Budget chief can’t stand behind Mayor Rob Ford: report
Posted April 8, 2014 12:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After an embarrassing night at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto’s budget chief isn’t sure he can still fully support mayor Rob Ford.
In an interview with the Scarborough Mirror, Coun. Frank Di Giorgio said: “[Saturday] left me in a position where I have to be very clear to myself and say, ‘you know what? I can’t get behind this person 100 per cent.’”
Calls to Di Giorgio’s office asking for further comment were not immediately returned on Tuesday.
During Saturday night’s game, posts on social media showed Ford sweating and with a red face, surrounded by crowds of people looking for a photo. Ford was also denied access to the venue’s Director’s Lounge — a private lounge at the ACC that he had been allowed to visit on previous occasions.
At that point, Ford became visibly upset, Di Giorgio told reporters Monday. Ford denies that allegation. He also denies that he was drinking at the game.
While Ford was upset, Di Giorgio said at city hall on Monday, “in my view, the mayor was not intoxicated…to be brutally honest, I thought he was in a state where he could drive.”
Ford said he didn’t become upset but that he was denied entry for political reasons. He voted against $10 million dollars in funding for BMO Field, which is owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the same company that owns the ACC.
MLSE said Ford was only denied access because there was a private, invite-only function taking place inside the director’s lounge.
Later Saturday night, Ford was also photographed at Muzik, a nightclub at the Exhibition Grounds.
Di Giorgio told the Mirror he had hoped Ford would have attended an event in the budget chief’s ward, not the nightclub.
He added that he was “more than disappointed” by Ford’s decision.
Di Giorgio was Ford’s choice to replace former budget chief Mike Del Grande. Del Grande resigned on Jan. 16, 2013.
