TORONTO – They’re after you. But only if you’re the mayor of North America’s fourth-largest city, and refuse to answer their questions.
A “shirtless horde” tried twice now to disrupt Mayor Rob Ford’s plans – first as he headed into an interview at Newstalk 1010 headquarters and, most recently (and more successfully), at a Tuesday morning press conference on Eglinton Avenue.
A handful of topless protesters stood behind the mayor shouting “resign” and holding placards.
But who are they?
There aren’t many of them – “horde” may be an overstatement – but they were inspired by Joe Killoran, the shirtless jogger who confronted the mayor during the Canada Day parade in East York.
Killoran has not been part of the horde since – in fact, it’s been spurred on by Scarborough resident John Furr.
“It’s become apparent over 14 months that the mayor is allowing his judgement to be clouded even after rehab. People have just grown so frustrated and finally Joe Killoran on the weekend showed us it’s ok to speak out , you don’t have to be polite anymore. In fact its’ impolite not to speak out,” Furr said during a recent interview on The Morning Show.
Furr is a politically active Torontonian – he was running for school trustee in Ward 20 but recently dropped out of the race – but says he isn’t connected to either the John Tory or the Olivia Chow campaign despite insinuations from the mayor and his brother Doug Ford otherwise.
(Furr has, however, tweeted his support for Chow)
He was part of the Rob Ford Must Go sit-in at city hall but left because it “never really influenced anything.”
“Rob’s not influenced by anything that happens in city hall,” Furr said. “… It’s time for everybody to stand up and say, hey, we’ve had enough.”
Comments