Daily BrewDoug Ford accepted a difficult task when he decided to replace his brother in the race to become Toronto's next mayor. Already saddled with the problems that plagued Rob Ford's candidacy - being his brother's campaign manager and closest confidant - Doug Ford also has issues of his own to face: bullish behaviour during his one term as a councillor, a 53 per cent voting record and more than a few controversies of his own – including being forced to formally apologize for comments he made about the city's police chief and once told the father of an autistic child to "go to hell" Not everything has changed since Doug Ford replaced his brother in the race to become Toronto's next mayor. For one, he still prefers to take a bullheaded stance against questions of his credibility. In a Friday interview with CBC Metro Morning's Matt Galloway, Ford maintained his brusque attitude, speaking over the host and consistently accusing him of misleading his listeners. "You are being disingenuous with the listeners," he said, when asked why he missed 53 per cent of council votes over the past four-year term. At other moments in the tense interview, he told Galloway "You know that's not true”, “You are twisting it,” and "You just don't understand." When asked about a controversy surrounding a home for autistic children in his ward, Ford declared, “I’ve never had an interview that someone has been so disingenuous to me in my life.” [ Related: Rob Ford says doctors told him cancer has 50/50 survival rate ] It is safe to say that the Toronto mayoral election campaign has undergone significant tumult in recent weeks, with Mayor Rob Ford pulling himself from the race for health reasons and his brother taking the spot on the ballot. Since Doug Ford joined the race, former Ontario PC leader John Tory has cemented his place as the frontrunner and former NDP MP Olivia Chow has fallen behind, forcing her to refocus her campaign as a challenger. (Chow released her complete platform on Friday.) Doug Ford, meantime, has done impressive work balancing his brother's successes and failures with his own. In the weeks since he joined the race, some key questions have been answered, such as how the mayor's loyal support base would take to his slicker, brasher brother? And how would Doug, a one-term councillor who didn't run for re-election citing a lack of interest, discern himself from the controversial mayor and win over a larger audience? Doug has shown since he joined the mayoral race that he is willing to break from his brother's script, even though it was a script that, as Rob's campaign manager, he had a heavy hand in crafting. [ Related: Cult of personality: How celebrity status still wins votes in Canadian politics ] At a press conference on Thursday, Doug announced that his transit priority would be building a downtown relief line - a subway line that would take pressure of Toronto's overcrowded Yonge Street track. Rob Ford had placed this project third on his list of transit priorities. It was a sure sign that Doug would make overtures to the downtown voter base that had largely turned its back on Rob. “My plan is clear. I know where I stand. I want subways,” said Ford, per the Toronto Star. “The relief line, downtown, the Yonge relief line, I think’s a priority.” Ford's decision to refocus his team's transit strategy is a clever political move. For one, it allows him to focus attacks on frontrunner John Tory's SmartTrack plan, which has largely become the focus of the campaign. For another, it is a carrot for any voters in the city's core who may still consider the Ford brand a legitimate option. Since the Ford brothers swapped spots in September, it has become clear that the vast majority of Ford nation will back Doug. Polls found that Doug retained the 29 per cent support that Rob had secured before stepping out of the race, and the success of the most recent Ford Fest - a series of community barbecues the family throws - suggests that Rob's most vocal supporters will gleefully tow the company line. On top of that, Ford has been credited, to some extent facetiously, for maintaining a measured tone at recent debates. The most recent Forum Research poll suggests Ford trails Tory by 10 percentage points, though other pollsters have a larger gap between the two. With just over three weeks left in the mayoral campaign, Ford has time to continue his rebranding process. But if he is going to appeal to a wider voter base, he'll have to do better than shout down questions about his record and his past.
Doug Ford accepted a difficult task when he decided to replace his brother in the race to become Toronto’s next mayor.
Already saddled with the problems that plagued Rob Ford’s candidacy - being his brother’s campaign manager and closest confidant - Doug Ford also has issues of his own to face: bullish behaviour during his one term as a councillor, a 53 per cent voting record and more than a few controversies of his own – including being forced to formally apologize for comments he made about the city’s police chief and once told the father of an autistic child to “go to hell”
Not everything has changed since Doug Ford replaced his brother in the race to become Toronto’s next mayor.
For one, he still prefers to take a bullheaded stance against questions of his credibility.
In a Friday interview with CBC Metro Morning’s Matt Galloway, Ford maintained his brusque attitude, speaking over the host and consistently accusing him of misleading his listeners.
"You are being disingenuous with the listeners," he said, when asked why he missed 53 per cent of council votes over the past four-year term.
At other moments in the tense interview, he told Galloway “You know that’s not true”, “You are twisting it,” and “You just don’t understand.”
When asked about a controversy surrounding a home for autistic children in his ward, Ford declared, “I’ve never had an interview that someone has been so disingenuous to me in my life.”
[ Related: Rob Ford says doctors told him cancer has 50/50 survival rate ]
It is safe to say that the Toronto mayoral election campaign has undergone significant tumult in recent weeks, with Mayor Rob Ford pulling himself from the race for health reasons and his brother taking the spot on the ballot.
Since Doug Ford joined the race, former Ontario PC leader John Tory has cemented his place as the frontrunner and former NDP MP Olivia Chow has fallen behind, forcing her to refocus her campaign as a challenger. (Chow released her complete platform on Friday.)
Doug Ford, meantime, has done impressive work balancing his brother’s successes and failures with his own. In the weeks since he joined the race, some key questions have been answered, such as how the mayor’s loyal support base would take to his slicker, brasher brother? And how would Doug, a one-term councillor who didn’t run for re-election citing a lack of interest, discern himself from the controversial mayor and win over a larger audience?
Doug has shown since he joined the mayoral race that he is willing to break from his brother’s script, even though it was a script that, as Rob’s campaign manager, he had a heavy hand in crafting.
[ Related: Cult of personality: How celebrity status still wins votes in Canadian politics ]
At a press conference on Thursday, Doug announced that his transit priority would be building a downtown relief line - a subway line that would take pressure of Toronto’s overcrowded Yonge Street track.
Rob Ford had placed this project third on his list of transit priorities. It was a sure sign that Doug would make overtures to the downtown voter base that had largely turned its back on Rob.
“My plan is clear. I know where I stand. I want subways,” said Ford, per the Toronto Star. “The relief line, downtown, the Yonge relief line, I think’s a priority.”
Ford’s decision to refocus his team’s transit strategy is a clever political move. For one, it allows him to focus attacks on frontrunner John Tory’s SmartTrack plan, which has largely become the focus of the campaign.
For another, it is a carrot for any voters in the city’s core who may still consider the Ford brand a legitimate option.
Since the Ford brothers swapped spots in September, it has become clear that the vast majority of Ford nation will back Doug.
Polls found that Doug retained the 29 per cent support that Rob had secured before stepping out of the race, and the success of the most recent Ford Fest - a series of community barbecues the family throws - suggests that Rob’s most vocal supporters will gleefully tow the company line.
On top of that, Ford has been credited, to some extent facetiously, for maintaining a measured tone at recent debates. The most recent Forum Research poll suggests Ford trails Tory by 10 percentage points, though other pollsters have a larger gap between the two.
With just over three weeks left in the mayoral campaign, Ford has time to continue his rebranding process. But if he is going to appeal to a wider voter base, he’ll have to do better than shout down questions about his record and his past.
