which one would you choose for the betterment of our city?
Draft one: I love this city. It has treated me really well. It was a good place to grow up in, and I have been proud of the decade I have served on city council, first as a councillor and now as mayor.
I think I have delivered on my mandate to reduce the cost of city government. Whatever else anyone has said, no one has criticized me for that, and that was what I was elected to do. I know that my political opponents have been unhappy that I was successful in cutting costs, but of course I was not trying to please them — I was more interested in carrying out my mandate.
It is my love of the city that has led me to make this announcement today. I have decided that it is in the city’s best interest if I step away from my elected position. While I believe I have done nothing wrong, and nothing illegal, I have come to the conclusion that the unfounded allegations being made against me are beginning to damage the city’s reputation. I think those allegations are unfair, and that the people making them are the ones who are damaging the city’s reputation.
But since I love this city, I will step aside so that no harm is done to the place that I love. I do this with considerable regret, but I am willing to pay personally to protect this city.
I know the air will clear, and at that point, I may very well ask the voters to support me to provide renewed leadership for Toronto, the city that I love. As for now, I have tendered my resignation with the city clerk, effective immediately.
Here’s the other draft, and it’s a lot different.
Thanks for coming out today to this press conference.
You have been asking me for comment for the last two months on the allegations that people have made about me — that there’s a video of me smoking crack cocaine, that there’s a photo showing me with someone who has been murdered and another who has recently been arrested, that the photo is taken in front of a house whose inhabitants are suspected of dealing in drugs — and on and on.
I haven’t done any of these things as far as I can remember. That’s why I keep saying I support the police. Why should I be afraid of anything they are investigating?
I say, Enough is enough. Lay off. Stop your conspiracy theories. My predecessor, Mayor Alan Lamport, put it well when he said, ‘I deny the allegations and I defy the allegators.’
I’m a straight shooter. I’m not afraid to do or say something that’s unpopular with the big shots if I think it’s the right thing. Some people are angry that I voted against giving public funds to the big cultural institutions in our city, like the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Toronto Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company. So what? My supporters don’t want to spend public money that way.
I support a big casino in the downtown because that’s the kind of city Toronto should be. Fancy editorial writers might not like that, but who cares about them?
And, much as these allegations are wrong, I don’t think they have hurt Toronto’s reputation. They have been the butt of jokes by American TV hosts who like to kick people around, but jokes never hurt any city’s reputation. People still want to come here, developers are still filing permits to build condos.
I take a lot of pride in our city and in the leadership I’ve provided. You should feel lucky that I’m the mayor of Toronto.
I say, Push off. Stop all of these wild allegations and start focusing on the good things I am doing. I’m not going anywhere and I am not answering any more questions. Get used to it.
Which road will it be?
Post City Magazines’ columnist John Sewell is a former mayor of Toronto and the author of a number of urban planning books, including The Shape of Suburbs.