Councillor John Parker, an impeccably credentialed conservative, was an MPP in Mike Harris’ provincial government. Mayor Rob Ford chose him as council’s deputy speaker, and he has voted with Ford on nearly every major issue.

Nearly. He opposed Ford’s push for a subway extension on Sheppard and a below-ground-only light rail line on Eglinton. And now Ford, who says he will turn the 2014 election into a de facto referendum on council’s transit votes, is hinting publicly he will support an effort to defeat Parker.

Parker (Ward 26, Don Valley West) beat business owner and former police officer Jon Burnside by only 415 votes in 2010. Ford said on his Sunday radio show he will organize a candidate slate to try to unseat his transit opponents — and praised Burnside and Ken Chan, who lost in 2010 to left-leaning Kristyn Wong-Tam, by name.

“They ran — they came very close seconds — but these are the type of people, we have to get them on council,” Ford said.

Ford’s implicit threat to Parker came days after several of his other allies questioned his leadership. Ford, whose pressure tactics and “with us or against us” rhetoric have steadily alienated council’s centrists, has struggled since the fall to win key votes.

He asked residents who support his transit vision to call the mayor’s office to find out how to become candidates. Even this plea might backfire on him: the former host of the radio show, centrist Councillor Josh Matlow, says he plans to file a complaint with council’s integrity commissioner Tuesday.

The council code of conduct prohibits the use of city property “for any election campaign or campaign-related activities.”

“I just want him to cut it out. I think we need to shine a light on this behaviour,” Matlow said Monday night.

“Taxpayer resources must not be used for electioneering at City Hall. The mayor's office cannot be used as a perpetual hotline to recruit candidates to run against Tory, Liberal, NDP and independent councillors the mayor dislikes.”

Parker had complimented Ford for treating him respectfully during the transit debate. Asked Monday if he had heard Ford’s remarks on Burnside, he said, “I think I heard all I needed to.” He politely declined to comment further, walked away, then changed his mind.

“I will say this,” he said. “If you examine my voting record, you’ll find that my record is pretty consistently in support of the positions that the mayor has taken, throughout the council term, with the single exception of the future of transit in the city . . . I also serve as his representative on the TCHC board, and he recently put me on the board of the Pension Review Committee — and that was after the TTC vote — as his representative.”

Told this was why Ford’s remarks seemed unusual, Parker paused and said, “You might ask him.”

Ford’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Councillor Doug Ford, who co-hosts the NewsTalk 1010 show, said his brother was not saying he will be supporting a Parker challenger.

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“I don’t think he was meaning that whatsoever. But we do need 23 votes down here, and we’ll do whatever it takes in the next election to make sure we have a mandate with the people,” Doug Ford said. He added: “John’s a great guy.”

Chan said he would not join any slate if he runs again. Burnside, a subway supporter, said he would consider running on a Ford slate.