Pubdate: Sat, 25 May 2013
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Royson James

MAYOR'S DENIAL WAS VINTAGE FORD

Ford tests the limits of the adage: It's never too late to tell the
truth.

It's never too late to tell the truth.

Mayor Rob Ford made a definitive statement Friday that he does not use
crack cocaine, and neither is he a crack cocaine addict.

And in case you are wondering about a video that purports to show him
smoking a crack pipe - a video two Toronto Star reporters have seen -
the mayor said: "I can't comment on a video that I have not seen, or
does not exist." Well, it does exist.

Reporters Robyn Doolittle and Kevin Donovan saw it plain as day as
they investigated tips the mayor was videotaped in Etobicoke smoking
what looked like crack.

And, the mayor, of course, easily could comment. How about, "If
someone sees me in a video smoking crack, the video is
fabricated."

The people who made the video and offered if for sale to the Star and
other media outlets have gone into hiding, or simply disappeared. The
video itself? Everyone's got an idea or two as to where it is and who
has it.

It took the mayor eight days to look people in the eye and tell them
his version of the truth - a delay that sparked a chaotic scene of
reporters setting up shop outside his office and at his home.

Bowing to massive pressure to tell Torontonians the truth, Ford
finally relented Friday afternoon, just after half of his executive
committee signed an open letter urging him to come clean.

Ford, sounding buoyant and a bit chipper, denied current drug use,
blamed the Star and thanked his supporters for backing him with emails
and phone calls. He didn't respond days ago, he claimed, because his
lawyer advised him not to say a word.

It's never too late to tell the truth.

The mayor's denial was vintage Ford.

He blamed the Star for putting him through a tough week. He thanked
his best friend and brother, Councillor Doug, and lauded Deputy Mayor
Doug Holyday for holding things together while he stayed on the down
low.

And then he left - reporters hurling questions that went
unanswered.

Did you ever smoke crack? Are you addicted to other substances? Why
would your chief of staff insist you go into rehab, if you don't have
a substance abuse problem?

It's never too late to tell the truth.

Councillor Jaye Robinson, one of the Ford allies on the executive
committee and a signatory to the letter, said Ford's denial was "not
comprehensive enough."

Councillor Peter Milczyn says it satisfies him, but he doesn't think
it will satisfy many citizens.

Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker was clear. Ford did not tell the
truth, he said.

The two Star reporters and the website Gawker.com would not fabricate
the story and report they saw a video if they didn't. And the mayor's
chief of staff would not reportedly be asking Ford to seek help if he
didn't need it.

"I'm basing my conclusion on what we've all observed in the media and
from staff. The website from the U.S. has no axe to grind =C2=85 to make 
up
stories. They watched the video," De Baeremaeker said.

As such, Ford has "no legitimacy to run this government. Whether he
resigns or not, he's gone; his tenure is over. I'm profoundly
disappointed. He's calling three reporters liars and his own chief of
staff a liar."

That's just De Baeremaeker talking. Council cannot oust the mayor or
censure him or force him into rehab or discipline him. It can,
however, continue to work around him, oppose his attempts at political
leadership and, in effect, render him ineffectual.

It's never too late to tell the truth.

Once Ford decided to make a statement on the issue, reporters started
taking bets on whether he would admit to a substance abuse problem or
deny. Poor colleagues. To know Rob Ford is to know he won't admit to
any wrongdoing until the cold, hard evidence surfaces. That is, until
it's too late.

Think the Toronto Sun story about his DUI conviction in Florida, and
his being busted for drug use.

Think this audacious denial in 2006 that he had berated fans at a
Toronto Maple Leafs game he attended, drunk.

"Slanderous. This is unbelievable, I wasn't even at the game. So
someone's trying to do a real hatchet job on me," he said.

The following day:

"I'm going through a few personal problems, but it doesn't justify,
you know, getting drunk in public and pretty well acting like an
idiot, if you ask me," Ford told the Star. He said he lied because he
was embarrassed, but now was prepared to face the music.

It's never too late to tell the truth.

Until it is.
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MAP posted-by: Matt