[CalgarianExOntarian]

Lies are coming fast and thick ...

This to me is the most depressing and important part of the story, much worse than the crack angle. RoFo is running for reelection with a platform of "I do not care that just about everything I say is horrifically obvious BS to anybody who does at least 1.5 minutes of research, as long as other people give me more votes than any other candidate gets."

Unless RoFo loses very, very big, the 2014 TO municipal campaign will be a signal to the worst political operatives all over Canada, at every level, that to win they need to be even more irrational and vicious than they've already been.

 

[Kat_YYZ]

Sarah Thomson had a funny idea that might actually work. What if another Rob Ford were to run? Would it split his vote enough even out vote splitting on the other side? It's funny because it operates on the basis that most Rob Ford voters are in fact stupid. If you made them have to think - Rob Ford A vs Rob Ford B - how many would actually pick the guy they follow blindly?

Anybody want to legally change their name to Rob Ford and run in the election?

It's always funny when his supporters interact with the Mayor Rob Frod twitter account, not realizing it's a parody account. They don't notice the inverted letters in "Frod". Sometimes he strings them along for a while!

 

[Parker]

With some further googles, both examples had the incumbents smoke the opposition... although neither electorate had much in the way of Ford Nation, or Ford, for that matter... A good idea for democracy, probably not, about appropriate with Ford in play... maybe

It happened here in Vancouver so e years back, when a second Jim Green popped up on the mayoralty ballot. No incumbent was running, but long-time councillor Jim Green was defeated in his bid for the Mayorship by the split voting. Turned out, unsurprisingly, the winner Sam Sullivan's campaign backers had some shady behind the scenes dealing with the second Mr. Green, including providing his campaign with office space.

This to me is the most depressing and important part of the story, much worse than the crack angle. RoFo is running for reelection with a platform of "I do not care that just about everything I say is horrifically obvious BS to anybody who does at least 1.5 minutes of research, as long as other people give me more votes than any other candidate gets."

Unless RoFo loses very, very big, the 2014 TO municipal campaign will be a signal to the worst political operatives all over Canada, at every level, that to win they need to be even more irrational and vicious than they've already been.

I know it's just whistling into the wind, but it would be nice if we could hold election winners to account for lying, the same way we do for companies that advertising hemorrhoid cream, etc.

 

[CanadianNational]

I can't help but think this was Doug and Rob about two years ago...

 

[evvabeing]

Can you even run under a name that isn't legally yours?

someone is getting to run under a name that isn't their real name...

Who, aside from Rob Ford, decided to take the plunge on day one? Here’s a rundown.

1. Dimitri the Lover
Dimitri the Lover, whose real name is James Sears

http://www.torontolife.com/informer...4-musicians-marijuana-activists-dmitri-lover/

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

The whole Fake RoFo candidacy idea is fun to think about, but I really, really hope some serious non-joking mayoral candidate crushes the monster and the whole Ford operation so hard that the whole family decides that it's a good idea to leave politics forever.

And then the whole clan moves to Keswick.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

I don't think your characterization is fair. It isn't whether this is a truth that people can or can't handle. It's whether the public airing of this information is detrimental to larger criminal investigations that are underway.

All of this information should be public, as should information about any politician who is acting in a manner that is unfit for a public figure. But where that information undermines a larger investigation, there is greater good in the information remaining undisclosed until an investigation is closed.

You may be right; the original comment isn't as clear as it could be. If so, I misunderstood that person's intent, so I was less unfair and more just plain incorrect.

I would sincerely love to know what criminal investigation could be compromised by the airing of the Rob Ford crack video, and at what point Ford derives an unfair advantage from something like that being withheld. The police have protected him quite enough for my liking; let's start with Ford being driven home by 23 Division because he was too drunk to be behind the wheel of his Escalade, and go from there.

I'm sure we can all agree that it's hard to feel good about protecting rabbit holes when Ford is repeatedly getting the sort of breaks that no-one should be afforded, ever.

What sort of swing in election results might result from the release - or otherwise - of a video where one of the candidates smokes crack cocaine and hurls slurs in all directions?

Serious question: given that Ford's aim is essentially to dismantle the City of Toronto, what investigation could be so precious that it is worth handing Ford a pass on all of this?

 

[basic]

I'm especially fond of the idea of Doug running Rob's campaign until a provincial election call (smart money is springish) leaving Rob swinging in the breeze as Doug tries to get elected to not do anything for Etobicoke on a bigger stage.

I hadn't even thought of that!

As terrible as Doug will prove to be as a campaign manager, it would be even worse if Rob was left on his own.

 

[James_D]

I really wish someone like Edward Keenan or Matt Elliot ran for mayor for the sole reason to challenge Ford to debates. I do wonder if there is some fringe candidate running or planning on running who is doing so for that expressed purpose?

 

[W. K. Lis]

This would be for people whose names were Robert Ford.

The mayor's full name is Robert Bruce Ford, but was listed as Ford, Rob on the 2010 election ballot.

On the real time List of Candidates for Mayor, see link, he is listed as Ford, Rob.

 

[James_D]

I don't like that idea. If it was to work it would be a stunt and his fans would simply be even further galvanized in their notion of lefty conspiracies and they would still be able to claim people voted for rob Ford and the election was undemocratic. And, they might have a case. I want Ford to be defeated and humiliated fairly.

 

[rightwingSUVdriver]

First two Google hits for "two candidates with the same name" ...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/same-name-election-candidates-row-809744 (England.)

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/baker-368982-bob-councilman.html (Southern California. The incumbent labelled himself 1 Robert "Bob" Baker but the "challenger" got himself higher on the ballot by calling himself 0 Robert "Bob" Baker.)

tl;dr: This is not a road TO wants to go down unless somehow there is a consensus that you didn't get enough ridicule in 2013 and need a lot more in 2014 ...

Also, Ford Nation probably has lots of crazies who would be happy to take fat stacks of 20's from Doug to run as Olivia A. Chow, Olivia B. Chow, John P. Tory, John Q. Tory, etc. Ppl in other solar systems would be laughing.

It's not only happened before… it worked. Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_municipal_election,_2005

 

[dforthandbview]

Having multiple Rob Fords wouldn't work because I'm pretty sure the ballot will indicate who the incumbent is.

 

[dforthandbview]

Folks, after I reasked coppers did confirm they've called off the missing person alert for Jaclyn Dawe.

The TPS news release about her disappearance from last year doesn't exist anymore: http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/pdfs/25667.pdf

 

[ShonTron]

Having multiple Rob Fords wouldn't work because I'm pretty sure the ballot will indicate who the incumbent is.

No, the ballot does not label the incumbent.