Toronto council reins in mayor
TORONTO — After a tempestuous debate, Toronto’s City Council has stripped Mayor Rob Ford of the last of his substantive powers because of multiple scandals, but further turmoil seems inevitable.
The mayor, defiant despite admissions of illegal drug use and heavy drinking, vowed “outright war” to take on his critics in next year’s election.
The council session was one of the stormiest in memory as the burly mayor argued with colleagues and members of the public and at one point knocked down a petite councilwoman as he charged toward one of his hecklers.
Cries of “Shame, shame” came from the gallery.
The council voted overwhelmingly in favor of slashing Ford’s office budget by 60 percent and allowing mayoral staff to join the deputy mayor, Norm Kelly. Ford now effectively has no legislative power, though he retains his title and ability to represent Toronto at official functions.
Kelly, 72, has been in politics since the 1970s, and is considered a low-key, non-ideological politician with a knack for working effectively across factional lines.
