My first words ever to him were as follows: ‘You were awesome in Beverly Hills Ninja.’
A couple years later I shared a debate stage with him at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the highlight of my run as a fringe candidate in the 2010 Toronto mayoral race. He was exactly what I expected – sweaty, a little sloppy, and 100% authentic.
Rob really did give a shit about this city and it's people. He was wasted on back seat vodka and crack, but he really did love Toronto and was incredibly accessible and always answered his phone. Good people can have big problems. Comdolances. https://t.co/uxFe38P5KM
— Dean Blundell🇨🇦 (@ItsDeanBlundell) March 22, 2023
I know it seems a little strange that a politician like Rob Ford – affable, outspoken, rough around the edges, an addict – still holds a place in the hearts of many Torontonians, but he does. Did I vote for him? Hell no. Did I feel sad when he passed away? Hell yes.
It was a strange time in 2010. Little did we know that we were embarking on a completely batshit era of politics that would soon see other anomalies like Donald Trump, and Rob’s brother Doug Ford, elected to positions of power. Rob was the first politician I can remember whose personality was so off-the-wall that it eclipsed virtually anything he did while in office.
Rob became somewhat of a punchline internationally, but instead of finding a crisis management firm to craft some boilerplate response to the media attention he was receiving, Rob rode the coverage without shame, or regrets.
It may not have done much for Toronto’s image around the world, but it did something many of us weren’t cognizant of at the time – it made Rob Ford an endearing political character.
It also exposed many Toronto progressives as heartless hypocrites, especially around the time of his death. I can still hear the snickering chorus of self-righteous lefties as they completely abandoned their main principles so they could kick the corpse of a man they loathed. The crowd that tells us that addiction is a disease made crackhead joke after crackhead joke, apparently uninterested in showing empathy for an addict because his politics were different form theirs.
The juxtaposition of a staunch conservative walking around priority neighbourhoods and greeted by its residents is something you will probably never see again in your lifetime. Close your eyes and imagine it just for a second. It’s near impossible.
Look, he was an awful mayor. Due to his addictions he was distracted to the point that he had to take a leave of absence to deal with his issues. And once again, snickering lefties turned a blind eye to his struggle and opted for jokes about addiction instead.
I wrote this for HuffPost at the time of his death:
Because for the first time ever, I know Ford Nation is right about something. They were wrong about Ford being a good mayor, they were wrong about Ford’s respect for taxpayers, and they were wrong about how his addiction did not impact his leadership. But, they are right about this; kicking a dead drug addict’s gravestone by mocking him in that video is morally bankrupt.
There will never be another Rob Ford. Sure, that’s a good thing as far as elected politicians are concerned, but it is a distinct negative if you are looking for someone who genuine.
My condolences on this anniversary to the entire Ford family.
