Toronto’s Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly says Rob Ford will “have to reflect on” whether he wants to be involved in the police budget process this year given the scandal currently surrounding him.
Kelly made the comment to reporters Monday morning one day after Ford took to the radio to apology for “mistakes” he has made in the past, including being intoxicated in public during the Taste of the Danforth this past summer and throwing a raucous party in his office on St. Patrick’s Day 2012.
Ford did not comment on an exhaustive police investigation, which resulted in an extortion charge against his friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi for his alleged efforts to recover a damaging video of the mayor.
Last Thursday, Toronto police Chief Bill Blair described the video, which is now in police possession, as the one that had been reported in the press.
That video is believed to show the mayor smoking from a glass pipe.
Asked Monday if he thought the mayor should be excluded from the police budget process this year given the developments, Kelly said he wasn’t sure.
“Good question,” Kelly said. “I think that is something that one should reflect on.”
Ford has repeatedly praised the efforts of Toronto police and on his radio show Sunday he talked about his desire to hire at least 100 more front-line officers during this year’s budget if not 150.
When pressed for further comment Monday, Kelly said it will ultimately be up to the mayor to decide whether he believes it is appropriate to be involved with the 2014 police budget.
Coun. Gloria Lindsay Luby was also asked about whether she thought Ford should participate in the police budget and told reporters that she does have some concerns.
“I am concerned about that because the office of mayor does affect a lot of things and senior staff particularly will feel under the gun to do as he tells them to do and that’s really unfortunate,” she said. “I don’t think it is a conflict of interest, though. There are very real clear guidelines about what a conflict of interest is.”
Mayor won’t attend Chief of Police Gala
Ford was scheduled to sit at the head table at the annual Chief of Police Gala at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex on Wednesday, but his appearance at the dinner has been cancelled.
It is not immediately clear why the mayor will no longer attend the event, but the co-chair of the gala did issue a statement on Monday clarifying that the mayor had not been uninvited.
“Last Friday, I called the mayor’s Chief of Staff to discuss the mayor’s attendance at the Gala. As soon as I started talking about the optics, the Chief of Staff said, ‘I understand’ and the conversation ended,”
Gala co-chair Brain Moniz wrote. “At no time was the mayor ‘uninvited.’”
Ford gives surprise radio interview
Ford arrived at city hall at around 7:30 a.m. Monday before dropping by the studios of AM 640 for an unexpected in-studio interview during the “John Oakley Morning Show” where he again apologized for his actions.
His latest comments to the press came after he was heavily criticized by the media for his apology during his weekly Newstalk 1010 radio show Sunday afternoon. The apology was made in the wake of a chorus of calls for him to address the scandal surrounding him or step aside.
However, during his talk show, he never directly addressed his actions in the video, instead repeating his assertion that he cannot comment on a video that he has not seen.
But during Monday’s radio interview, Oakley pointedly asked Ford if he had ever used crack cocaine, to which the mayor replied that he is “not a drug addict.”
“I am not a drug addict and I am not an alcoholic and I can assure you that I do not use drugs,” he said.
Asked if he would be able to recognize the signs of addiction, Ford continued to insist that he doesn’t have an addiction.
“If I am an addict I could not show up to work every single day and you know I cannot miss work,” he said.
Some councillors say apology fell short
While Kelly told reporters Monday that he “hopes time will prove” that the mayor has made the right decision by apologizing for past transgressions and promising to make better decisions, some other councillors say the apology wasn’t sufficient.
“I don’t think many councillors feel that this apology is enough,” Coun. Sarah Docuette told CP24 at city hall Monday morning. “I still feel he should step aside, look after himself, look after his family and do what’s best for him because what is best for him is what is best for the city.”
“It wasn’t an apology; it was the use of the word apology in a sentence,” Coun. Joe Mihevc told CP24 in a in-studio interview. “He needed to account for all the drug and alcohol indiscretions and he needed to account for all his associations with people that are in conflict with the law, which are deep and pervasive. There is a pattern here and it is a long and deep pattern of misbehaviour of the highest order and frankly I don’t think Torontonians are believing this.”
It is not known what is on the mayor’s itinerary for today or if he will speak with reporters at any point.
Remember for instant breaking news follow @cp24 on Twitter.
