Daily BrewToronto Mayor ‘Teflon’ Rob Ford has clear skies ahead
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford appears to be on his best behaviour recently, with nary a public stumble or political fumble to be found.
He graciously thanked the city’s compliance audit committee for doing their duty this week, after they voted against pursuing charges against the mayor, and even offered the city’s chief medical officer a rare apology. Which is big of him, even if it helped avoid a battle with the integrity commissioner.
And if you ignore that Ford may still be set on exacting some revenge against said commissioner, it is possible Ford is finally focused on running a city, not a circus.
For now, all the legal hurdles that stood in his way are behind him.
A forensic audit found that Ford broke several donation and spending laws during the 2010 mayoral campaign. But on Monday, a three-person panel ruled 2-1 in opposition to bringing charges against the mayor.
"I'm happy the process is finally over…it's a great day for democracy, I'm happy the committee understands we ran a clean, professional, above-board campaign," Ford told a press conference.
In recent months, Ford has survived a damning spending audit, a guilty ruling in a conflict of interest case, and a million-dollar libel lawsuit.
It is a record that led the Toronto Star's Royson James to declare Ford the "Teflon Mayor."
[ Related: Committee won't call in prosecutor after Rob Ford audit ]
Ford’s the all-time, undefeated champion of the courts — a slippery eel of a politician coated in Teflon. Feeling his oats following an amazing 2013, the mayor must wish election day was this fall, and not 2014.
Indeed, Ford has survived his rocky road with nary a scratch. In fact, his popularity has increased from where it sat in late fall, when all that plagued him were accusations of pigheadedness and self-entitlement.
[ More Brew: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford clears deck with apology to CMO ]
The National Post reports that a Forum Research poll found that 48 per cent of Torontonians approve of the job Ford is doing.
Previous Forum Research polls had his support at 45 per cent in January and 42 per cent in December. Meaning that the more bullets Ford dodges, the better people view what he has accomplished.
More than half of Toronto still does not approve of Ford's progress, but his camp is certainly gaining numbers. Consider: Ford won the 2010 election with 47 per cent of the popular vote.
He's back. And that begs the question, why behave now? Playing it fast and loose has worked out so far.
