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Rob Ford, Toronto’s Former Crack-Smoking Mayor, Dead at 46 — He Became the Butt of Jokes for His Personal Issues and Insensitive Racial and Sexual Remarks

Mar 22, 2016  •  Post A Comment

Rob Ford, who became what the Canadian press called “the world’s most infamous mayor” after a series of personal missteps and awkward interviews thrust him into the spotlight, has died.

The Washington Post reports that Ford, who was mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014, died today in a Toronto hospital after a battle with cancer. He was 46.

The Post notes that Ford came to power in Toronto as a populist, but his political agenda “was overshadowed by a tempestuous personal life that made him an international butt of ridicule, as he made intemperate comments on racial and sexual matters and … most notoriously, was caught on tape smoking crack cocaine.”

The report adds: “Mr. Ford, who was a member of a politically prominent, if pugnacious, family, served on the Toronto city council for a decade before being elected mayor in 2010. He won by historic margins, promising tax relief, budget cutting and a general promise to knock the city’s political elite off its pedestal.”

But Ford’s tenure became tainted by a series of scandals, including a conflict-of-interest trial and allegations of public drunkenness, drinking and driving and illegal drug use. After he admitted smoking crack cocaine, he resisted efforts to remove him as mayor and vowed to run again. His bid for re-election ended in September 2014 when he was diagnosed with an abdominal tumor and withdrew from the race.

Here’s a clip posted about two years ago by CNN discussing Ford’s drinking and other antics …

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