Ten times former Toronto mayor Rob Ford made headlines

TORONTO – Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, who garnered national and international notoriety during his time in office, has died. Here are 10 occasions when the controversial politician made headlines.

CRACK VIDEO — May 16, 2013: The American news site Gawker and Toronto Star report seeing Ford on a video smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine and making racist and homophobic comments. They say the video is being shopped around by men allegedly involved in the drug trade. Ford says later in May: “I do not use crack cocaine.”

POLICE PROBE — Oct. 31, 2013: Chief Bill Blair announces Toronto police have recovered a copy of a cellphone video file that depicts images of Ford “consistent with those previously reported in the press.” Blair says police have no “reasonable” grounds to criminally charge the mayor but adds he is “disappointed” by the video.

CRACK ADMISSION — Nov. 5, 2013: Ford admits he smoked crack cocaine about a year earlier while in one of his “drunken stupors.” The mayor says he has nothing left to hide.

OBSCENITIES ON TV — Nov. 14, 2013: Ford spouts an obscenity on live TV while denying allegations he told a female aide he was going to have oral sex with her. “I’ve got more than enough to eat at home,” he says. He later apologizes and says he is getting professional help. City councillors call for him to resign. Ford refuses.

LOSS OF POWERS — Nov. 18, 2013: City council votes by a wide margin to slash Ford’s mayoral budget and hand many of his duties to the deputy mayor. Ford calls it a “coup d’etat” and says it will be war in the October 2014 municipal election.

RANT — Jan. 21, 2014: Having recently said he had given up alcohol, Ford admits he was drinking the previous night after a video emerged on YouTube of him in a rambling, profane rant using Jamaican patois. Ford says he had been on personal time at a west-end Toronto restaurant and did not think the language he used was offensive.

JIMMY KIMMEL APPEARANCE — March 3, 2014: Ford appears on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” with the TV host introducing him by saying: “Our first guest tonight has tripped, bumped, danced, argued and smoked his way into our national consciousness.” Ford tells Kimmel he wasn’t elected to be perfect but to clean up the financial mess at city hall.

STINT IN REHAB — April 30, 2014: Ford’s lawyer announces the Toronto mayor will take a leave of absence to seek help for substance abuse. The announcement comes hours after the Globe and Mail reports that a drug dealer had shown two of its reporters a new video of Ford allegedly smoking crack cocaine. Ford returns from rehab on June 30, 2014, saying seeking treatment was a life-saving decision.

CANCER DIAGNOSIS — Sept. 10, 2014: Ford is admitted to hospital after complaining for months of abdominal pain. Doctors soon discover a large tumour. Citing his health, Ford withdraws from the mayoral race and runs instead for city council. Later in the month, Mount Sinai says Ford has been diagnosed with an aggressive liposarcoma. He begins chemotherapy.

POLITICAL PERSEVERANCE — Oct. 27, 2014: John Tory is elected mayor of Toronto. Ford says his family is not ready to abandon its mayoral ambitions. “I guarantee, in four more years, you’re going to see another example of the Ford family never, ever, ever giving up,” a wan-looking Ford tells cheering supporters.

Source:The Canadian Press