Crackgate: the impact on Toronto 1 year after Ford caught smoking from a crackpipe

Toronto has officially been living under the weight of the “crack mayor” mantle for one year.

Gawker published their story “For Sale: A Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Smoking Crack Cocaine” May 16, 2013 followed hours later by similar reports in the Toronto Star, turning the scandal-plagued mayoralty of Rob Ford in to international news.

Before news broke that Mayor Ford had been caught on video smoking from a crack pipe and making homophobic remarks, his mayoralty had already seen its fair share of scandal.

He was almost booted from office over a conflict of interest case, numerous reports had surfaced of the mayor driving while using his cell phone or reading, and there were stories about Ford’s use of city resources to coach a high school football team.

Allegations of substance abuse and unruly behaviour ramped up in March, 2013 when 2010 mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson accused the mayor of grabbing her butt and propositioning her and the Toronto Star reported the mayor was asked to leave the Garrison Ball because he seemed impaired.

After Gawker and Toronto Star stories shone an international spotlight on Toronto, has it changed the perceptions of the city and of the mayor?

Click here to see the entire Jimmy Kimmel Live segment.

Toronto’s mayor became fodder for late-night hosts on U.S. networks, including an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in March.

Despite all the less-than-flattering attention over the last year, political strategist Marcel Wieder thinks Ford still has a chance of sitting in Toronto City Council chambers come the next election.

“Any ordinary politician would have been written off long ago, but he’s still able to command a following,” Wieder said.

Ford’s recent statements about women and minorities might shake his base, but if he comes out of rehab healthy and apologizes, Ford could still be a force, said Wieder, referring to a recent Toronto Star report about another incident when Ford appeared to be inebriated and calling himself “the most racist guy around.”

Click here to read “Rob Ford makes headlines with fresh claims about after-hours life: Star.”

“A clean and sober Rob Ford is still seen as the only fiscal conservative in that race,” Wieder said. “A lot of people credit Ford with getting rid of the tax on cars, getting rid of the gravy train and saving an alleged billion dollars.”

Wieder can also envision a scenario in which Doug Ford runs for the mayoralty and Rob returns to run for his old councillor seat in Ward 2, Etobicoke-North.

“He’s not out of it by a long shot, he’s still going to have an impact one way or another,” Wieder said.

But despite all the drama surrounding city hall, it seems tourism is thriving.

A new report from Hotels.com puts Toronto third in international travel destinations for Americans for the first time since 2010. London and Paris placed first and second, with Rome and Vancouver rounding out the top five.

Click here to read the full report.

Marketing guru and founder of the Capital C agency Tony Chapman says the growth in tourism is happening despite, not because of the mayor’s reputation.

“I think when Toronto’s attached to Rob Ford, people’s minds don’t go to tourism or a place to visit. If anything they go the other way,” Chapman said.

“The old adage that all publicity is good publicity is not the case here.”

Chapman says to grow tourism we have to “dial up what makes Toronto unique.”

“Unfortunately right now what’s making us unique is our mayor, but what we should be talking about is the culture, the sports, the passion, creativity, and everything that puts this multicultural city on the map,” Chapman said.

He adds the low Canadian dollar makes it more affordable for U.S. visitors.

“When it comes to a city like Toronto, cash is a very important metric.”

Chapman thinks the more tourists visit Toronto, the more appealing it will become as word-of-mouth spreads about Toronto’s unique charms.

“It’s not a must-see destination, but it’s a great place to visit.”

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