Ford Brothers Make City Hall Anything but Boring

If you’re outside Ontario, you might be missing the wonderful spectacle of the Ford brothers’ new brand of public relations.
Ford Brothers Make City Hall Anything but Boring
Matthew Little
8/4/2011
Updated:
8/4/2011

TORONTO—If you’re outside Ontario, you might be missing the wonderful spectacle of the Ford brothers’ new brand of public relations.

The Ford brothers, if you don’t know, are Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, city councillor Doug Ford, a dynamic duo who have managed to take all the rules of political public relations and turn them into pillow stuffing.

Of course, that pillow would keep some elected officials up at night.

Rob Ford made his mark during the election, distinguishing himself as a different type of politician by wearing cheap suits and turning personal failings like a drunk-driving conviction into everyman appeal.

Ford won a decisive victory over rival George Smitherman largely by drawing on popular anger over the way city hall spends taxpayer money.

Smitherman, a polished politician and former deputy premier of Ontario, was the predicted winner but fell behind as the race went on.

Ford’s victory came in the face of an onslaught of old and new controversies ranging from drunken outbursts to getting caught by Florida police with a marijuana cigarette and driving under the influence.

That happened on a Valentine’s Day when he was 29, a year before being elected to council and 11 years before his run for mayor. The misstep remained unknown until a Toronto Sun reporter uncovered it during the campaign.

“I have never claimed to be perfect,” Ford told reporters the next day, going on to detail the incident.

But for all his obvious failings, there was something about Ford that struck a chord with Toronto voters, and it’s that same cord that his brother Doug, who served as campaign manager during the race, seems determined to strum now.

In an age when elected officials answer hard questions with politico-pablum meant to offend no one by meaning very little, the Fords brandish a sometimes shocking candidness that is anything but safe. You might not agree with what they say, but at the very least, you know what they think.

Ford vs. Atwood


Doug’s recent scrap with Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood is a case in point.

As Toronto wrestles with a $774 million budget deficit, the city is looking at trimming costs by doing everything from closing libraries to selling off the zoo.

“We’re going to be outsourcing anything that is not nailed down,” Doug said in February.

The proposed cuts have raised an outcry from various corners, but Doug hasn’t let that cool his tongue.

A few weeks ago, he said on a Toronto radio station that “I have more libraries in my area than I have Tim Horton’s.”

That comment prompted a Globe and Mail blogger to map out both, proving definitively that Tim Horton’s beats out the number of libraries by a margin of 3 to 1.

While a more careful politician might shy away from voicing support for closing libraries, Doug said he would do it “in a heartbeat.”

Doug’s from-the-hip comments got nationwide attention when he decided to quip about celebrated Canadian author Margaret Atwood, who had taken up a spirited defence of Toronto libraries via Twitter.

“I don’t even know her,” he said at City Hall on July 26. “She could walk right by me and I wouldn’t have a clue who she is.”

Doug said Atwood didn’t understand the problem and should get elected to council if she wanted address it.

The comments brought an avalanche of criticism and incredulity in newspapers and blogs, even beyond the boundaries of the GTA.

‘What kind of boor doesn’t know who Atwood is,’ sums up much of the reaction.

‘The Brothers Grimm’

Taken together, Rob and Doug Ford are known as the “Ford Mayors” by Atwood, and the “Brothers Grimm” in more critical circles. The latter has become ironic given Doug’s literary indifference, but points to the derision the Fords are getting in some circles.

But in Toronto, there have always been influential circles very critical of the Ford brand of politics.

As strange as it might be, there could even be a rationale behind the new brand of public relations of the Fords. There is, at times, an odd sense of divided classes in Toronto, and the Fords appeal very much to a group of voters often annoyed by the more influential and affluent demographic.

At least, that is the opinion of Brian French, a Toronto policy advisor and sometimes columnist.

“Rob Ford is a man of his time, he’s a mayor of his time,” says French.

While Atwood is “very much a spokesperson for a segment of the so-called intelligentsia of the city that circle around the U of T,” the Fords represent a group that, very possibly, hasn’t heard of her, says French.

While Doug’s comments about not knowing Atwood shocked many, French argues that accidentally or not, they could also appeal to others.

But French doesn’t necessarily think the duo gives great care to what they say.

“I think they’re just showing themselves for what they are. ... They’re pissed off and they’re not going to take it anymore.”

French says that for all the offence taken to Doug’s comments in certain circles, there are others who find Toronto’s penchant for expanding social services by raising property and other taxes to be frustrating and look forward to spending cuts.

And while Doug’s more controversial comments could raise problems for his brother, they could also give the mayor a way to test out certain positions without taking them himself. French thinks Rob could use Doug as a proxy at times.

“I think he does that all the time .... Doug probably volunteers it.”

While that idea is popular in Toronto, it is inaccurate according to Adrienne Batra, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.

“It is always construed that when Councillor Ford speaks, he’s speaking on behalf of the mayor—this isn’t the case. To be sure, the two are on the same page when it comes to how tax dollars are spent, cleaning up the financial mess we inherited at city hall, but there is only one person that speaks for Mayor Ford and that’s himself,” she writes in an e-mail response.

But even if the Ford brothers fare well in the next election, don’t expect their brand of outspokenness to appear in provincial and federal politics. French says higher levels of government rely on broader support, while a municipal election can be won with a very specific electorate.

French says candidates in city elections can win on recycling platforms, while provincial and federal candidates need broader appeal. That means walking a tighter line and keeping closer track of their Ps and Qs.

With files from Yue Pang.