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Updated: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford expresses ‘shock, dismay and surprise’ at accusations

A mayoral candidate who ran against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in the last municipal election used her Facebook account to accuse the mayor of making lewd comments toward her at a party hosted by the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee Thursday night.

Late Thursday, Sarah Thomson used Facebook to publish a photo of herself alongside Ford, who had ditched his tie, had his eyes closed and had a large stain on the front of his white dress shirt. Under the photo she wrote:

Thought it was a friendly hello to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford at the CJPAC Action Party tonight until he suggested I should have been in Florida with him last week because his wife wasn’t there. Seriously wanted to punch him in the face. Happy International Women’s Day!

The photo drew hundreds of comments and had been shared nearly 500 times by 8 a.m. Friday morning.

Thomson added more comments underneath the picture, saying:

I’ve never seen him so out of it. I know I shouldn’t be pissed but after spending 10 months on the campaign trail together you expect a little bit of respect at the very least for my husband.

And: “…guess where his hand was in this picture? I must go shower….” and “Is grabbing someone [sic] ass assault?”

The mayor’s office has yet to respond, but a source who was with the mayor at the party told the Toronto Star that he did not hear any such comment.

The mayor did issue this tweet last night:

Update: Early Friday afternoon, Mayor Rob Ford released the following statement —

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful event to support the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee.

This is an event that is attended by numerous political leaders and where I have been a guest in the past.

Early this morning, false allegations were made regarding a number of disgusting actions.  I am shocked, dismayed and surprised.  I can say without hesitation that they are absolutely, completely false.

What is more surprising is that a woman who has aspired to be a civic leader would cry wolf on a day where we should be celebrating women across the globe.

This is a day we should all take the time to reflect upon the women in our lives and in our society.  It is a day when we can envision the changes we want to make in our communities to ensure that all people are equal and that violence and discrimination against women comes to an end.

 

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