Ex-mayor of Toronto dies after battle with cancer

Associated Press

TORONTO

Rob Ford, the pugnacious, populist former mayor of Toronto whose career crashed in a drug-driven, obscenity-laced debacle, died Tuesday after fighting cancer, his family said. He was 46.

Ford rode into office on a backlash against urban elites. He cast an image sharply at odds with Canada’s reputation for sedate, unpretentious politics. His tenure as mayor of the country’s largest city was marred by revelations about his drinking problems and illegal drug use. He was repeatedly videotaped and photographed while intoxicated in public.

Nevertheless, he was later elected by a landslide to a city council seat, a job he held until his death.

One after another, his statements and actions as mayor became nightly fodder for TV comedians and an embarrassment to many of the suburbanites he championed. Among the more notable:

Knocking over a 63-year-old female city councilor while rushing to the defense of his brother, Councilor Doug Ford, who was insulting spectators in the council chamber.

Threatening “murder” in a profane, incoherent rant captured by video.

Swearing and slurring his words, calling the police chief a derogatory name and trying to imitate a Jamaican accent in a different video.

But his popularity continued. Even after a scandal broke about Ford’s use of crack cocaine, hundreds of people lined up for bobblehead dolls of the mayor, signed by Ford himself. Ford spent countless hours taking pictures with residents eager to be photographed with an international celebrity.

As he sought a second term as mayor in 2014, Ford was diagnosed with a rare cancer just two months before the election date. Malignant liposarcoma in his abdomen forced him to do what months of scandals could not – drop his bid for re-election. He underwent a series of aggressive chemotherapy treatments.