Toronto mayor Rob Ford is currently sitting in the hot seat on the world stage. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month (pun intended), you know that Ford has some explaining to do. Unfortunately, he has some major substance-abuse issues ranging from alcohol to crack cocaine. Had this been a story dug up about his college or high school years, I would understand his poor decision-making. Rather, he’s accused and confirmed to have used these substances—recently identified through a video is his use of crack cocaine, not to mention his lengthy battle with alcoholism.
It seems every time “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” is on, Ford is torn apart for the sake of a joke. From a writer’s perspective, he’s a very easy target, especially with all the commotion he has caused recently at council meetings, i.e. having knocked over a female councilmember in what appeared to be a bull rush. This man has lost his mind. However, what I find most interesting is the contradictory nature of this man’s current life in contrast with his extremely strong voting records.
The further back I look into his voting record and approval, the less this situation makes sense. In the past, the city of Toronto has usually had a center-left government that managed to institute important programs. However, as with any government, this created deficits and other budget issues. Ford took the political scene by storm, as someone who was known to knock against the establishment as a strong opponent of an array of liberal tax proposals as well as supporting spending cuts. It’s factually accurate to say Toronto is in a better fiscal position now than before, despite the ongoing fallout. He drew the reputation as a politician who could get rid of wasteful spending and keep the government limited--—your usual neo-conservative.
The factor that makes his voting history relevant is the vast amount of support he’s received. Toronto voters still hold fiscal responsibility as an important issue. He was the candidate they were waiting for, a mayor to take on and tackle the government’s inefficiencies. Still, his support is similar to that of Ron Paul. This may say something about the people of Canada, but that’s not the point. Ford ran an excellent campaign for mayor in 2010 without incident. Looking at a timeline of events, he was already drinking and using drugs at this time, but managed to run a campaign that reached out to voters’ discomfort with spending and taxes.
His effect as a mayor was largely more symbolic than mechanical, using strong rhetoric to take aim at his political foes who spent too much taxpayers’ money. Prepare yourself; I’m going to compare Gov. Scott Walker to Rob Ford. However, this has nothing to do with the personal character of either individual. So anyone reading this starting to think I’m implying Walker uses drugs should stop that internal thought because that’s unfair, unproven and not my aim. I’m referring to their political brilliance. So discard your partisan views for the next two minutes, if possible.
Walker is the only survivor of a recall election in the entire history of the United States. The tremendous steps and rhetoric used were able to reinforce what the majority of the people of Wisconsin wanted. This allowed him the ability to take on unions as a spending problem. The same campaign savvy can be observed from Ford. He played off the vibes of the people, and ran an election as a union-busting money saver. No matter the outcome and your personal opinion, governing is a separate function than campaigning. Success in one of those doesn’t mean you will win. It’s a calculated game of chess to win over the majority of voters. Both these politicians executed this very well.
At first hearing, Ford’s blunders may seem entertaining. And yes, it is slightly funny to see Ford attempt to wiggle his way out of all the allegations and curse on live television to an inappropriate extent. But personally, I feel terrible for this guy. He is the mockery of the continent, appearing on news shows on a daily basis. As time unfolds, we see him starting to unravel further, which says something about putting oneself in the public eye and the media. It can be incredibly overwhelming. This man needs help and is probably suffering from something very extreme. Public self-destruction doesn’t just happen. This terrible string of controversies has gone way too far.
Still, he has support. The most recent motion passed by Toronto stripped the mayor of the majority of his powers, rendering him virtually ineffective until he resigns, in a 39-5 vote. Those who read the reisgnation protocol would know he is still eligible to run again in 2014. For taking so much pressure and heat, you would think he would be banned from politics altogether, but no. Ford will fight another day. He’s made that very clear. From my basic knowledge and research of the substance crack cocaine, its doubtful the mayor is going to slow down anytime soon
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