The media is full of revelation after revelation of the latest “evil-doing” of embattled Toronto mayor Rob Ford. But there are no doubt dozens of mayors and other local officials in the US and Canada who are awash in corruption and bad personal habits. Why no wall-to-wall coverage of their foibles? Why do the media and the elites really hate Rob Ford so much?
One clue is buried in yet another article otherwise filled with salacious details of his latest brouhaha:
11:47 pm on November 17, 2013Part of that building has been a heavy emphasis on being accessible to constituents: Mayor Ford even gives out his cell phone number to voters, to call him any time about problems with city services or taxes.
He eschews a chauffeur and other city perks, all in the name of keeping spending down for the average taxpayer. He’s even been photographed reading work documents while driving on an expressway.
“I don’t believe in wasting taxpayer’s money,” he later said about the controversial photo.
…
Upon winning his first election, Rob Ford immediately garnered a reputation for keeping taxes and city expenses down. In 2001, he advocated cutting limousines as a city perk and slashing each councilor’s $200,000 budget, used for travel and club memberships. “If we wiped out the perks for council members, we’d save $100 million easy,” he said, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail.
…
In 2006, then-Councilor Ford offended the gay community when he questioned $1.5 million for an anti-AIDS program: “It is very preventable,” Ford said about the disease, according to City News Toronto. “If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably, that’s bottom line.”
