With Rob Ford submitting his nomination papers this past week and promising “Ford More Years,” it is now up to voters to determine the fate of Rob Ford, along with Toronto’s reputation.
Sarah Adams, president of the Communication Studies Student Association at York, weighed in on the impact Ford has had on the reputation of Toronto. She claims that after his scandal, outsiders could view the city as a place where voters are choosing a crack user to run their city. This of course, could very well hurt the reputation of the city.
With Ford being mocked on multiple late night television shows, Adams suggests that the cliché of there being “no such thing as bad publicity,” doesn’t apply to Ford and the city of Toronto.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EznQTItwufY
Robert MacDermid, an associate professor in political science at York suggests that now, after Ford’s crack scandal, more Americans are aware of Toronto as a city.
“I believe the city is more complex than one individual,” says Macdermid. “Although the mayor’s allegations might embarrass Torontonians, I don’t think it would hurt Toronto economically.”
He also suggests that the allegations against Ford have actually increased the profile of Toronto, but for the wrong reasons. “Every city from time to time has politicians who does things that people are not proud of.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek7aZtm4iQA
MacDermind notes that the current mayor of London, Boris Johnson, allegedly had a four-year affair with a British journalist in 2004. Additionally, Johnson came under fire from the public when he claimed that his £250,000 columnist salary at the Daily Telegraph was just “chicken feed” and a way of “relaxation.” These comments were poorly timed, as the city of London was experiencing an economic recession.
MacDermid also mentions that the former mayor of Washington Marion Barry, as another prominent politician who has in the past, embarrassed his city. Barry was videotaped smoking crack cocaine in 1990, and was subsequently arrested by the F.B.I., and then served six months in federal prison. Barry would however, then be re-elected as mayor four years later.
“I think in the longer run it does not affect how people think of those places,” MacDermid adds. “People do not think about the politicians, they think about the culture of Toronto.”
However, now it is up to the residents of Toronto to either move on from this “scandal” or re-elect Ford in this upcoming election in October of 2014. Will “Ford More Years” hurt Toronto, or bring the city international exposure?
Christiana Ezekiel
Contributor
