Mayor Rob Ford battles graffiti, critics

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was getting down and dirty Thursday.

Ford rolled up his sleeves, declaring an all-out war on graffiti.

“It just depreciates the value of everyone’s property, it turns it into a ghetto, and that’s not the kind of city I want to represent,” said Ford.

Ford was cleaning graffiti in a back alley just off St. Clair Avenue West and Earlscourt Avenue, along with Councillor Cesar Palacio as part of the mayor’s Clean Toronto Together campaign.

“We’re gonna go brick by brick right across the city, and we’re gonna get it cleaned up and that’s the bottom line,” said Ford.

But not everyone is impressed with Ford’s plan.

“This is art. And it has a place in the city and it has a place in our culture here today,” said store owner Jenette Shanks.

“There are a lot of big issues he (Ford) could concentrate on, the economy, the traffic situation. But every once in a while politicians like to get their face in the paper for something.”

But some local business owners do feel the initiative is a good idea.

“It’s kind of sad, you see it and this is a building, it’s someone’s home, someone’s business. It’s not fair to the owners and the business owners to have to witness that,” said Chau Du, whose family owns a store on St. Clair West.

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