Toronto elects new mayor, ends Ford era
Associated Press
TORONTO
Toronto elected a moderate conservative as mayor Monday night, ending the Rob Ford era marked by scandals over his illegal drug use and public drunkenness.
John Tory, a former chief executive of major cable company Rogers Communications, had 40 percent of the vote, compared with 34 percent for Doug Ford, brother of outgoing Mayor Rob Ford. Left-leaning Olivia Chow was third with nearly 23 percent. The results were announced with more than 90 percent of polling stations reporting.
Rob Ford’s four-year tenure as mayor of Canada’s largest city was marred by his drinking and crack cocaine use. He announced last month that he wouldn’t seek re-election as he battles a rare form of cancer. His brother, a city councilor, ran in his place.
However, Ford will not disappear from Toronto politics anytime soon.
Despite the cancer, he opted to seek the city council seat from the Etobicoke district where he launched his political career. He won his old seat in a landslide Monday and strongly hinted he may seek to run for mayor again in four years.
After months of denials, Rob Ford in 2013 acknowledged he had smoked crack cocaine in one of his “drunken stupors,” but he refused to resign. The city council stripped Ford of most of his powers but lacked the authority to force him out of office because he wasn’t convicted of a crime.