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Rob Ford roundup: Details on David Price and why ‘business as usual’ won’t work

Frank Gunn/CP

Another morning brings more stories about Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, the Ford family and the Ford family’s friends. Here’s a rundown of some of the top stories about the embattled mayor.

A report in The Globe and Mail has more information about David Price, the “director of logistics and operations” who showed up in the mayor’s office in April. When Price was first hired he told a reporter that he had coached Rob Ford in football, but a report from The Globe and Mail over the weekend said that Price was an associate of now Coun. Doug Ford when the two allegedly dealt hash together in the ’80s. In Wednesday’s Globe story, Coun. Doug Holyday comments on Price, saying he has heard that Price is being paid more than experienced staff members, even though he has never worked in politics and no one is quite certain of what his job description may be. The story also quotes divorce papers filed by Price’s wife shortly after her husband went to work for Ford. The papers allege that Price left his wife with debt from gambling and a line of credit, even as he made $125,000 per year as a financial adviser.

Here at Macleans.ca, Ivor Tossell takes a look at the past day at Toronto City Hall, where Ford tried to chair an executive committee meeting and go about business as usual, insisting that everything is going great as he looked at de-funding the Pride parade and introducing laws about passing cyclists. “Everything is not fine. The scope and implications of this scandal grows every day,” writes Tossell. Read his recap of how things are going so wrong.

The Toronto Star editorial took aim at Ford Wednesday, also debunking his claim that it’s “business as usual” at city hall. The departure of three top staff members within a week and homicide detectives questioning staff is hardly usual, says the editorial, before going on to call for Ford’s resignation: “It’s a sorry record showing chronic abuse of the public’s trust. The only standard for accountability set by this administration is a new low. That failure is underscored every time Ford opens his mouth and tries to foist a fresh untruth upon the public. Business will only return to normal at Toronto city hall when this mayor has left office. And that can’t happen soon enough.”

In case you need to catch up on just which staff members, besides David Price, are left in the mayor’s office, the Toronto Star has a photo gallery for that. It also reports on Holyday’s comments, in which he says he believes the Star reporter who says she saw a video of the mayor in which he appears to be smoking crack cocaine.

Speaking to The National Post, a source in the mayor’s office is trying to downplay the departure of former press secretary George Christopoulos and deputy press secretary Isaac Ransom as “no big loss,” saying they weren’t that great anyway.

Ford is also a popular topic of conversation in international media:

  • Esquire blogger Stephen Marche (who is based in Toronto) writes on the fact that Google searches for Rob Ford have topped those for Barack Obama and argues that Toronto is getting along okay in spite of its mayor.
  • Slate has a post about Ford’s popularity numbers (which seems to underestimate Ford’s remaining support) and a headline roundup.
  • The Independent has an article, which references the mayor’s now infamous “Oriental” comments and goes on to recap pretty much everything so far.
  • And The Daily Beast really clears things up, with Mansfield Frazier writing he knows that Ford can’t be smoking crack because he is too fat and “overweight crackheads simply don’t exist.” Thanks Daily Beast.

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