Rob Ford: Removes Himself From Mayoral Race, No Real Change Should Be Expected in Campaign

Health comes first for Rob Ford

 
Having had 3 uncles and an aunt die of cancer and having watched as my mother-in-law as well as my wife’s friend both fight breast cancer this year, I certainly hope for all the best in Rob Ford’s fight as he announced today that he will be stepping aside in the Mayoral race to battle the tumor they have found in his Abdomen. If it does turn out to be Cancerous, Ford will have a long road ahead of him. We will definitely see a different Rob Ford down the road and hopefully the time out of the spotlight will help him in many ways.

The pressure that comes with running for Mayor is not healthy and, given his addictive personality (drugs, alcohol and food), it’s best for his own health that he step aside. What a lot of people understand is how he and his brother expect people to just vote for Doug instead as he has announced that he will fill the void and run in his brother’s place. I am here to tell you why this change makes sense and why it might even be the better option for Toronto.

Everyone knows Doug was the brains behind Rob becoming Mayor

For starters, everyone knows that the real brains behind Rob’s election as mayor was Doug as he was his campaign manager and adviser throughout the campaign and before the revelations all came out, was the de facto Mayor in many ways. Doug is the real brains behind the Ford family politically speaking and, despite his Rob-like qualities at times, he IS the most polished member of the family and has more experience on the Municipal level then either of his 2 counter parts in John Tory and Olivia Chow.

With Rob stepping aside, don't expect to see any real campaign changes for Doug

By pulling Rob from the race, Doug has a chance to continue on in his place with the same political leanings as his brother (it is my belief that he created them anyways) and appeal to the same people that Rob had and still has on his side; Conservative voters who want accountability from their elected officials.

Rob came into power on a tidal wave of backlash from the reckless spending days of former Mayor David Miller, who nearly bankrupted the city with his asinine spending. The Ford family were the only ones to really point out during Miller’s time in office just how horrible he truly was at managing the city’s finances and people did not forgot when it came time to elect his replacement.

Despite all the negative attention Rob has gotten for his behavior, you would be hard pressed to argue against the things he has done and tried to do for the city: Decreased spending, balance the city budget, focus on improving transit, focus on creating Subways. All of these things would be and are good for the current and future state of the city. All of these things are the same things that Doug will continue to fight for if he is elected Mayor. All Rob really has done in stepping aside is allow his brother, the real brains behind the entire “Ford Political Legacy” to fill the vacuum his departure would have left, with a many who is LITERALLY cut from the same cloth as he is.

The only real difference if Doug were Mayor of Toronto would be a lot less public notoriety

The only real difference you would see if Doug were elected Mayor? No more running punch line on Jimmy Kimmel along the lines of “The Mayor of Toronto did <BLANK> today….” Insert laugh track here.

All of this consternation over Rob dropping out of the race and Doug taking over is really a mute point anyways as "Ford Nation" is a distant second in the race and does not appear to have enough momentum to bridge that gap to stay in power anyway. Good luck to Doug but don't expect to see him in the Mayor's seat after the election is over.