EDMONTON — Former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel remembers former Toronto mayor Rob Ford as a passionate, caring man who did great things for the city of Toronto.
“I hope he’s remembered for the kind of mayor that he was – that he got a lot of things done, he cared deeply about people and his political side was… very progressive in the sense of getting things accomplished,” Mandel said in an interview with Global News Tuesday.
“He cared a great deal about the little guy and making sure the little guy was taken care of.”
Ford died Tuesday after an 18-month battle with a rare, yet aggressive form of cancer. The 46-year-old politician succumbed to complications from a fast-growing cancerous abdominal tumour known as pleomorphic liposarcoma, which was diagnosed in September 2014.
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Mandel met Ford in 2012 when he was in Edmonton for an Eskimos game.
“He was a fanatic about football, loved the game, coached it for a number of years,” Mandel recalled. “He cared deeply about his kids who he coached in football.”
While Ford, who in November 2013 admitted he had smoked crack cocaine, was known for his outspoken manner, Mandel said he was a “very quiet, nice, warm individual.”
“He wasn’t anything like the media portrayed him. He was just a really good guy.”
Leading a city the size of Toronto is no easy task, and Mandel said Ford leaves behind a great reputation for being fiscally responsible and getting the job done.
“He wasn’t a ‘do-nothing’ mayor. He was a ‘get stuff done’ mayor. He had his ways of doing it,” he said. “He kept costs down and managed to accomplish a great deal so I think he will be remembered very fondly.”
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Plus, he returned all of his own phone calls.
“There was rumours that he had a Rolodex the size of the city of Toronto,” Mandel added with a laugh. “He was a really neat guy.”
“He was a really fine man and my condolences go out to his family and I hope they have just the great memories of him as a husband and a father and a son.”
With files from Adam Miller, Global News.