Rob Ford, Toronto’s brash former mayor who received international attention after admitting to taking a crack while in office, died on Tuesday after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 46 years old.
“The Ford family announces the departure of their beloved son, brother, husband, and father with heavy hearts and tremendous grief,” his family stated in a statement.
“A committed public servant, Councillor Ford spent his life serving the people of Toronto.”Ford was a contentious character in the politics of Canada’s largest city, but many admired him for his common sense and forthright language about cutting expenditure.
Ford served on the city council for ten years, and is noted for his abrasive political manner and conservative beliefs, as well as for his practice of handing out his home phone number and personally addressing voters’ calls about potholes and damaged water pipes.
He was elected mayor in 2010, appealing to suburban residents’ dissatisfaction by promising to cease what he called “the war on the vehicle” and to “stop the gravy train” of government expenditure.
However, in May 2013, Ford became the subject of international news after a video surfaced showing the politician smoking from a crack pipe. Ford first rejected the charges but eventually recanted once the video was discovered by Toronto police months later.
“I have used crack cocaine,” he said to reporters. “But, no, I don’t.” Am I an alcoholic? No. Have I given it a shot? Possibly in one of my drunken stupors, probably around a year ago.”
He refused to step down. His remarks and behavior were nightly material for late-night TV shows including David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jon Stewart in the United States.
However, his popularity remained. Hundreds of people waited in line for signed bobblehead dolls of Ford. Ford spent numerous hours photographing people wanting to be taken with a worldwide star, while “Ford Nation,” the moniker given to his most ardent admirers, grew.
His outrageous behavior persisted, creating an image that contrasted dramatically with Canada’s reputation for calm, unadorned politicians. He prompted gasps on live air when he used filthy language to deny telling an employee he wanted oral sex. The father of two school-age children stated that he is “happy married” and that he “had more than enough to eat at home.”
A slew of controversies followed, including another video in which Ford stumbled around a room raving about killing someone, and a third in which he called the local police chief a disparaging term and attempted a Jamaican accent. The city council eventually stripped him of most of his powers and reduced his status to that of a figurehead.
