Rob Ford ... Enough Said.

We all know what's going on with the mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford.  It started in May with the release of a video that supposedly showed Ford smoking crack cocaine.  Ford outright denied that he had ever used crack cocaine and essentially claimed the video was bogus.  But, several months later, he admits that it was in fact true; he used crack cocaine.  But it doesn't stop there! He also admitted to purchasing illegal drugs during one of his terms as Mayor.  Now, there are allegations of him partying with prostitutes, referring to taxi drivers by racial slurs, and driving while intoxicated.  And we thought the cat was out of the bag after all of that ... we were wrong.

Rob Ford Cartoon

As of today, there is another allegation against Mayor Rob Ford. As a Calgary Metro news article explains, he supposedly had oral sex with a former staff member, and made lewd comments about doing so.  

The real controversy that exists is whether Mayor Rob Ford should step down from his position.  I've heard people say that they believe that what he does in his spare time should be completely separate from his job ... but is that even possible?  That's like asking us to ignore the fact that Chris Brown beat up Rihanna simply because he is a famous artist.

Many people believe that once you step into a position of authority and are in the public eye, you have basically signed a contract agreeing that whatever you do can and likely will, become public knowledge.  I personally think that the public should not have to ignore what the person who is supposed to be in charge of their city is doing.  If he is constantly impaired through drugs and/or alcohol, then are the decisions that he is making for the city really the best ones?

This leads to my next question: should mayor Ford step down?  The article explains that many people say yes, even those that are personally and professionally close to him.  Up until today's allegations, most people that were close to Ford were saying that he should be able to keep his job as mayor; but many now believe that he has crossed the line.  With so many allegations coming to the surface since the original release of the video showing Ford smoking crack, one can only speculate that more allegations will come to the surface; possibly being even more detrimental than the ones that have already arisen.  Perhaps he should just cut his losses, and step down before it gets even worse for him.

Also in the article, Ford mentions that the new allegations are disrespectful to his wife and his family.  So to not step down, in my opinion, would be selfish on his part.  Even if these allegations are not true, the bottom line is that they can and likely will negatively impact his family regardless of their validity or credibility.

It will be interesting to see what is next in store for the followers of the Rob Ford controversy...