Pubdate: Tue, 11 Feb 2014
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Tim Alamenciak
Page: GT2

'I WAS EMBARRASSED,' FORD SAYS, ADMITTING TO LYING ABOUT DRUG
USE

Belated acknowledgement comes as brothers launch new YouTube
show

Mayor Rob Ford launched his new YouTube series Monday with an
admission that he lied about using drugs because he was "embarrassed"
and "didn't want to tell the truth."

The mayor appears with Councillor Doug Ford, in four new videos on
their YouTube channel.

One clip, titled "Rob Ford comes clean," features a question from a
person identified as Sandra from Bangkok, Thailand, asking why the
mayor lied about his substance abuse problem when first asked.

" I do not have a substance abuse problem," Ford says. "Did I
experiment with drugs? Yes I have. Why did I lie? I think everybody in
the world has lied. Because I was embarrassed. I didn't want to tell
the truth.

"I'm not a drug addict. I don't use drugs. Have I in the past? Yes.
When they ask me, it's very, very humiliating in front of the world to
say 'yes,' and everybody's lied, so maybe people can tell me, why do
you lie? People either lie to cover up, people lie because they're
embarrassed, and that's why I lied."

Ford did not acknowledge he lied in November, when he admitted to
smoking crack cocaine following months of reports of a video in which
he appeared to be doing just that. He said then that he did not lie,
but that reporters "didn't ask the correct questions."

Shortly afterward, council stripped Ford of most of his powers. He
began 2014 by becoming the first candidate to register for the mayoral
race, asking voters to focus on his record as mayor rather than his
behaviour.

The newest poll from Forum Research Inc. indicates that if a vote were
called today, with David Soknacki, Ford and Karen Stintz in the race,
Ford and Stintz would tie. Ford sank dramatically from January.

"He was clobbering Karen Stintz a month ago and now they're dead
even," said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum. In early January, the
poll showed Ford taking 41per cent of the vote, with Stintz capturing
29 per cent and Soknacki 14 per cent. In just a month, Ford's share of
the vote dropped to 35 per cent and Stintz jumped to the same level.

Bozinoff attributed the change to two events in the mayor's personal
life. The first was the video that showed the mayor, appearing
inebriated, cursing in Jamaican patois and calling the police chief a
derogatory name at Steak Queen. The second incident was in Vancouver,
where, after he got a jaywalking ticket, according to a witness's
report to the Star, he visited the Foggy Dew pub, where he first
disappeared into a bathroom for more than an hour, then emerged
looking and sounding impaired, and drank alcohol long after the bar
had closed. "There have been more personal things going on," said
Bozinoff. "Even though people seem to separate the personal from the
public stuff, it is having an impact on voting intentions."

Ford's approval rating slid by four percentage points, from 47 per
cent in January down to 43 per cent. The poll is accurate plus or
minus 4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The brothers' YouTube show comes after two stations cancelled programs
they hosted.
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MAP posted-by: Matt