Toronto's disgraced mayor Rob Ford went down fighting as the city council stripped him of most of his remaining powers, after a heated debate where he knocked over a female councillor.
Mr Ford, who has been under fire for his drug use and drinking, as well as the way he has handled the accusations, has vowed in an interview to give up alcohol and lose weight.
In the latest chapter of the saga in Canada's biggest city and economic hub, Mr Ford was reduced to largely a figurehead following the latest sanctions against him for his admissions of smoking crack cocaine and binge drinking.
The council voted to cut his office budget by 60% and allow mayoral staff to join the deputy mayor.
"This is a coup d'etat," Mr Ford told council, denouncing the motion.
Members of the public chanted from the gallery "Shame! Shame!" at the mayor. But he taunted back at the hecklers, deriding them as "punks."
In chaotic scenes caught on camera, Mr Ford is shown running across the council chamber straight into councillor Pam McConnell, who falls to the ground.
Mr Ford has vowed to take the council to court Another councillor asked him to apologise and Mr Ford said he was rushing to the defence of his brother, city councillor Doug Ford.
"I picked her up. I ran around because I thought my brother was getting into an altercation," Rob Ford said.
Visibly shaken after being run over, Ms McConnell, a petite woman in her 60s, said she never expected the chaos that broke out.
Mr Ford now effectively has no legislative power as he will no longer chair the executive committee. But he keeps his title and ability to represent Toronto at official functions.
He has vowed to take the council to court and insists he will seek re-election next year, warning councillors that the campaign would rival the 1991 Gulf War.
"This, folks, reminds of when I was watching with my brother when Saddam (Hussein) attacked Kuwait," Mr Ford said.
"And President Bush said, 'I warn you, I warn you, do not (attack Kuwait).' Well, folks, if you think American-style politics is nasty, you guys have just attacked Kuwait."
Councillors turned their backs on Rob Ford in the chamber last week The latest council motion is the strongest possible measure it can adopt against Mr Ford since it does not have the power to remove a mayor unless there is a criminal conviction.
Doug Ford also brought a motion that was later ruled out of order that would have called a snap mayoral election, something the mayor also has sought.
"This is a modern-day overthrow of an elected official. This is wrong," said the mayor's brother.
In an interview with CBC on Monday after the council action, Rob Ford said he had not had a drop of alcohol in three weeks and vowed to stop drinking completely.
"Finished," he said when asked by host Peter Mansbridge about his drinking.
"I've had a 'come to Jesus moment' if you want to call it that."
Rob Ford's troubles have thrust Toronto into the international spotlight A new television show featuring the mayor and his brother also debuted on Canada's right-wing Sun News Network.
During the one-hour show, the mayor and his brother took recorded questions from viewers and defended his recent performance as mayor, but revealed nothing new about the scandal.
Rob Ford's troubles began in May when news reports first surface of a video showing him smoking crack.
Outbursts caught on camera and claims he verbally abused his aides and entertained a prostitute have added to the controversy.
Over the weekend, Mr Ford made the rounds of the US media to try to convey his side of the story, to general incredulity, and attended a Canadian football game where fans cheered him on.
He maintained, however: "I'm not an alcoholic, I'm not a drug addict."
Of his critics, he said: "The haters are going to be the haters."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Knocks Over Councillor
Dengan url
http://congormangap.blogspot.com/2013/11/toronto-mayor-rob-ford-knocks-over.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Knocks Over Councillor
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Knocks Over Councillor
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar