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Comment by iharris | Hacker News Reader

Some context: Rob Ford is the mayor of Toronto, the most populous city in Canada. This is the newest of numerous controversies during his time in office.

Edit: it's also worth noting that Mayor Ford's relationship with the media has been... colorful. Some funny cases include him calling 80% of journalists "maggots" (1) and lying about a drunken outburst back in 2006 (2).

(1) http://read.thestar.com/#!/article/51a27b477b1eacc589c3f4ae-...

(2) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2006/05/03/tor-f...

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More than that, his brother (Doug Ford - also a counselor) is being accused of being a high level hashish dealer in the 80s. 2 of his staffers have now quit, and one was fired for apparently telling him to go to rehab. He's been told that he's no longer wanted as a volunteer high school football coach. Also has been kicked out of a hockey game for being too intoxicated and was arrested for dui & possession of marijuana in florida before he became mayor. It's a circus.

Also he was almost kicked out of office at Christmas time this year for voting on something in which he had a vested interest.

A Canadian kicked out of a hockey game for being too drunk? That's something else right there

I think it was more the fact that he was being violent without being a player.

The fact that this is getting such widespread attention is making Toronto look like a farce, and as someone from there, it really upsets me. Now when I tell people I'm from Toronto, it will be, "Oh, that's the city with the crack smoking mayor right?"

Really unfortunate and despicable. Cannot believe we voted this idiot into office.

To be fair, this: "Oh, that's the city with the crack smoking mayor right?" Could also refer to Washington DC.

Washington DC would be "Oh, that's the city with the crack smoking mayor who was reelected, right?"

Welcome to the club! I come from the country that voted one Silvio Berlusconi to head the government. Multiple times. For 20 years.

I find that it makes Toronto more interesting. A mayor smoking crack? It doesn't get better than that, and it was about time someone turned it up a notch--having multiple mistresses is for the rookies. This guy knows how to party and I would expect him to be reelected :D.

Plus from what I can tell he wasn't busting crackheads left and right while doing the drug himself. That gets more respect than uh, let's say a guy busting prostitution rings while banging prostitutes himself lol.

Here's an interesting overview of Rob Ford's shenanigans in 2012:

http://torontoist.com/2012/12/2012-villain-rob-ford/

Thanks, I added a bit of context

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