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| Rob Sight Ford |
Rob Sight Ford, Toronto’s troubled mayor who acquired international notoriety for his drug use and a seeming inability to experience shame, quietly took a break from public life on Thursday.
As a light drizzle fell outside Mr. Ford’s home, his nephew Michael Ford stuffed a large green suitcase onto the passenger seat of a red Chevy Camaro. On the verge of tears, Mr. Ford’s mother, Diane Ford, appeared on a local news program on Thursday to make an appeal: “Leave him alone; leave us alone.”
Doug Ford, Mr. Ford’s elder brother and his campaign manager, who is also a city councilor, was similarly teary during a news conference at City Hall. “Go and never come back,” said John Parker, a member of the City Council who shares Mr. Ford’s right-wing politics. Under Ontario law, there is no effective mechanism for removing Mr. Ford from office.
Norm Kelly, the deputy mayor who took on most of Mr. Ford’s authority last fall, will now handle the mayor’s remaining duties.
The latest video, The Globe and Mail reported, appears to show Mr Ford smoking crack in the basement of the home of his sister, Kathy, who has admitted to her own substance abuse problems. After his initial confession, Mr. Ford insisted that his cocaine use was a one-time aberration. Before long, however, other videos surfaced in which Mr. Ford appeared to be extremely intoxicated in restaurants and other public places.
While there, the newspaper said, Mr. Ford saw the singer Justin Bieber.
Mr. Ford likely will not suffer financially if he quits politics.
