Toronto Council Votes Against New Casino
A deflated Toronto Mayor Rob Ford left his office yesterday, after learning that the city council voted against a proposal to construct a new mega casino in the large Canadian city.
But the loss of casino revenue was just one of Ford's concerns, his biggest now being dealing with the fallout after he was identified in a videotape smoking crack cocaine.
The Toronto council, which is usually divided on most issues, came together and voted overwhelmingly in favor of not allowing new gambling sites in the city's perimeters. The council also voted on not to allow the expansion of gambling at racetracks in the city, although that vote was much tighter than the first.
Ford Admits Toronto Casino Defeat
Rob Ford has been championing the idea of a new Toronto casino for months, claiming it would be a huge revenue generator for the city. However, last week, it became clear that there was no way that council would vote in favor of the idea and Ford seemed to have finally given up on the idea.
The idea of building a major downtown casino has never been a popular one among Torontonians, and grassroots lobbyists such as No Casino ran very successful PR campaigns to push their ideas.
The main concern among residents was that a new casino would increase problem gambling and lead to more crime.
Ford Accused of Smoking Crack Cocaine
The Toronto casino vote is the latest in a long line of problems facing Mayor Ford which have plagued him since he took over office at the end of 2010, the latest being that at least two media outlets have claimed that they saw cellphone video footage of him smoking crack cocaine.
On Friday, Ford called the claims "ridiculous" and his lawyer said earlier this week that his client was still mulling the idea of taking legal action against the reporters over false allegations.
The Toronto Star and Gawker Media said that tipsters asked for $100,000 in return for the cellphone footage, and both outlets declined to pay the price, although they both confirmed seeing the content.
Mayor Ford has frequently being criticized for being absent from city council meetings to coach high school football.
In 2012 Ford was ordered to leave office after he was found guilty of conflict of interest. However, he successfully appealed the ruling and is now allowed to complete his four year tenure.
