TIMELINE: Key events in Rob Ford’s tenure as Toronto politician

Here’s a look at some key events from Mayor Rob Ford’s term so far.
Nov. 18, 2013: City council votes by a wide margin to slash Ford’s mayoral budget and hand many of his duties to deputy mayor Norm Kelly. Ford called it a “coup d’etat” and vowed it would be war in the October 2014 municipal election.

Nov. 15, 2013: Toronto city council overwhelmingly passes two motions to limit Ford’s powers. He says that council left him with no choice but to begin costly legal action to try to overturn the decisions.

Nov. 14, 2013: Ford shocked everyone when he spouted an obscenity on live TV while denying allegations in the police court document that he made lewd comments to an ex-female staffer. He later apologized with his wife by his side at city hall and said he was getting professional support. City councillors called on him to resign. Ford stubbornly refused, and Premier Kathleen Wynne reiterated that city council has to address the issues it faces, but the province could intervene if requested.

Nov. 13, 2013: The mayor’s ex-staffers told police he was intoxicated at work, drank while driving and associated with suspected prostitutes, according to unredacted portions of a police document. The release came shortly after city council voted overwelmingly in favour of a motion urging Ford to take a leave of absence and just hours after he admitted during the meeting to buying illegal drugs while in office.

Nov. 7, 2013: A video posted online by the Toronto Star and Toronto Sun shows Ford spewing obscenities and using threatening words, including “kill” and “murder.” The mayor tells reporters that he was “extremely” drunk and is “extremely” embarrassed. But he doesn’t explain who he’s angry at.

Nov. 5, 2013: Ford admits he has smoked crack cocaine. “Yes I have smoked crack cocaine,” he said at city hall, later adding, “Have I tried it?  Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately a year ago.”

Nov. 5, 2013: Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, says police chief Bill Blair should step aside over what he said was a conflict of interest. He also says that he and his brother have been “uninvited” from an upcoming police gala.

Nov. 4, 2013: Ford is the butt of late-night talk show jokes, mocked on The Daily Show and the subject of jabs from Jay Leno and Howard Stern.

Nov. 4, 2013: Ford again calls on police to release the infamous video.

Nov. 4, 2013: Toronto voters – and councillors – are split on whether they should accept Ford’s apology.

Nov. 3, 2013: During his weekly radio show, Ford acknowledged he has made mistakes in his life but left unanswered questions about the alleged crack video that has propelled him into the international spotlight. He apologized to voters and said he would not resign.

Nov. 2, 2013: Ford’s approval rating goes up slightly

Nov. 1, 2013: An email written by a city hall security guard describes an incident on St. Patrick’s Day last year when Mayor Rob Ford appeared drunk and visibly upset.

Nov. 1, 2013: Ford calls on police to release video – a video he had previously said did not exist.

Nov. 1, 2013: All four major Toronto newspapers call on Ford to step aside or resign.

Nov. 1, 2013: Police say the man who showed the Ford video to reporters from the Toronto Star and Gawker was the target of an extortion attempt.

Oct. 31, 2013: Toronto police reveal they have a video that shows Mayor Rob Ford, video that is “consistent with video previously described by the media.” Ford says he has no reason to resign and will not comment further on the issue as it is “before the courts.”

Oct. 31, 2013: Documents relating to the drug arrest of Mayor Rob Ford’s friend Alexander Lisi are partially unsealed. The police document says an alleged video that appears to show Ford using crack cocaine was the focus of an investigation that led to dozens of arrests.

The document shows friends and former staffers of Ford were concerned that Lisi was “fuelling” the Toronto mayor’s alleged drug use.

Oct. 30, 2013: Judge Ian Nordheimer rules that a search warrant relating to the arrest of Lisi will be publicly released. It will be scrutinized for mentions of the mayor.

Oct. 22, 2013: A letter Ford wrote as a character reference for his friend Alexander Lisi’s sentencing hearing is released to the public. At the hearing, Lisi, an alleged drug dealer, was sentenced to time served and two years’ probation for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.

Oct. 11, 2013: Hours after Coun. Paul Ainslie steps down from Ford’s executive committee, the mayor targets Ainslie’s constituents with robocalls criticizing him for voting against a Scarborough subway. Ainslie vows to file a complaint with the city’s integrity commissioner.

Oct. 1, 2013: Lisi is arrested during a raid in Etobicoke was charged with trafficking in marijuana, possession of proceeds of crime, possession of marijuana and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Aug. 10, 2013: Video surfaces on YouTube of Ford appearing to be intoxicated at the Taste of the Danforth Festival. Ford later admitted that he had consumed a couple of beers but that he did not drive home.

May 30, 2013: Following the departure of three staffers in one week, Ford’s policy advisor Brian Johnston, who also handles council relations, and the mayor’s executive assistant Kia Nejatian both resign.

