Daily BrewMayor Rob Ford leaving cracks in Toronto’s international reputation
It was about the time that two Canadian correspondents on a U.S. late-night comedy news program proudly declared crack smoking a cherished “Canadian tradition” that the true extent of damage done by suggestions that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoked crack cocaine came into focus.
Folks in Toronto have become accustomed to embarrassing scandals and gaffes at the hands of the mighty Ford. Stumbles, literal and political, stream online and on television. His legal issues make headlines as often as any attempt at political progress.
His brusque approach to municipal politics has made enemies out of allies and turned the majority of a once-friendly council against him, ensuring every issue is a contentious Waterloo.
For the most part, Toronto has suffered in private. Well, save for the attention the rest of our fair country is forced to suffer under. But now? Now that our mayor has been accused of being videotaped smoking from a crack pipe, and now that he has refused to address this issue for nearly a week?
Those around that world are free to think Toronto = Rob Ford, and Rob Ford = the alleged use of crack cocaine.
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Here is a smattering of recent headlines from around the globe about Toronto.
Salon.com: Toronto mayor reportedly caught on video smoking crack
New York Magazine: 20 Things Worth Knowing About Toronto’s Crack-Smoking Mayor, Rob Ford
Washington Post: Toronto mayor fired from job as football coach for reason unrelated to scandal, officials say
The only partially favourable headline comes from Slate, which suggests that, despite being a "crass, offensive, and ill-tempered buffoon," he has not been a "complete failure as mayor."
That is just a few recent ones. Many more appeared in the wake of the allegations made by U.S. news website Gawker late last week.
And then there were those two Canadian comedians, who declared on the popular Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Wednesday that it was their joy as Canadians to trade sexual favours with Toronto crack dealers in exchange for their illicit product. And other late-night talk shows took aim at the mayor and his city as well.
Not the attention Canada's largest city and economic engine was hoping for. In March, Toronto was in an argument with Chicago about which city was bigger and better. Now? Comparisons to Baltimore are more likely. So what impact have these latest allegations had on the city?
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Tony Chapman, the CEO of a Toronto marketing firm told CityNews that tourism will suffer.
“It’s not just hurting people who live here and invest here, but those who visit here. Tourism is the lifeblood of our economy and it’s hurting us,” Chapman told the network. “This is a mayor we’ve elected and Jay Leno is saying, ‘Well, in Toronto, there’s not much else to do.’”
John Perenack, a public relations expert with Toronto's StrategyCorp. Inc., says the city will survive but the government will take a hit.
Perenack told Yahoo! Canada News in an email:
The reputation of Toronto as a good place to live, work and visit isn’t being impacted by this controversy. But in the short-term there is certainly a reputational impact on the City’s government. Particularly from the standpoint of businesses and organizations that might be looking to get things done with the City. With the Mayor effectively sidelined and the massive distraction these allegations are providing, it is difficult for other issues to be discussed.
Perenack added that Toronto can't set about fixing its image until Ford's situation has been properly dealt with. Considering the mayor’s brother, Coun. Doug Ford, was all but shouted down on Wednesday – while trying to massage the city's image without addressing the mayor's mess – Perenack appears to have a point.
"[U]ntil there is some resolution to the Mayor’s issue, it will be difficult to turn the channel to discuss other matters," he wrote. "Ultimately, that shift in the discussion is what’s needed to start the reputation rehabilitation process."
So the question remains, as it has for the past seven days, when will Rob Ford actually address the allegations that he was videotaped smoking crack? Experts and councillors, even ardent allies like Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, agree it is well past time.
As Ford himself flippantly told a television reporter on Wednesday, get a pillow and sleeping bag, it could be a while.
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