Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's chief of staff is quitting his job and bolting for the Pan Am Games.

In a huge blow to Ford, who has faced recent accusations of shirking his mayoral duties, Amir Remtulla is leaving his office July 20 to become vice-president of external partnerships for the 2015 Toronto Games.

“Amir has brought tremendous leadership to my team,” Ford said in a statement Saturday.

“His experience, advice and dedication to his work will be missed. I would like to thank him for his service and helping move a number of major accomplishments through council. I wish him all the best in his new role.”

Ford hailed Remtulla, a York University-educated, married father of two, for his work on a number of key files, including the outsourcing of garbage collection and the landmark accords with the Canadian Union of Public Employees Locals 416, 79, 2998, and 4948.

The 43-year-old former Molson executive — and a key aide to Case Ootes when he was Toronto's deputy mayor under mayor Mel Lastman — was brought in early last year to professionalize the fledgling administration.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the mayor of Toronto,” Remtulla said of his 18 months at the helm.

“I am very proud of what the mayor has accomplished during my time as chief of staff. As a result, Toronto taxpayers now know that their dollars are being spent wisely and that customer service is improving,” he said in a statement.

No successor has been announced but the front-runners are Ford's policy czar Mark Towhey and Andrew Pask, the mayor's former council liaison who left the office in 2011 after an angry altercation with Remtulla's predecessor, Nick Kouvalis.

Kouvalis, the campaign wizard who transformed Ford from an unremarkable 10-year city council crank to mayor of Canada's largest city, is not thought to be interested in returning to his old job.

Behind the scenes, Remtulla's resignation is causing tremors.

“Apparently (city manager Joe) Pennachetti just put his head in his hands when Amir told him and said: ‘I only had one year left to go (before retirement),’” said one provincial insider Saturday.

“He will be missed. They never would have got the labour deal without him,” he said.

Respected at Queen's Park, where he is viewed as a calming presence for a mercurial mayor, he has faced challenges in Ford's oft chaotic office.

Senior Liberals told the Star that Doug Ford, the mayor's older brother and an Etobicoke city councillor (Ward 2, Etobicoke North), frequently undermined Remtulla on everything from transit issues to communications strategy.

“Sometimes, we'd leave at night thinking we had an agreement with (Rob) Ford and Amir only to learn the next day things had changed because Doug had gotten to him (the mayor),” confided a Liberal close to Premier Dalton McGuinty.

“It's a difficult situation.”

Some Ford loyalists blamed Remtulla for the mayor losing control of the TTC when transit chair Karen Stintz rebelled against the administration's ill-considered, inadequately funded subway scheme.

“I think he (Remtulla) wanted LRT all along,” fumed a Ford confidant, referring to the light-rail projects now underway despite the mayor's opposition.

At one point, at least two high-ranking provincial officials claim they were approached by Ford friends to see if they would like to become chief of staff.

“The talk seemed so serious that salary was discussed — they were offering $200,000 (a year),” said one insider.

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But it was never clear if the offers were officially sanctioned by the mayor or if they were idle musings, the source said.

Despite the challenges, Remtulla is leaving on good terms with Ford.

A longtime Progressive Conservative operative, he worked closely with the Liberals now in power at Queen's Park where he's regarded as an honest broker.

“We know where we stand with Amir,” said one Grit. “But the brother (Doug Ford) is a constant wild card.”

Remtulla tried to end the Fords' two-year dispute with the Toronto Star, but his efforts were not met with success.

The brothers have refused all official contact with Canada's biggest newspaper over a 2010 story about why Ford was asked to stop coaching public high-school football. (He now serves as a volunteer coach with a Catholic school team and has been praised by many players for his mentorship.)

While Ford threatened legal action, he never sued the Star.

His office has since refused to even distribute news releases to the paper, which has complained to the city's integrity commissioner that the mayor is abusing his authority.

The feud with Toronto's most influential daily has been a headache for some of Ford's more moderate advisers, who have urged him to end his boycott.

“Amir could never convince him. I think it's because it (the story) was about football and Rob loves coaching more than anything else — including being the mayor,” said one Ford pal.

Remtulla's departure comes as some city councillors have been complaining that Ford is a part-time chief magistrate who is rarely seen at City Hall and who allows his brother far too great a role.

Doug Ford, a council rookie who rode his kid brother's coattails to victory in the Oct. 2010 municipal election, is eyeing a run for PC Leader Tim Hudak's team in a provincial election that could come next spring.

Some of Rob Ford's friends joked Saturday that they are already counting the days to that vote to get him out of the mayor's hair.

With files From Daniel Dale

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