A defiant Mayor Rob Ford vowed to fight on against a court ruling punting him from office and blamed “left-wing politics” for the case against him.
“I’m going to appeal it and I’m going to get on with my job,” Ford said as he headed into his office at City Hall Monday afternoon, a massive crush of cameras and reporters surrounding him.
“This comes down to left-wing politics,” he said. “The left wing wants me out of here and they’ll do anything in their power.”
The court ruling Monday said Ford violated conflict of interest rules and must therefore be removed from office. The decision was suspended though for 14 days and Ford was not barred from running for office in the future.
Ford said he was a “fighter” and had done a lot of good for the city in his first two years as mayor, and wouldn’t back down in any way from regaining his position.
“I’m going to hold on to my job and if they do for some reason get me out, I’ll be running right back at them,” he said.
“If there’s a byelection, my name is first on the ballot.”
The 14-day suspension of the decision would allow Ford to both appeal the ruling and apply for a judicial stay that would — if granted — keep him in office until the appeal can be heard.
Otherwise, city council, which meets Tuesday with Ford still in charge, would have to decide whether to appoint a replacement or hold an election to replace the mayor.
Justice Charles Hackland’s eagerly awaited decision came just days short of Ford celebrating his second anniversary of being sworn in. .
“His actions were not done by reason of inadvertence or a good faith error of judgment,” Hackland said.
Ford had been accused of violating council’s conflict guidelines after he spoke to and voted on whether to accept an integrity commissioner’s report critical of how he raised funds for his football charity last February.
In his ruling, Hackland said he found that not only was Ford told by then-council speaker Sandra Bussin he was in a conflict over the matter about to be discussed, he should have known what that meant since he had previously avoided speaking to an issue he had a conflict on before.
“In his evidence at the present hearing, the respondent was unable to explain why he disqualified himself on that occasion, while speaking and voting on the present matter before council on Feb. 7, 2012,” the judge wrote.
And the potential defence that Ford should avoid a penalty despite bring in conflict because the offence was “insignificant” was not open to him — because of his own words at council.
“I am respectfully of the view that the respondent has taken himself outside of the potential application of the exemption by asserting in his remarks to city council that personal repayment of the $3,150 is precisely the issue that he objects to and delivering this message was his clear reason for speaking and voting as he did,” the judge wrote. “I find that his pecuniary interest in the recommended repayment of $3,150 was of significance to him.”
Integrity Commissioner Janet Leiper had ordered Ford to repay $3,000.
Council voted with Ford to reject the report but a private citizen, Paul Magder, then complained Ford should not have spoken or cast a ballot on the issue.
Magder said on Monday he was uncomfortable about being in the public spotlight but felt the case had to be made.
“It’s a sad day really, but I think this had to be done,” Magder said.
His lawyer, Clayton Ruby, said the ruling makes it clear no one — not a mayor and not Ford himself — is above the law.
“He should have played by the rules,” Ruby said. “Rob Ford did this to Rob Ford.”
Hackland could have found Ford didn’t violate the guidelines — or that the infringement wasn’t significant enough to warrant removal from office.
Instead he becomes the first Toronto mayor to be removed from office. It’s expected he will appeal the ruling.
Sunday would have marked two years to the day since Ford was sworn in as mayor, after defeating former deputy premier George Smitherman in the 2010 civic election
