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It was late afternoon when news broke of an incident at City Hall that led Mayor Rob Ford’s outgoing chief of staff, Nick Kouvalis, to ask security to escort the mayor’s long time staffer Andrew Pask out of the building.

Before the workday was up, Mr. Kouvalis and Councillor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, marched down to the Press Gallery to “clarify” what happened on Jan. 21, insisting there is no discord in the Mayor’s office, while simultaneously declaring that a new plan for subways is almost finalized.

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Councillor Ford was visibly frustrated. “It’s no one’s business what happens here or in the Mayor’s office, or in that office building over there,” he told reporters in an impromptu scrum.

“Nick is part of the family, he spilt blood for us. He’s going to be here for the next 10 years with us. He is moving on. His family lives in Windsor, his kids miss him, he came to Florida with us, I talked to his wife, his little kids, they said ‘hey, I miss dad, I miss my husband,’ ” said Mr. Ford.He said Mr. Kouvalis, who is widely credited as the architect of Mayor Ford’s election win, will be paid a $1 a year consulting fee to “handle” the task of contracting out garbage collection.