Canada PoliticsRob Ford's Ward 2 competitor, Andray Domise, facing steep challenge against mayor
How do you campaign against someone with cancer?
That’s the question suddenly bestowed upon Toronto city council candidate Andray Domise, the principal challenger to Rob Ford in Ward 2.
On Wednesday we learned that Ford — who had dropped out of the mayoralty race but is running for his old council seat in Etobicoke North — was diagnosed with malignant liposarcoma. He is expected to go through an aggressive chemotherapy regimen, and it’s unclear, at this point, whether he’ll join the hustings ahead of the October 27 election.
Political consultant and analyst Marcel Wieder says that whether Ford campaigns or not, he’s almost certain to win.
"There’s a tremendous outpouring for sympathy for Rob. Everyone in the community is rooting for him. They want him to recover, to come back and represent them," Wieder told Yahoo Canada News.
"He has a lot of goodwill built up in the bank [in Ward 2] as the councillor as the mayor. Even at his lowest point…the community still rallied around him during all these accusations of drugs and other issues.
"It’s going to be a very challenging race for Domise…and the cancer makes it even tougher."
For Domise, the campaign continues.
In an interview with Yahoo Canada News, he says he’s focusing on the issues of economic development, mitigating poverty and improving transit.
He adds, however, that he’s not going to shy away from attacking the Ford “record” on not getting things done for their community.
"I know there are people who are going to feel sympathetic for him. I feel sympathy for him," Domise, a financial planner, told Yahoo Canada News,
"The fact is that [Rob] Ford has chosen to leave his name on the ballot.
“He’s a fighter. I respect that. But there’s an ailment in Ward 2 and that’s neglect. I’m going to focus on Rob and Doug’s record of [representing this community] for the the last 14 years. 14 years of neglect and underdevelopment.”
Domise adds that while many people feel sympathy for the Fords, a lot of them complain that the Fords were not around when the community really needed him.
Regardless of how he chooses to campaign, Domise faces an uphill battle.
The latest Forum Research poll suggests that Ford has a commanding lead on the political neophyte. 59 per cent of those surveyed during the September 13th survey said they would vote for Ford; only 26 per cent said they would vote for Domise.
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