Michael ‘milder’ than his uncles Rob and Doug Ford
Family dynasty at city hall continues with nephew
Toronto’s newest city councillor settles into his late Uncle Rob’s office chair, leans on the desk that launched thousands of phone calls and presents himself as a hybrid Ford.
Michael Ford, 22, will return calls and make home visits to constituents, he said Tuesday in an interview in the city hall office used by Councillor Rob Ford until cancer forced him to return calls from a hospital bed.
But rather than revel in being a rebel, with take-no-prisoner campaigns, the latest Ford elected to represent Ward 2 Etobicoke North cites co-operation as his first choice.
“I think there’s no secret that I’m a little milder than Rob and Doug,” Michael says, referring to his other uncle to occupy this office.
Doug Ford was councillor from 2010 to 2014 while his brother was Toronto mayor. “The mandate given to me by my community to serve them is customer service, keeping taxes low, being their voice here and community investments — whatever best serves the residents of Etobicoke North, I will be their champion,” says Michael, a school trustee for 17 months before winning the council seat in Monday’s byelection.
“If that means working with other members of city council and the mayor, that is what I will do — go out of my way to move things forward. If I believe it is not in the best interests of our community, I will make my concerns known and hold them to account if need be.”
He waited until the city officially confirmed his landslide win before entering his office — a nicety it’s hard to imagine his uncles observing.
When a reporter jokes his window on Nathan Phillips Square needs a political sign, such as those favoured by Rob, he laughs and says that won’t be happening.
Councillors are trying to gauge just how different is this Ford.
“Michael is signalling that he’s got a bit of a different approach, he’s going to be his own man,” said Paula Fletcher, who fought the Fords’ attempts to slash city spending. “I don’t want to fight the old Ford battles unless he wants to fight the old Ford battles.”
Councillor Jim Karygiannis, a former Liberal MP elected to council in 2014, predicted some at city hall will be “a bit leery” at first.
“He’s still a Ford. He’s still going to have uncles’ ghosts over him,” Karygiannis said. “It’s going to probably take one or two meetings before people decide if he is following in his uncles’ footsteps or if he is his own person.”
Doug Ford will be a trusted adviser but not an official volunteer as he was for Rob, his nephew says.
Social programs are important to help combat crime, Michael adds, but council needs to remember that “money doesn’t grow on trees.” Taxes sometimes need to rise, but only after every effort has been made to find savings. Subways are the best transit, he says in a detailed defence that includes the phrase “macro stance.”
Doug Ford lost to Mayor John Tory in the 2014 election. Rob Ford spent his final months on council attacking Tory at council, openly plotting a 2018 mayoral comeback.
The mayor says he will meet with Michael Ford to talk about getting more housing, recreational facilities for kids and transit into an “underinvested” corner of the city. “He seems to work well with people and I look forward to that.”