加拿大的同學們，

可否同大家介紹一下貴國的巿長，Ford nation, 此肥佬已經成為世界頭條新聞（菲律賓台風,obamacare 排二三）。我每日打開 CNN 就見到他俾人圍攻，他一時淚流滿面道歉，一時嘈巴之閉大突圍。

肥佬市長的樣子相當可愛，像只熊人婆。他口若懸河，乜飛劍都可以擋住。

我想知道此君有乜德政。我想知道全村人都在反對佢，點解佢也可以唔落台。

請敎。

Regards,
Don (LA).
Dear Don,

It's quite a pity that Rob Ford has now become the poster boy of some very crude jokes, particularly in the US media and late night shows. Irrespective of all the personal follies that he has, which should not be mixed up with how he does his job at City Hall, I still like him a lot and sure hope that he can stand his ground and stick it out until the next election rolls around. I think that he's probably the best Toronto mayor in the last 20-30 years.

When it comes to city planning, budgetary cutbacks and waste management, he is downright sensible, straight forward and to the point. We don't see that quality very often among our mealy-mouthed politicos (Arthur, I think that is the word that you've been looking for) here in Canada.

What is particularly disturbing is that the city councillors (45 in total) passed a motion today overwhelmingly to trim the mayor's office and staff to less than half of what's originally allocated, even though they have no legal right to do so. Don't forget that the mayor is chosen by the people and not by the councillors, who try to empower themselves with something that they are not legally entitled to. So much for democracy and rule of law that Canada always prides itself on. No wonder Rob Ford vows to take on those jokers and see them in court. I would say go for it, Rob, you are my man. Smoke what you want, as long as you get the job done right.

Regards,
Fred Yip
=====

Dear Fred,

Thanks for the other side of the coin, and especially for me, for “politico”. It highlights the eternal problem of good leader vs good man (not that Rob Ford is necessarily a bad person because of his smoking or other personal failings), but 內聖外王 must necessarily be a rare blessing and even rarer in our political leaders.

Arthur (HK)
=====

Yes, it is really sad to see the saga keeps going on.  Why doesn’t he just resign and halt the circus show.  Today, I applaud the council in further stripping his power, leaving only his statuary power as a mayor, in name.

Whether the council has the legal rights to do this or not is at best debatable.  In my view, the council has every rights to claim back the other non-statuary power given to a mayor via a by-law previously.

He admitted to all his offences only knowing full well that he cannot be charged and convicted due to legality, but that doesn’t mean he is not guilty, just like OJ.   You can observe a person true character the best through his personal/private life, especially through the behaviours and actions when away from the spot lights.

Our mayor is quite a character.   He certainly has more than one face and this gained him a lot of grass root supports from more than one group of people.  He has his soft side which appeals to the under-privileged.  He has shown sympathy, empathy,  and has helped many of them.  He speaks his mind freely, and loves to party.  On the other hand, he is a big bully, loud, intimidating, vulgar, violent and stubborn.

He is a conservative running on a platform which appeals to the middle/working class.   To his achievements, he claimed he delivered his campaign promises in saving Torontonian money by getting a wage concession from the union workers, contracted out garbage collection, slowed the rise of the net operating budget, and lowered the property tax increases.   These are all good things.  However,  I don’t fully buy he deserves all the credits though.   It was after 8 years of David Miller’s tenure as our last mayor, and the aftermath of the sub-prime issue in 2008, when the public at that time then wished to have a leaner and more financially accountable government.  Similar platforms were ran by other candidates as well at the time.   I believe the other candidates would have done an equivalent good job if they were elected.   Also, every one of the 45 elected councillors have contributed their greatest efforts  in shaping the policies and budgets for Toronto as well.

When Rob Ford was elected into the position, whether he likes it or not, he represents the city and shall behave as such and as a role model for his citizens.  How can he claim he has zero tolerance for illegal drugs when he uses and purchases them himself?  How can he encourage the people to stay away from illegal substances and upheld the laws when the chief magistrate abuses these substances himself?   How can a mayor who kept telling white lies to his people be trusted?  For example, as recent as in tonight’s interview with CBC’s Peter Mansbridge,  who can believe him when he said he had purchased cracked cocaine on his own but  had only used cracked cocaine once last year when he was inebriated.

Even if he really deserves the credits of all above achievements, I do not want a mayor who bullies, lack judgement, has no integrity, no moral standard, lies and thinks of himself is bigger than anything including our city.

As a individual person, I pray that he looks after his health, and recovers from his present conditions quickly.

Edmond
===

Thank you all for the write-ups on this man, including the blogger TRCG in WYKAAO Members’ Corner. I know about this Toronto mayor a lot more now.

Knowing myself, I have no position on this man. I just feel he is a stand-out character to write about. I wish I knew him personally.

One thing though, we cannot discriminate 肥人. My friend 才子肥. He is a good man.

Top news on CNN this morning is Rob Ford and his new TV talk show, Midwest tornado disaster comes later.

Don. (19/11/2013)
====