TORONTO – Mayor Rob Ford is coming under fire again over an apparent breach of the city’s municipal code of conduct after it was revealed that city staff, and resources were used to run his football program.
On Thursday, a Toronto resident filed a complaint with the city’s integrity commissioner after recent allegations of city staff and resources being used for Ford’s football team.
As reported by Global News on Wednesday, a former staff-member of Ford’s, Isaac Shirokov, while he was on staff had his name and the number of his city-issued cell phone posted on the Facebook page of Rob Ford’s football team The Rexdale Raiders, urging interested players to contact him to register.
Similarly, controversial uses of councillor budgets drew the ire of Ford when he was a councillor.
In 2008, city council voted to amend the list of approved items on which councillor budgets can be spent. One of the things prohibited by the amended list was spending money on local youth sports teams.
“90 per cent of those expenditures are for personal use, gas, restaurant, theatres,” Ford, a councillor at the time, told Global News in 2008.
Sandra Bussin, a former city councillor, sponsored a youth baseball team in Toronto dubbed the “Bussin Blue Jays,” something which Ford was quick to criticize.
“Bussin Blue Jays. You know, it’s nonsense. They’re buying votes,” Ford said in March of 2010.
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Ford has built a career in public-service saving taxpayers money, a campaign which helped bring him to the Mayor’s office, and continues through his tenure. Recently Ford refused to use a city-provided driver – despite calls from Councillors, and his own brother, to do so.
Wednesday’s revelations that city staff, and city resources were being used on the football field, now has some of Ford’s long-time allies inside and outside council raising concerns about the penny-pinching mayor.
“If that’s the case then I’d ask the mayor to settle the money up,” Councillor and Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said. “I don’t think the taxpayers should be paying for what you’re volunteering for on your own time.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation also expressed concern about Ford’s alleged use of city staff and resources for non-city business.
“If he’s using city phones and city cars and city staff during work hours that’s clearly offside,” Gregory Thomas of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said.
Several of the Mayor’s current special assistants – on city payroll – are listed as organizers for the Mayor’s junior football teams – along with their city issued cell phone numbers.
Those assistants have been spotted at football games and practices alongside the Mayor.
Mayor Ford’s brother, Councillor Doug Ford maintains that nothing untoward occurred, and suggested staffers were volunteering their free time at the football games and practices.
A statement from the mayor’s office on Thursday said staffers were helping with official city business while at the football games.
“As Mayor of Toronto, Mayor Ford is accompanied by one or more of his staff members at most times, in order to assist him in his official duties,” the statement read.
The Mayor’s office told Global News that Rob Ford was not available for comment on Thursday.
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– With files from The Canadian Press
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