Mayor Ford having just been acquitted on appeal in his conflict of interest case, faces his next legal challenge; election overspending. The allegations are for election overspending; illegal loans and generous loan terms, in violation of the Municipal Elections Act. To date Mayor Ford has faced a defamation case and conflict of interest case, both decided in his favour.
Contravening the election spending guidelines Municipal Election Act carries with it the maximum penalty of removal from office and prison. But it appears that few are ever convicted under the Act and none removed from office. There is more leeway in handling those found in contravention of the Act.
I won't deny that Rob Ford doesn't receive attention from the Left. He is not the ideal version of the "Mayor of Canada's Largest City". He seems under qualified for the job by most measures like education and depth of vision. But he won the election and most conservatives love him, because he embodies there own thought and feelings on a vast array of subjects. He is like them. Rob Ford supporters see their man attacked and so perhaps themselves through him. It may be understandable then, if they think the "left" is out to get him and by extension them.
Conservatives claim that Rob Ford faces unrelenting acts from a "Left-Wing Cabal" whose purpose is the over throw of the Democratic Order and the removal of their duly elected leader from office; by fair means or foul. There might be some hyperbole in that last sentence, or there might not. The Ford Brothers on their News Talk 1010 show seem to think so. Listeners of their show will walk away with the notion that left-wing political activists, liberals, unionist and other conservative bogeymen are pursuing Mayor Ford with the intent to disrupt his term of office.
Can such a complaint be entertained? Maybe, followed by, but what does that really mean. I'd say that Ford is heavily scrutinized by the electorate and the press. Every wrong word or deed makes it onto the front page, print and online, blogs, comment section; conservative,liberal or left. Whether they merit such a placement is the only question that can be reasonably asked.
Rob Ford was taken to court for allegedly defaming someone; he was found not guilty. He was taken to court for conflict of interest violations; he was found not guilty. To some on the right they appeared manufactured; seemingly to cause trouble to Rob Ford. The evidence for such a conclusion? He won both cases. The notion that winning meant that the cases lacked merit is astonishing to me. We rely on the expert opinion like that of a Judge; to assess guilt or innocence, rather than public opinion for a reason. It was this process that found Rob Ford not guilty and it had to run its course. Had the cases been frivolous, I trust that they would have been dismissed.
I also find the charge that Ford is being targeted as an oversimplification. Rob Ford said the words that lead to the dis-proven charge of defamation. Rob Ford solicited money for his foundation that lead to a vote that resulted in conflict of interest charges being laid against him, that he also won. Certainly the Left took some pleasure and advantage in the Mayor's folly, but it was his follies. Where often you hear conservatives talk of personal responsibly, the silence following Ford was deafening or even worse in my opinion, the excuse making. I get the feeling that Rob Ford as the embodiment of conservative hopes and dreams must be defended even as it compromises certain right wing values. People should be held accountable for their actions. That is what we have Courts for.
On election spending irregularities, the audit says Rob Ford did that too. The proper course of action is to have Ford answer to the allegations and let due process sort out fact from fiction and the proper penalty be assessed.
Whatever else comes of Rob Ford's term in office I hope it has stoked Torontonians to greater political involvement.
No comments:
Post a Comment