Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2013
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2013 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: James Bradshaw

CIVIC LEADERS URGE TORONTO MAYOR ROB FORD TO SPEAK UP ON DRUG ALLEGATIONS

Civic leaders are adding to a chorus of calls on Toronto Mayor Rob
Ford to clear the air about allegations of drug use amid growing
concern that the scandal has derailed council's business of governing.

Mr. Ford kept his silence once again on Tuesday, brushing off swarms
of reporters clamouring for a more substantive answer to allegations
that he was filmed apparently smoking crack cocaine - claims he
swatted aside as "ridiculous" last week.

Hours later, Mr. Ford opposed a council vote blocking the
establishment of any new gambling site in Toronto, which passed by a
margin of 40 to 4. Influential city leaders are worried that the
longer questions about Mr. Ford's personal conduct go unanswered, the
more impossible the mayor will find it to revive his stalled agenda or
address pressing issues such as transit. But they are also unsure how
to broach the uproar, which is still supported by few hard facts.

"We're in uncharted territory," said Rahul Bhardwaj, president and CEO
of the Toronto Community Foundation. "It can only help the city to
clarify matters as soon as possible."

The U.S. news website Gawker and the Toronto Star both say they viewed
a video - the authenticity of which remains unclear - that appears to
show Mr. Ford smoking crack cocaine. The mayor repeatedly ducked
reporters asking for a fuller explanation of the drug use allegations,
before leaving City Hall around 2 p.m.

Asked about the embattled mayor's alleged crack use, Ontario Premier
Kathleen Wynne did not refer to Mr. Ford by name, but said council as
a whole needs to deal with any problems. "When there is a distraction
of a personal nature or a distraction that takes the council and the
leadership away from serving the interests of the city and getting the
business of the city done, then that's a problem," she said Tuesday
afternoon. "My hope is that they will be dealt with on a personal
level and at a council level as quickly as possible."

In light of the uncertainty still clouding the allegations, many of
the city's leading figures are treading cautiously, at once eager to
speak out and wary of wading into the morass.

Toronto architect Jack Diamond, a vocal opponent of the casino
proposal, believes the city's most effective mayors have been those
who were able to build consensus on key issues. "Whether the various
allegations about Mayor Ford are proven or not, it seems he is neither
able to identify what the major issues of the day are, nor to build
consensus. The distraction of dealing with the allegations only
exacerbates these problems," he said in an e-mail.

In advance of a summit of western Greater Toronto Area municipal
leaders held Tuesday, radio host and former Ontario Progressive
Conservative leader John Tory said in an e-mail that he worried the
attention on Mr. Ford, and other current Canadian political
controversies, would likely overshadow an important discussion on
regional transit. And at that summit, long-time Mississauga mayor
Hazel McCallion lamented Toronto's absence from the transit debate.

"The largest city in the GTA should be at the table, with us," she
said on the sidelines of the Tuesday meeting. "A united voice on an
issue is far more effective than a divided one."

But asked later what advice she, as a political survivor, would give
Mr. Ford during his current difficulties, she professed not to
understand the question. When the allegations were mentioned she
responded with a quick "no comment."

Linda Jeffrey, Ontario's Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister,
stressed that Toronto has "long-term decisions that council is
grappling with that have long-term implications to the residents of
Toronto," and said, "It is disappointing if councillors are finding it
increasingly difficult to conduct their day-to-day business."

Save for briefly dismissing the drug allegations as "ridiculous" last
Friday, Mr. Ford has avoided explaining himself. When city hall
reporters approached him while he was inside an elevator Tuesday
morning, his press secretary and an assistant attempted to block
journalists from getting near while Mr. Ford stood in the back corner.

After the morning council meeting wrapped, he barged through reporters
into his office. Before long, he left by a side entrance and down a
flight of stairs that journalists can't access, then raced through the
parking lot in his black SUV.

As long as the mayor chooses to ignore the issue, "everybody in the
city is left hanging and questioning his judgment," said Toronto
Councillor Peter Milczyn, a member of Mr. Ford's executive committee.

Even with the scandal nearly a week old, many with deep ties in
Toronto politics remain content to watch it play out from the
sidelines, not wanting to be seen as piling on. "If someone is, you
know, intent on self-destructing, =C2=85 just stand back and let him do
it," said one experienced political organizer, declining to be
interviewed about Mr. Ford.

Still, the alleged video is hampering Mr. Ford's ability to govern
even without proof of any wrongdoing, said Bruce Davis, former
campaign manager to George Smitherman, who was Mr. Ford's main rival
in the last mayoral race. If councillors and city organizations don't
have confidence in the mayor to manage his office and affairs, "then
it almost doesn't matter what happened," Mr. Davis said.

"If it's not true, then you still have to lance the boil," he said,
noting that even if Mr. Ford proves not to be struggling with
addiction issues as has been suggested, the pressure of scandal will
still take "a huge toll in stress on relationships and his own health."

"Is this impairing the city's ability to tackle big issues? Yes," he
added.

For the time being, there is no sign of a collective effort by civic
leaders to press Mr. Ford into speaking out, though most agree the
current scandal cannot be allowed to drag on indefinitely.

A group describing itself as "concerned citizens" is determined to
wait for answers: According to a newly created website, the group is
trying to arrange a peaceful sit-in outside the mayor's Etobicoke home
on Sunday, promising "community, conversation, music and fun while we
wait for our mayor to come and speak with us."

- - With reports from Oliver Moore, Adrian Morrow, Sunny Dhillon and
Elizabeth Church.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt