TORONTO – Doug Ford, who took over his father’s label company three decades ago, his brother’s council seat four years ago and his brother’s mayoral candidacy two weeks ago, slammed rival mayoral candidate John Tory for being “parachuted” into his jobs.
In the wake of his first mayoral debate, Ford dubbed Friday, Sept. 26 “Take John Tory to Work” day, riffing off what he characterized as Tory’s lack of experience with city politics.
“John, please come to work for a day, and I’ll show you how we get things done,” Ford said during an afternoon press conference Wednesday.
Ford, whose attendance record has been among the worst on city council, suggested Tory doesn’t have the experience to be mayor since he’s never worked as a city councillor.
During Tuesday’s debate Ford caught Tory off-guard by asking him which committee is responsible for purchasing and how many standing committees there are at city hall.
“Last night John Tory said he would figure out city hall when he gets the job. Can you imagine applying for a job, a top job of a $12-billion-a-year corporation, and not knowing what the job is? Again, this is not the time for on-the-job-training,” Ford said.
“Every single job John Tory’s ever had, he doesn’t start at the bottom, he starts right at the top.”
Watch: John Tory responds to Doug Ford.
The Tory campaign fired back in a written statement Wednesday evening, calling Ford’s lecture “flat out laughable.”
“And talk about ‘on the job training’ – Doug Ford helped get his old family friend David Price a job in the mayor’s office at $130,000 a year,” the Tory campaign wrote in the statement. “Price didn’t have a shred of practical experience, but that didn’t seem to bother the Fords, who love to talk about watching every tax dollar.”
Tory has a long resume in politics and business starting as a journalist for Rogers in 1972. He later went on to work for his family’s law firm.
Tory worked for several politicians, including Bill Davis, Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell.
In 1995 he returned to Rogers as CEO and President and in 1996 he became the commissioner of the CFL.
Tory also led the Progressive Conservative party from 2005 to 2007.
Watch: Doug Ford says his brother Rob is “fighting through the pain.”
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