Mayor Ford deserves credit for “playing hooky” from council meeting

The legions of Rob Ford haters are in high dudgeon today over his admission on radio that he’ll be at a day-long extravaganza of high school football bowl games on Nov. 27, instead of presiding over a city council meeting.

Reader comments posted to a story on thestar.com about his on-air statement that he’ll be “playing hooky from city hall” to attend five football games that conflict with the council meeting are howling with outrage, from the usual pinko suspects.

Our poor mayor cannot win, no matter how hard he follows his heart and tries to do the right thing.

Everyone knows Ford is committed to a sideline career as Head Coach of the Don Bosco high school football team, and that his interest in kids rivals his passion for providing a steady hand on the tiller of government.

He has made it clear that football will not play backup to his doot-doot-duties as chief magistrate, and huzzah to the mayor for keeping his priorities straight.

It seems to me that the bike riders who live for the pleasure of hee-hawing at Ford’s tiny missteps are using this as nothing more than another opportunity to boot him through their foul goal posts.

Here’s a question for the chatterers: Where do you think he would be more effective, at city council or with teenagers at an all-day buffet of football?

If the answer is football – and I’ll bet it is – then why are you hooting about it?

With capable lieutenants such as Frances Nunziata and George Mammoliti to sub for him, city council is in excellent hands.

It’s not as if the ship will sink if the mayor bails out on a single day of the mindless hogwash and insolence towards his agenda that passes for a council meeting.

And don't forget that it is an opportunity for the mayor - who prefers to be out among the people - to fly his flag at a high-profile public event.

My only regret is that Ford backtracked on his remarks, after Nunziata showed politically correct weakness and returned to the subject later in the radio program, saying: “But I knew it was a joke.”

No it wasn’t, and Ford should have stuck to his guns. Any objective observer can see he’s in it for the kids, and not for the illusion of glory that comes from wearing the chain of office and drives preening lefties (are you listening, Vaughan?) to seek his job.

I’m okay with the mayor doing an end-run around council. He’s working so hard at both jobs that he deserves a break.

 

 

  

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                  

 

Comments

[Cameron]

"He has made it clear" - except he explicitly said during the campaign he'd be Mayor, and give up coaching.

"keeping his priorities straight" - what a fascinating view of this city you have. This isn't reeve of a hamlet, it's a full-time job. "Why are you hooting" - because he's being paid a fulltime salary. My tax dollars are just as valuable as yours, so I get to have a hoot.

"bails out on a single day" - I recommend some research. He's already bailed out on multiple days, and the season isn't over yet.

I like how you deal with facts in regular columns, but this fell far short of reality.

[Darwin O'Connor]

"his interest in kids rivals his passion for providing a steady hand on the tiller of government."

He has no interest in providing a steady hand as mayor. I don't think he would claim that. He seems to want to be as disruptive as possible.

"He’s working so hard at both jobs that he deserves a break."

The Star's reporting suggests he may not be working that hard at one of his jobs.

Perhaps the "lefties" are being too hard on him in this case, but they probably wouldn't have been if he didn't constantly imply they other councilors are not working hard enough.

[Sarah Kirkham]

I agree with the author of this blog. The mayor has a "side-line job" of being a high-school football coach and the people who elected him in knew that when they checked his name off on the ballot. I understand that yes, the Toronto tax payers are angry because they feel as if their tax dollars are being wasted but he has only "played hooky" twice from city council meetings to go to the games instead. How often do you wake up in the morning and think "I could do something better with my day then go to work!"? I know I personally do that frequently, but more often then not we all get out of bed and get dressed for work and spend the day wishing we were somewhere else. Think about it people, the mayor is not "playing hooky" just for fun, he is doing something meaningful for the kids of the highschool and lettting them play football.

[I Love My City]

"Where do you think he would be more effective, at city council or with teenagers at an all-day buffet of football?

If the answer is football – and I’ll bet it is – then why are you hooting about it?"

Because he wasn't elected to be a football coach, Jack, dear.

If he's more effective as a football coach, then that is what he should be doing. That being said, he is in fact a terrible role model for these football players - skiving off work, using the influence of his office to get perks, lying and blaming someone else when he gets caught doing something he shouldn't, making fun of city staff and other councillors to an audience of however many tens of people listen to him on Sundays (you do realize that constitutes bullying, right?) and being a scofflaw - didn't I just see you rant about a police officer on a cell phone and isn't Rob Ford just as guilty of the same crime? - and a host of other peccadilloes that shows his unfitness to be either mayor or football coach.

Yes, certainly, if he's more effective as a football coach, let him be one, and let someone else who actually cares about the people living in the city of Toronto be the mayor.