With the news this week that Toronto police have in their possession the video that allegedly shows him smoking crack, Mayor Rob Ford has been thoroughly disgraced. Marcus Gee argues the scandal threatens "the success of Canada’s biggest city."
"Toronto stands at a turning point in its 180-year history," writes Gee. "It is growing as never before, taking in hundreds of thousands of people from every corner of the globe. Its downtown is becoming a little Manhattan, sprouting scores of new office and residential towers. Its cultural scene is a marvel, drawing crowds to its film, art and music festivals."
"But its governance is a mess," he continues. "[The Ford scandal] comes at a time when [Toronto] desperately needs confident, intelligent leadership. If it drags on, the city could find itself tied in knots at a time when it is struggling with serious problems that could stall its recent progress – problems that range from the crumbling Gardiner Expressway downtown to an under-built, run-down transit system to a public housing system that needs hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs."
Gee joins a chorus of other voices in calling for Ford to resign, for the sake of Toronto and its future.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research