Toronto Mayor Rob Ford: I Want To Be Prime Minister
Rob Ford apparently has big career plans:
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford isn’t going to let a little crack cocaine come between him and his dream of becoming prime minister.
The embattled lawmaker, who’s facing enormous pressure to call it quits after acknowledging he bought illegal drugs and smoked crack cocaine, says he won’t give up his fight and is even interested in running for a higher office.
“One day I want to run for prime minister,” Ford, 44, told Fox News over the weekend.
His remarks come as the Toronto City Council on Friday partially stripped Ford of his powers. That includes blocking him from being able to fire the deputy mayor and taking away his emergency powers.
The council will vote later on Monday to curtail more his powers, like limiting his office budget and giving more authority to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly. Currently, the city council cannot oust Ford unless he has been convicted of a crime.
Ford has apologized and said he’s getting “professional help,” but still says he intends to run for re-election next year. He gave several interviews to U.S. networks, insisting to CNN “I’m not an addict.”
He told Fox News: ”I’ve admitted to using illegal drugs in the last year, okay. I’ve admitted to drinking too much, okay, so I’m dealing with it. I’m training every day. I’m in the gym for two hours every day. I’m seeking professional help. I’m not an alcoholic… Have I had my outbursts in my past? Absolutely…but you know what? I’m only human. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve apologized. That’s all I can do.”
Well, if nothing else we know just how much the crack and the alcohol has affected his brain.
Update: Meanwhile, this happened today:
Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford ran through a City Council meeting on Monday during a heated exchange as legislators debated a measure that would strip him of power and staff, the Toronto Star reported.
Ford, who has refused to resign despite admitting to purchasing and smoking crack-cocaine, stormed across the room after his brother, Doug Ford, got into an exchange with another man at the back of the chamber. The mayor inadvertedly knocked over Councillor Pam McConnell, who was in Ford’s way.
“This is a seat of democracy, not a football field,” she said, according to the Star. “I wasn’t ready for it.”
Video at the link.
Not that this is anywhere serious, but:
A. Harper ain’t going anywhere and has no term limits.
B. Ford would have to be elected leader of the Conservatives first. He may have a following in suburbian Toronto, but not where the Conservative’s power base is – the west.
C. As a liberal, I hope he’d run and win the leadership. He’d kill the party.
Well, if we’re babbling about unattainable dreams, I’d like to be a prima ballerina assoluta.
@grumpy realist:
Ford might have slightly better luck trying out for the chorus in a road company of Man of La Mancha.
Not much, but slightly.
Well sure. That and stop running over female council members.
This guy is the best thing to happen to politics since Bill Clinton and the stained dress. I support him for any office he cares to run for.
Yeah, and I want a smokable form of cocaine that’s non-addictive, but it ain’t gonna happen.
I appreciate a politician who is open about his drug abuse rather than who knows how many using cocaine, marijuana, and prescription medications while preaching against it all for the rest of us.