Ford’s approval rating no surprise to councillors
Posted June 27, 2013 8:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new poll has found support for Mayor Rob Ford is on the rise, despite the allegations of drug use that surfaced more than a month ago, results that come as no surprise to some Toronto councillors.
Ford’s approval rating is at 47 per cent among Toronto residents, up from 42 per cent in May, according to a Forum Research poll conducted for the Toronto Sun.
“All during this period of time, the ‘Ford nation’ has stuck with him, and they seem to still be sticking with him,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff told 680News political affairs specialist John Stall on Thursday.
The allegations have died down, Bozinoff said, and “he’s been able to start to concentrate on running the city […] he is starting to focus again on the city and his job as mayor rather than on his personal issues.”
Coun. Karen Stintz said Ford remains at the helm of the city, which leads to voter support.
“Generally, the city continues to support the mayor who’s in the chair,” she said at city hall.
“It’s not a surprise to me that his popularity is going up,” Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti agreed.
“The public is reacting to, I think, a concerted effort by some to just go after him. The sympathetic vote seems to be there for him.”
Coun. Doug Holyday agreed, saying, “A lot of people aren’t buying some of the accusations. The mayor has been more open than ever lately and meeting with the press more frequently and I think that’s going a long way to regaining the confidence of some people.”
“What the poll says is he wouldn’t win an election if it were called today,” Coun. Adam Vaughan countered.
“People feel sorry for him and that’s fine.”
Listen to the full interview with Bozinoff below:
