Mayor Ford not asked to leave military event, some committee members say
Posted March 27, 2013 7:49 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – Some members of the Garrison Ball organizing committee issued a signed statement Tuesday night, saying that to their knowledge, none of them asked Mayor Rob Ford to leave the military charity event.
“As a civilian member of the volunteer organizing committee of the 2013 Toronto Garrison Ball, I can confirm that I did not ask Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto, to leave the event on February 23, 2013 for any reason,” the statement said.
“To my knowledge, no member of the event’s organizing committee, including Councillor Paul Ainslie, directed the Mayor to leave the event that night.”
Six of the 13 committee members signed the statement: Darrell Bricker, Lyndsey Fisk-Calhoun, Maureen Harquail, Caroline Mulroney Lapham, Mark McQueen, and John Wright.
However, Councillor Ainslie confirmed to the Toronto Star that he issued an e-mail to committee members explaining that after being approached by at least eight people who were concerned about the Mayor’s state, he did go to speak with Ford and found him to be somewhat incoherent.
He then approached Ford’s chief of staff Mark Towhey telling him that he thought it would be a good idea for the Mayor to leave.
Meanwhile, councillors Sarah Doucette and Joe Mihevc are urging Ford to seek help. Councillor Doucette told the Star although she hasn’t personally seen the mayor intoxicated, it’s been known around city hall for a while that the Mayor may have a problem.
Interview
680News political affairs specialist John Stall spoke with Toronto Councillor Joe Mihevc on Wednesday morning:
