TORONTO (Reuters) – Two top aides quit Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s office yesterday as the embattled leader of Canada’s biggest city faces lingering allegations he was caught smoking crack cocaine on video, accusations he has firmly denied.
The departures of the mayor’s press secretary and deputy press secretary came just days after Ford fired his chief of staff. The mayor confirmed on Monday that both George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom left of their own accord.
“I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors and I want to thank them for working hard in this office,” he told a crush of journalists outside his office. “That’s it, it’s business as usual.”
Christopoulos and Ransom could not be reached for comment. But their departures renewed questions about whether the mayor would be able to weather his most serious controversy to date.
Ford has been under fire since reporters from the Toronto Star and Gawker Media said in separate reports on May 16 that they had seen a video that purports to show Ford smoking crack. The mayor directly denied the allegations on Friday, after initially dismissing the media stories as “ridiculous,” without giving a full statement.
Reuters cannot confirm the existence of the video or its content.
The video, according to The Star and Gawker, was being shopped around by people involved in the drug trade. Both media outlets declined to pay the six-figure sum requested by the video’s owners.
The controversy has made headlines across Canada and outside the country and drawn ridicule from late-night TV humorists Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno and Jon Stewart.
Speaking on his weekly radio show on Sunday, Ford brushed off the scandal, calling the media a “bunch of maggots,” and promised to run in the next election.
“I’ll be the first putting my name on that ballot,” he said. Ford apologised for his maggot comment yesterday.
The drug-use allegations are the latest in a string of scandals for the mayor, who has been chided for ignoring city work to coach high school football and was briefly ordered out of office last year after he was found guilty of conflict of interest.
While some of Ford’s opponents have called for him to step down, one municipal affairs specialist said there was little that could be done under the current system to force a Toronto mayor from office.
“There is no recall or impeachment provision,” said John Mascarin, a lawyer with Aird & Berlis LLP. “Stupidity is not one of the things” that can get you removed.
Elected officials can be removed from City Hall by court order in a conflict-of-interest situation, or if they do not attend council meetings for several months without being formally excused.
Also on Ford’s side is the steadfast backing of his core supporters, said Ivor Tossell, a journalist and author of the biography The Gift of Ford.
“One of Ford’s great political assets is he plays on a sense of marginalisation and grievance among his supporters. He likes to play the little guy,” he said. “In a way, the more the institutions like the media attack him, the stronger he gets.”
