“You know who the social elites are in this city. You know who runs this city. We’ve stopped them. We’ve taken their hands out of the gravy train. Rob doesn’t give them the time of day…”
— Councillor Doug Ford, to Jackson Proskow on Global News, May 25, 2013.
“Folks. I am very proud to stand before you today and say that I did exactly what you elected me to do.”
— Mayor Rob Ford, in a speech to the private, male-only Cambridge Club, August 28, 2013.
Maybe the Fords and I have different opinions about who constitute the ‘social elites’ in this city. But while the mayor wasn’t given some downtown social elites the time of day yesterday at lunch, his brother was up in the northern reaches of Etobicoke, representing the city at a community event in the Dixon Road apartment complex that was in the news recently for the Project Traveller police raids back in June.
“Are you Rob Ford?” some children at the event asked Councillor Ford.
Out of the mouth of babes, huh?
I know that the mayor can’t be everywhere, and I also realize that this particular event might be a little awkward for him, given its location and his alleged after hours activities in the neighbourhood but I do think this whole man of the folks’ act has grown awfully thin. This elite versus blue collar, hard working taxpayer wedge they use to bolster their everyman cred is as fabricated as the mayor’s claim to have saved the city a billion dollars.
“This has been our area for 20 years,” Councillor Ford said. “My dad was here working with the Dixon Road community, my brother has and I am.”
Leaving aside the implications of that statement amidst all the recent allegations made about the family, it’s a pretty bold assertion, the councillor makes. There’s a certain lord of the manor attitude in it. “Our area” as opposed to we’ve lived and worked here for 20 years?
There’s no kind of kinship in that point of view. It’s more ownership. Our area versus our community. Proprietary not shared.
Let’s not put too much stock in the misidentification of the councillor for his mayor-brother by what were children according to the article. No one would expect them to all up on current affairs, right down to being able to know the mayor when they see him. But there is a certain, I don’t know, phantom element to the mix up.
The kids have heard of Rob Ford. Obviously there was some expectation that he might be in attendance at the event. There’s a definite phenotype overlap between the mayor and his councillor-brother. Doug Ford certainly acts like the mayor at times. Even for those of us who follow along closely, that mistake has been made.
Still.
“Are you Rob Ford?”
We’ve heard about you. We hear you’re looking out for us. This has been your area for 20 years now. Are you sure you aren’t Rob Ford?
No, kids. Mayor Ford couldn’t be here because he’s giving a speech to some of the social elite downtown this afternoon.
— unsurely submitted by Cityslikr
My goodness, the Fords are so inconsistent! I wonder how many other others on Council are the same and do they inflict as much damage on our city as this incident did?
Like, maybe they’re ALL stoned down there. Whadda ya think, eh?
Wow, children mistaking someone for someone else? SHOCKING NEWS!
Dear Mr. Says,
We here at All Fired Up in the Big Smoke applaud your ability to grasp onto one sentence in a post in order to absolutely miss the point of the entire thing. It must save you oodles of time, avoiding any sort of actual critical thinking.
I got the critical points in your article. Just like to poke fun at some of the elements within your post. Or have you forgotten how to have any merriment in your life or to laugh? Why so serious?
PS. Should under estimate the mentality of your readership regardless of political point of view. It is not very progressive of you.
I do hope some day to hear an arresting officer ask that question.
Can we ban this fucking Patrick Smyth troll already?
Doug is the one who claims they’ve saved the city 1 billion Dr. Evil dollars….Rob is the brother who claims savings of 600 million. It begs the question, “Where is the other 400 million and who stole it?”
With 4.55% increase in property taxes possibly 2% next budget. 29.5% increase in water/garbage bills with another 9% increase next budget the Co-Ford’s Administration is costing taxpayer more than Miller ever did!
As he speaks to the elites to support his 2014 campaign. He needed a campaign extension because at Dec. 31, 2010 he had a deficit of $639,526.60
He also went over the spending limit.
The Conservatives are still going after Trudeau who smoked a few times. Wynne said very, very infrequent. Ford said “a lot”
I actually have a picture of Rob Ford smoking pot. http://image.yaymicro.com/rz_1210x1210/0/35c/black-pot-35c552.jpg
That ownership attitude extends to most things the Fords do. Recall the anecdote about Diane Ford and two of the Ford brothers having lunch with John Tory and telling him “You can be mayor for a few years, but then it’s Robbie’s turn.”