Toronto Mayor Rob Ford may have made some mistakes in his life, admittedly smoking crack and, the latest, charging at a female City Council member who ultimately voted to strip his powers. But he’s not guilty of being boring.
Among his list of most notable one-liners, assembled by various press outlets: “It’s a coup d’etat — that’s all this is.” And: “You know what? I made mistakes, I drank too much. I smoked some crack sometime. What can I say? I made a mistake, I’m guilty.” And the related but separate: “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. But do I? Am I an addict? No. Have I tried it? Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.” And one more, fun to slip in without context: “We’re gonna have some fun today.”
That last, however, had little to do with his admissions of smoking crack. Rather, it was made upon his entrance to his Monday council session, during which members voted to strip him of his mayoral powers, the Toronto Sun reported. The council meeting was a fiasco; at one point, the mayor rushed across the chambers, knocking down a council member, in what he described as an attempt to help his brother.
He also uttered the first of that list of notables — “it’s a coup d’etat” — during the same council session while giving his personal assessment of the political proceedings that seemed aimed at inflicting the greatest amount of political punishment as possible, USA Today reported. Council members do not have the authority to remove the mayor from office; stripping him of power was the most action they could take, Fox News reported.
Other notable quotes from Mr. Ford: On Fox News, days after his crack use was common knowledge, he said: “If people want to start bringing up personal stuff, that’s fine. And yes, one day I do want to run for prime minister.” And another, made at the tail end of the council’s decision to pull his powers, the National Post reported: “Mark my words, my friends, this is going to be outright war in the next election and I’m going to do everything in my power, everything in my power to beat your guys.” He added, the same outlet reported: “Well, folks, if you think American style politics is nasty, you guys have just attacked Kuwait.”
And one final notable, from USA Today: “When you attack my integrity as a father and as a husband, I see red.” Mr. Ford made that statement a few days ago during a press conference aimed at countering a city staffer’s accusation that he pressured her for oral sex. At that same conference, Mr. Ford used a vulgar term to describe a woman’s body part — a mention that visibly disturbed his wife, who was at his side, the New York Daily News.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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