Councillor Paul Ainslie a wimp? A politician who needs to get his big boy pants on? Far from it.

The Toronto councillor is among the bravest politicians at city hall. The rest of council may want to take lessons from the Ward 43 rep.

Ainslie was the only councillor from Scarborough who voted against a subway extension to the east end, citing cost concerns, even though the consensus is that it is political suicide to not support a subway to Scarborough. That takes guts — and solicits a questioning of one’s political smarts.

It was Ainslie who went on the record and confirmed that Mayor Rob Ford was asked to leave a public function, the Garrison Ball. He refused at first to explain to the Star why, but several other guests told the Star the mayor seemed intoxicated or impaired. For that, Ainslie has been on the mayor’s hit list.

Too many councillors have been deferential to the mayor and his pushy, obnoxious, divisive, confrontational and embarrassing behaviour. Couoncillors tend to enable and excuse the mayor’s escapades when they should decry them for diminishing the mayor’s office.

From the day he arrived at city hall, Rob Ford has shown a penchant for rolling around in the muck. He’s nearly come to blows with opponents. He’s launched verbal attacks. He’s near-slandered and abused those with whom he disagrees. Joined by his smiling assassin of a brother, Doug, the two are the twin Rambos of municipal politics.

So when Ainslie voted against a subway to Scarborough, against the Fords’ wishes, Ford used his enormous financial resources to launch an automated telephone campaign against the councillor, telling his ward constituents that Ainslie led the charge against the ward interest.

It was an election campaign tactic popular in rough-and-tumble American politics — one the mayor relishes and has been using increasingly. It fits his image. It’s in keeping with his character. It’s something to be expected of a leader who thinks the best way to coalesce 44 independent councillors around an issue is to bully and harangue and criticize and disparage them at every turn.

“Is the mayor a bully? Yes, he has been for 12 years,” says Councillor Josh Colle, who himself has felt the sting of the pugnacious Ford Brothers.

Councillor Jaye Robinson, who endured the onslaught of the mayor when she quit his executive committee, sided with Ainslie. So did Michelle Berardinetti, another ex-executive committee member who left, citing a bullying administration. Other councillors — some of them, afraid of being subjected to similar tactics — have lain low at city hall. The vocal ones tended to be those with very strong ward support.

“This is a new low,” said Councillor Paula Fletcher. If that is so, then the new low might be the new normal.

Instead of just accepting the mayor’s criticism, Ainslie responded with a barrage that betrayed a pent-up mountain of grievances stretching back many months:

“A blatant act of political thuggery,” he called Ford’s robocalls, borrowing Ford’s bombast, adding that “American-style assassin politics has no place in this city. . . . the mayor has crossed the line . . . and is a bully and a liar.

“Let me tell the Ford brothers this: I’m not scared of you.”

Ainslie’s only error is in asking the integrity commissioner to rule on the appropriateness of the mayor’s actions. Don’t bother. The mayor ignores the integrity commissioner, so what’s the use.

Better for councillors to back up their disgust with strong action — matching the mayor tit for tat. There’s nothing to be afraid of. The mayor is a paper tiger, with historically low public support for a Toronto mayor, despite the over-hyped Ford Nation.

Better if Ainslie had joined forces with a few councilors, pooled personal resources and unleashed their own robocalls to Torontonians about the mayor who cavorts with drug dealers and unsavoury characters under police watch. Imagine this call:

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“This is Councillor Paul Ainslie, Jaye Robinson, Chin Lee, Michelle Berardinetti (insert other councillors here). It is extremely, extremely unfortunate that last week, Mayor Rob Ford became the only mayor, the only mayor in the country forced to call a news conference at a local gas station to explain why he is friends with an alleged local drug dealer, busted by police. Mayor Ford admitted the man was his friend, calling him ‘a good guy.’ You may remember this the next time the mayor purports to join the war on drugs.”

As the mayor’s brother says, “It’s politics, folks.” So, let’s race where the mayor leads — to the bottom.