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 The proposal follows yet another a day of shocking behavior during
which Ford denied that he pressured a female employee for oral sex
in an obscenity-laced statement on live television. He also
threatened to take legal action against former staffers who spoke to
police about his drinking and use of drugs.
Ford, who admitted last week to smoking crack, said Thursday he was
getting professional help. But he again refused to step down and
used a typical mix of contrition and defiance in a series of public
appearances.
He later wore a football jersey to a City Council session, where
outraged councilors turned their backs each time he spoke and again
called on him to step aside.
Later, Councilor Karen Stintz said the city has temporarily
suspended all school trips to City Hall because staff deemed them
unsafe for the children.
Friday's motion would suspend Ford's authority to appoint and
dismiss the deputy mayor and his executive committee, which runs the
budget process. John Filion, the councilor who introduced that
motion, has said the goal is to prevent Ford from firing executive
committee members who speak out against him. Councilors are also
considering stripping Ford's authority to set the City Council's
agenda.
On Monday, the City Council will move to strip the mayor of most of
his remaining powers. A motion, already signed by 28 of the 44
council members, will take away his budget and appoint the deputy
mayor as head of the executive committee.
Earlier this week, the council voted overwhelmingly to ask Ford to
take a leave of absence, but the motion was non-binding because the
council lacks the authority to force the mayor from office unless he
is convicted of a crime.
The conservative Ford, 44, was elected in 2010 on a wave of
discontent from Toronto's outer suburbs over what voters considered
wasteful spending and elitist politics at City Hall. But his term
has been consumed by revelations of bad behavior, from public
drunkenness to crack smoking to threatening to kill someone in a
videotaped, incoherent rant.
Ford drew gasps from reporters Thursday morning when he used an
obscenity as he denied telling a staffer he wanted to have oral sex.
"I've never said that in my life to her, I would never do that,"
Ford said on live television.
The father of two school-age children said he is "happily married"
and used crude language to say he enjoys enough oral sex at home.
Ford later apologized for his remarks at a news conference. He
explained he was pushed "over the line" by newly released court
documents that included allegations against him involving cocaine,
escorts and prostitution. He called the allegations "100 per cent
lies."
He said his integrity as a father and husband had been attacked,
prompting him to "see red."
"I acted on complete impulse in my remarks," Ford said.
Ford also said he didn't want to comment on the particulars of the
health care support he's receiving and asked for privacy for his
family.
The mayor said he would take legal action against his former chief
of staff, Mark Towhey and two other aides over their interviews with
police that were detailed in court documents released Wednesday.
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Ford did not specify what the aides might have said that was untrue.
He also said he would take action against a waiter who said he
believed Ford and a woman were snorting cocaine in a private room at
a restaurant.
"I have to take legal action against the waiter who said I was doing
lines," he said. "Outright lies, that is not true."
The court documents released Wednesday are part of a drug case
against Ford's friend and occasional driver. Police interviews with
Ford's ex-staffers revealed their concerns about his drug use and
drunk driving, with one staffer alleging another saw Ford "impaired,
driving very fast," and frightening the female employee who was in
the car with him.
In another incident, Ford was described by a former staff member as
being "very inebriated, verbally abusive and inappropriate with" a
female staff member on St. Patrick's Day. Another former staffer
reported seeing the mayor drunk in his office about 15 to 20 times
in the year he worked for him.
Ford acknowledged to reporters that he might have consumed alcohol
while driving in the past. But he immediately went on the defense.
"I'm not perfect. Maybe you are but I'm not, OK?" he told
journalists. "I know none of you guys have ever had a drink and got
behind the wheel."
An ardent football fan, Ford on Thursday wore a Toronto Argonauts
football jersey and cowboy boots, prompting a protest from the team.
"These latest remarks, while wearing our team's jersey, are
particularly disappointing," the Canadian Football League team said
in a statement.
Also on Thursday, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the provincial
government would be willing to step in and approve legislation to
remove the mayor, but only if the City Council voted unanimously to
seek that step and the provincial legislature supported it.
City Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong had considered introducing a
motion asking the province to intervene but decided against it
because of lack of support from councilors who feared setting a
dangerous precedent.
No matter what the council does, Ford seems intent to remain in the
limelight. The tabloid Sun News Network announced that the mayor and
his brother Doug, a city councilor, will do a current events
television show called "Ford Nation" on Monday nights.
[Associated
Press; ROB GILLIES]
Follow Rob Gillies on
Twitter at
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Copyright 2013 The Associated
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