May 27, 2013: Ford’s office announces that his press secretary George Christopoulos and deputy press secretary Isaac Ransom are no longer employed in the mayor’s office. While speaking to the media Ford states that despite the departures from his office staff “it’s business as usual.”

May 24, 2013: Following the open letter from six members of his executive committee, Ford holds a news conference and breaks his silence saying, “I do not use crack cocaine nor am I an addict of crack cocaine. As for a video I can’t comment on a video that I’ve not seen or does not exist.”

May 24, 2013: Members of Ford’s hand-picked executive committee ask the mayor to formally address allegations of drug use. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday says he is prepared to step in, if needed.

May 23, 2013: Ford fires his chief of staff, Mark Towhey. According to multiple reports, Towhey had urged Ford to seek help for his alleged addiction.

May 22, 2013: Ford is fired from his volunteer football coaching job at Don Bosco high school. The school says it has nothing to do with drug allegations. Instead, it is based on comments Ford made to the Toronto Sun, where he said students would not be at the school if not for the team.

May 22, 2013: Coun. Doug Ford says drug use allegations against his brother are “untrue.” Speaking at city hall, he said, “Rob is telling me these stories are untrue, that these accusations are ridiculous and I believe him.”

May 16, 2013: Reporters at The Toronto Star and Gawker publish allegations they have seen a video that appears to show Ford using drugs.

March 27, 2013: A report in the Toronto Star alleges that Ford is asked to leave the Garrison Ball, a military fundraiser, because he appeared impaired.

March 8, 2013: Mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson says Ford made inappropriate comments and grabbed her butt at a gala for the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. Ford denies the allegations.

Feb. 1, 2013: After a forensic audit of his campaign spending, Ford is found to have overspent by $40,100. However, a city hall committee decided not to send the issue to a special prosecutor.

Nov. 26, 2012: A judge rules that Ford violated the provincial Municipal Elections Act and orders Ford removed from office. He appeals and is later reinstated.

Nov. 6, 2012: Ford comes under fire after a Toronto Transit Commission bus was emptied of passengers and rerouted to collect his football team.

August 2012: Ford, who has been accused of distracted driving, is photographed driving and reading while on the Gardiner Expressway. Ford admitted to reading briefing notes, saying he was a busy man.

May 2, 2012: Ford calls police after seeing a Toronto Star reporter near his home. Reporter Daniel Dale said he was not trespassing, and, in fact, the mayor threatened him.

February-March 2012: City reaches deals with all of its unionized workers, averting a strike and ensuring labour peace for four years.

Feb. 7, 2012: Ford participates in a council vote on whether he should have to pay back donations he received from lobbyists, triggering a conflict-of-interest lawsuit.

December 2011: The Toronto Star reports that police had been called to his Etobicoke home after his mother-in-law called 911 on Christmas morning. There were claims he had been drinking and threatened to take his children to Florida without his wife.

October 2011: Ford is accused again of using his cellphone while driving.

Oct. 25, 2011: Ford calls police on a comedy crew from This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Comedian Mary Walsh, who was dressed as her alter ego Marg, Warrior Princess, and a cameraman were at his home. The CBC reported that Ford later yelled obscenities at a 911 operator. Toronto police chief Bill Blair denied Ford had made the comments.

July 2011: Ford is accused of using his cellphone while driving and then giving the middle finger to the woman who chastised him. He denied giving the woman the finger.

June 2011: Ford angers the city’s gay community by declining to attend either the city’s gay pride parade or the flag raising ceremony to kick off Pride week

May 17, 2011: Council votes 32-13 to contract out garbage collection for homes between Yonge Street and the Humber River.

Dec. 16, 2010: Council votes to repeal the vehicle-registration tax introduced by former mayor David Miller.

June 2010: On a taped phone call, Ford can be heard offering to buy prescription drugs for a constituent. Ford admitted he offered to help an HIV-positive man find OxyContin illegally, but says he was playing along “just to get him off the phone.”

March 5, 2008: During a city hall debate, Ford says: “Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out. They are workers non-stop. They sleep beside their machines.”  He refused to apologize, saying he was paying the community a compliment.

June 2006: Ford votes against AIDS funding, saying “If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably, that’s bottom line.”

April 2006: Ford, now a councillor, got drunk at a Leaf game and began spouting a range of obscenities at those sitting near him. He initially denied even being there, but later came clean, apologizing for his behaviour and admitting he was “both embarrassed and humiliated by the whole series of events.”

February 1999: Ford, then 29, is charged with marijuana possession and driving under the influence while on vacation in Florida. The marijuana charge is later dropped.  While campaigning for office in 2010, Ford lies about the Florida charge, saying was charged with failing to provide a breath test.

With files from CityNews.ca staff and The Canadian Press