R ob Ford loves to portray himself as the champion of the little guy, a lone wolf fighting on behalf of taxpayers fed up with waste and incompetence at city hall.

It's a role Ford has honed to perfection during his 10 years as a Toronto City Councillor.

Now, the combative councillor from Etobicoke North is taking his act out across the city as he mounts a full-scale campaign to become the city's next mayor.

Cheered on by hardline Conservatives, radio show hosts and right-wing newspaper columnists, the brash-mouthed Ford is running a strong race to succeed outgoing David Miller as mayor.

Next to former provincial Liberal cabinet minister George Smitherman, Ford is likely the best-known candidate in the race. He could place second to Smitherman in the early opinion polls, ahead of Rocco Rossi, who like Ford is trying to capture right-wing votes.

Ford's boosters argue that he's the kind of leader Toronto needs today, a populist politician who will act on behalf of voters fed up with garbage strikes, lousy TTC service, rising taxes, councillors' salaries, litter in the streets, petty crime, downtown elites and every other conceivable "angry guy" gripe.

In truth, though, Ford as mayor would be the worst thing that could happen to this city.

On one point, Ford is right – the city is in big trouble, from finances to traffic gridlock and job loss.

That's why leadership is so critical, and why Ford is so unqualified for the job.

To be a good mayor, a person must be someone who can build coalitions, work with residents of all persuasions, get city councillors on side and win support from provincial leaders on issues that matter for Toronto.

To date, Ford has shown none of those traits.

He is a solitary voice on council, with a history of screaming tirades. He's bombastic. He's often a buffoon. That style may work for a city councillor seeking cheap headlines, but it would be fatal for a mayor, who must be a consensus builder as well as a forceful leader.

Ford has officially been in the race only six days, but it's clear he isn't about to tone down his style. For example, his campaign team talks about this campaign as "a war." So much for reasoned debate.

At the same time, his vision for the city is limited to cutting taxes and spending, attacking public employees and the TTC, berating other councillors and sucking up to suburban voters by suggesting the city ignores them and only pays attention to downtown residents.

To assess how Ford would be as mayor, it's important to look back at his history.

In 2002, Ford called fellow Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who is also running for mayor, "a scammer" and "Gino-boy" in reference to his Italian heritage.

In 2003, he wanted Toronto declared a "refugee-free zone" and called council's decision to ban the use of pesticides a sign of "dictatorship." The following year he said the city's bylaw to protect trees "is communism, if you ask me."

In 2005, he called Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby a "waste of skin." He once suggested that "it's their own fault" if cyclists are killed in traffic accidents.

In 2006, he was ejected from the Air Canada Centre for being drunk and verbally abusing fans at a Maple Leafs game, calling them "communist bastards." Later, Ford denied he was even at the game, but subsequently admitted he lied, saying "I'm going through a few personal problems."

Also in 2006, he fought against a $1.5 million AIDs prevention program, claiming he didn't understand why more women were becoming AIDS patients, adding "Maybe they're sleeping with bisexual men."

In 2008, he claimed "Oriental people work like dogs... They're slowly taking over." He later said he meant it as a compliment, but apologized anyway. Also that year, he was arrested and charged with assault and threatening death, but the charges were later dropped.

For his part, Ford said last week on John Oakley's radio show when he announced his candidacy that he realizes he's "not in opposition anymore. I have to be a leader."

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Given his record, this is not the "leader" that Toronto needs.

Bob Hepburn's column appears on Thursday. bhepburn @ thestar.ca