A Tale of Two Mayors (in Comedies)

Last night on The Hour Has 22 Minutes, correspondent Mark Critch came to Toronto to catch up with Mayor John Tory and indulge a pleasant day of tobogganing. (Tobogganing not being banned in Toronto as it is in other Ontario municipalities, I refer you to the previous discussion we had about it on the show.) While the entire affair was funny and enjoyable, it did get me thinking (remembering really) of the last time 22 Minutes came to Toronto to talk to the Mayor….

Back in 2011 – you know, before the crack – “Marg Delahunty” (played by Mary Walsh) surprised then-Mayor Rob Ford in the driveway at his home, and this is the terrifying events that followed.

http://www.cbc.ca/i/caffeine/syndicate/?clipId=2160573368

“Terrifying” is relative, I suppose, but it certainly foreshadowed the ludicrous nature of the Ford mayoralty that was to come. Ford recounted what happened, from his point of view, in the above video to reporters after it happened.

It was dark, Ford told reporters Monday evening, and two people who didn’t identify themselves came running out of a car parked outside his home in Etobicoke and stopped him from getting into his car.

“There was a lady dressed up and she was screaming my name: ‘We got you Rob Ford, we got you,'” Ford said, adding that his six-year-old daughter was frightened and went back into the home.
P.O.V.:

Ford said he went back into his house and called 911.

“I didn’t know who they were and obviously I’ve had death threats and there was a camera and a mic,” he said. “I’m open to the media, but when you come to my private house early in the morning and ambush me, I think that crosses the line.”

He called 911? Yes, he did. The tape was never released, but amongst the choice quotes reportedly heard by those that listened to the tape, Mayor Ford said to the dispatcher when the police didn’t arrive fast enough…

“You … bitches! Don’t you f–king know? I’m Rob f–king Ford, the mayor of this city!”

It must have been true, because Ford later apologized for it.

Which brings us to last night’s 22 Minutes, and the point that Canadians can now laugh with Torontonians as opposed to laugh at them. Now, for comparison, here’s Critch’s toboggan run with Tory.