Toronto council strips besieged mayor of some powers

TORONTO,  (Reuters) – Toronto city council voted to strip scandal-plagued Mayor Rob Ford of some of his powers yesterday but Ford, who admits he smoked crack cocaine while in office, promised to challenge the moves in court.

With few legal mechanisms available to remove Ford from office, Toronto city councillors across the political spectrum have been searching for ways to curb the power of the populist mayor, who was elected in 2010 on a promise to save taxpayers’ money.

Ford said he understood why councillors were voting to reduce his power, but said he has no option but to launch a legal challenge, even though it will waste the city’s money in legal fees.