Torontos crack-head ex-mayor dead at 46

ROB  FORD,   the former Toronto Mayor  who put his city on the world mapwhen he confessed to using crack cocaine during a party binge,  has died  from cancer at the age of 46, and once again his name is making world  headlines  from the New York Times, to the BBC.

He  had been diagnosed with pleomorphic liposarcoma, a rare form of soft-tissue cancer, in September of 2014, amid a heated re-election battle. The illness forced him to withdraw his candidacy for a second term to focus on cancer treatments.

He underwent an aggressive round of treatment followed by surgery to remove a tumour last May. By September, he had declared himself cancer-free and appeared at Stephen Harper’s side during the federal election campaign says Toronto’s Globe and Mail.  It was not seen as a smart move by Harper who lost the election to Justin Trudeau, son of the former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot who inspired  Trudeaumania.

The clean bill of health was short-lived. In late October, doctors found new tumours and commenced another round of chemotherapy.

After two terms as a city councilor  he ran for mayor  in 2010, tapping nto a vein of suburban resentment toward urban elements of the recently amalgamated megacity, and trounced his nearest opponent.

His small-government agenda ran afoul of left-wing politicians and unions, but his bedrock of support he  called the  Ford Nation began to collapse  when US media and the  Toronto Star ran items  about a video showing him smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine.

The revelations led to  a Toronto Police investigation and a ceaseless lampooning on U.S. late-night talk shows hosted by the likes of Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno.

Ford vehemently denied the accusations until abruptly reversing himself in November, admitting to a throng of reporters, “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine.”

Damning details eventually emerged from the police investigation and a second crack video eventually surfaced, but he still maintained support among many people from the “burbs”

When cancer  derailed his campaign, his brother, Doug Ford, entered the race, but lost  to Tory.

After the results, Rob Ford vowed he would unseat Mr. Tory in 2018, as soon as his health improved.

“I will continue to fight. I’m just warming up.” he said