Councillors react to Ford’s beer-drinking Danforth appearance

Saying he was merely letting his closely-cropped hair “down a bit,” Mayor Rob Ford admitted to tasting a few cold beers during his impromptu visit to the Taste of the Danforth on Friday night.

“Did I have a couple of beers? Absolutely I had a couple of beers. But you know what, I had a good time,” Ford said on his radio show Sunday.

But not all his peers at city hall shared his nonchalance after videos showing Ford appearing to slur his words went viral on YouTube.

Coun. Sarah Doucette said Ford should have known better than to be drinking in public at a major event.

“I guess my feeling is as an elected official we know we are in the spotlight,” she said. “We know that people are going to be watching us wherever we go. If a few beers makes you slur your speech and appear to be drunk, I don’t think as a public official you should be doing that.”

Doucette said she just returned from a vacation in England, and people there were talking about Ford’s various scandals.

“It’s negative attention,” she added.

Mala Turay shot videos of Ford on his phone Friday. He alleged the mayor was clearly intoxicated.

“He was slurring his words, he was swaying back and forth, he couldn’t really stand straight…I mean it was pretty noticeable,” Turay told CityNews.

Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong says he hasn’t seen the videos and has never seen Ford drunk, but noted that all members of council should be held to a high standard.

“I think it’s important to show good judgment, and when you are representing the city you need to be careful,” he said Monday.

“Council needs to show better judgment…we have to try and show leadership and lead by example.”

Ford said he drove himself to Taste of the Danforth, but wasn’t drinking prior to getting behind the wheel on Friday.

“I drove myself down there, I was not drinking. I went out, had a few beers and I did not drive home. My people met me after that,” Ford said on his NewsTalk 1010 show.

Coun Doug Holyday, who said he’s never seen Ford drink, said many of Ford’s problems could be alleviated by hiring a driver – something the mayor has refused to do in the past.

Holyday also said he’s viewed the Danforth tapes and wasn’t troubled by them. He is, however, troubled by the glaring spotlight that seems to continually follow Ford.

“I thought (the tapes) were inconclusive,” he said. “I just think this mayor has gone through such scrutiny…that no other politician has ever had before, that I know of. I just hope it doesn’t take a toll on him.”

“Even if he did have a couple drinks, as long as he wasn’t out of line, as long as he wasn’t driving his vehicle while he was drinking, he’s human like the rest of us.”

Coun. Shelley Carrolll said Ford needs to take a hard look in the mirror, and advised him not to attend public events alone.

“If he has a drinking problem deal with it,” she said. “If it’s not a drinking problem, then the problem is how you represent yourself at events, and you’ve got to work at it.”

“We are three years into a four year term and he still hasn’t learned that for a major banner tourism event, you arrive with staff members, perhaps security support…that’s how you attend an event. That’s leadership, and we still aren’t seeing it.”