Advertisement

Rob Ford dismisses ‘celebrity’ status, but will need it on the campaign trail

With all the attention Rob Ford has received in the early competitive stages of Toronto’s mayoral election, one would think things were running smoothly in his second campaign for the city’s top job.

But it seems there have been some growing pains. Recent reports suggest Ford's campaign manager, brother Doug Ford, may have misplaced information from a voter database mined during the 2010 election and the Fords have had trouble bringing seasoned campaign organizers on board, most recently losing a top political fundraiser.

Thankfully for Ford, he still has his international notoriety to rely on. Despite his faint protestations, the celebrity Ford has crafted in the wake of a crack cocaine scandal appears to be his best weapon.

This week alone, Ford has appeared on the Today Show, NBC's popular morning talk show, and captivated a cadre of Ottawa journalists, who are not used to their mayor stopping to pose for photographs and sign autographs at airports and bars.

He has secured public attention through his ongoing battle with Police Chief Bill Blair, for distracting from a gathering of Canadian mayors and then bailing on that gathering to go hang out in a bar. He earned vitriol from Quebec politicians, opposition from Toronto protesters and resistance from Winnipeg pre-teens.

[ Related: Big City Mayors conference held captive by shadow of Rob Ford ]

Ford's escapades have ensured one thing: In a week when two serious contenders launched their mayoral campaigns, the most burning question remains: What will Ford do next?

It doesn’t work for everyone. In a column on the Huffington Post, Mayoral candidate David Soknacki asks, “Never heard of me? Don’t worry, neither has Jimmy Kimmel.”

Candidates John Tory and Karen Stintz have also launched campaigns that don’t rely on appearances on TMZ and Jon Stewart.

"I am not an international celebrity," Ford said this week on his YouTube show, Ford Nation. Yet moments after he uttered the statement, he and his brother began planning a trip to appear on American television.

Careful, Mr. Mayor. Without that celebrity you are not much of a mayoral candidate, either.

You are not the surprising upstart that captured the hearts and minds of voters in 2010, and you are not the only conservative in a field of left-of-centre candidates. You no longer have the backing of the big blue machine, even losing celebrated campaign manager Nick Kouvalis to key rival John Tory.

A recent poll suggested Ford, Tory and presumed candidate Olivia Chow are in a tight race, but both Chow and Tory have room to grow. Without a strong campaign team, Ford's reach may be limited.

Recent news reports suggest that Team Ford misplaced 2010 voter data, which had been cultivated from years of groundwork by Ford during his time as a councillor. Now, the Toronto Star reports that Ralph Lean, a conservative lawyer and a top political fundraiser, has abandoned his plans to help Ford in the election.

[ Related: Toronto police chief 'disgusted' by Rob Ford comments in videotaped rant ]

As the Star notes, Ford has yet to announce anyone on his campaign team other than his brother. His website is bare bones and his campaign efforts have mostly been visits with constituents and appearances in public. That has worked well enough in the past to cement his voter base, but it relies on his celebrity status, selfies and social media to spread his name further than that.

Ford has recently increased his number of appearances at youth-oriented establishments, such as bars and nightclubs, and watched as star-struck patrons snap pictures and post them to Instagram.

So far, the only other campaign actions Ford has taken is sending his campaign manager to attack other candidates and launching his YouTube video series, Ford Nation.

Previous episodes of Ford Nation have given the mayor a chance to defend himself against accusations of homophobia and release a hit list of 10-18 councillors he wants to see defeated in the next election.

The latest edition, however, is devoid of much of interest. Doug Ford, a councillor, attacked Toronto's waterfront dervelopement as directionless, dismissing a massive Waterfront Toronto revitalization strategy that he doesn’t agree with. Perhaps he is still stinging that his plan for a huge Ferris wheel was so soundly rejected.

The only other comment of worth was the mayor's insistence that he wasn't an international celebrity.

And on that front, he should tread lightly. Because name recognition, for better or worse, is the best weapon in his arsenal.

Want to know what news is brewing in Canada?
Follow @MRCoutts on Twitter.