Councillor Doug Ford’s swift and loud response to allegations Saturday morning that he was once a hash dealer in 1980s Etobicoke is a marked departure from how Mayor Rob Ford’s drug scandal has been handled.

Typically bombastic in the face of accusations, both the mayor and his stalwart defender were muted in the early hours of revelations that two Toronto Star reporters watched a video in which Mayor Rob Ford appears to smoke crack cocaine and utter an anti-gay slur.

This time, after a front page Globe and Mail report claimed Doug Ford had been involved in the drug trade in the 1980s, he wasted no time publicly denying the allegations and denouncing the media as a whole.

“It’s absolutely false. These folks want to come after our character . . . I’ll tell you about my character and our family’s character. Ever since being in Etobicoke for over 50 years all we’ve done is give back to that community,” he said in an appearance on CBC News — one of several in quick succession Saturday.

Doug Ford’s appearances on CBC News, Global, CityNews Channel and CP24 — not to mention his radio interviews — on the day the allegations surfaced stands in stark contrast to the near-total silence his brother the mayor maintained for a week after the video reports first emerged. That was a strategy Robin Sears, a top crisis communications adviser, called “mind boggling.”

Using 10 anonymous sources, the Globe and Mail story published Saturday outlines the Ford family’s alleged history with drugs. The Star has not verified the allegations.

Doug Ford’s appearances consisted largely of a denial of the allegations made by the article, followed by a bout of seemingly unscripted lambasting of the media and what Doug Ford referred to as “social elites.”

“There’s 50 per cent of the people that want to politically kill Rob and myself . . . Even further,” said Doug Ford in the appearance on CBC News. “If I was walking down the street and one of the lefties was driving, I’d make sure I’d jump on the sidewalk. Because you know why? We’ve stopped the social elites that have run this city for 50 years.”

Atul Sharma, a communications consultant with Hill+Knowlton Strategies, said Doug Ford’s approach is an improvement, but emphasized the need for focusing on the issue at hand.

“In theory, being visible and addressing the allegations is the right approach and not letting them linger and not addressing them for a week just continues to fuel speculation,” said Sharma. “Our counsel would be to stick to the substance of the issue and focus on that rather than … attacking the media and people who are writing the stories.”

Sears noted the difference said the councillor’s insistence on placing the blame on others will not resolve the scandals plaguing both Fords.

“It’s not sufficient — it doesn’t work to keep raising those subjects as opposed to the one that is on the table,” said Sears. “When you’re in a situation like this you need to come out with a compelling and credible response that addresses the accusation.”

“It becomes a stalemate but it’s a stalemate that leaves a terrible shadow hanging over both Doug and Rob and therefore it’s damaging to them and it’s damaging to the city,” he said. “Silence doesn’t work but neither does a ‘change-the-channel’ strategy.”

Rob Ford waited seven days to issue a formal response to allegations against him; during that time he avoided journalists and simply said the video allegations were “ridiculous” and “absolutely not true.” His former press secretary Adrienne Batra noted at the time that his silence “created a vacuum” filled by his political opposition.

After a week, the mayor issued a prepared statement — stating simply “I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine,” at one point — but did not take questions and has ignored reporters asking directly whether he smokes crack cocaine.

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In contrast, Doug Ford appeared on numerous television and radio shows Saturday to take questions.

Councillor Josh Matlow said the difference in strategy comes down to the personalities of the brothers.

“As much as Doug explains how much he detests the media, his behaviour has always demonstrated that he quite enjoys being in the media,” said Matlow. “That’s been his practice and his style. Rob however by nature is — and this may surprise many people — far more of an introvert.”

Councillor Frank Di Giorgio suggested that Doug Ford had more time to prepare his reaction than the Mayor.

“My understanding is that Councillor Ford may have been made aware of the fact by getting phone calls from previous acquaintances. He may have known something about it a while ago. He may have been expecting a little more than his brother,” he said.

A spokesperson with Astral Media confirmed Saturday that both Doug and Rob Ford will be on Rob Ford’s radio show Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. Show producers were planning to allow callers to ask questions during the show.

“I fear on the strength of what we’ve seen (Saturday) it will be a repetition of the same approach. That will simply turn the level of tension one notch higher,” said Sears.

With files from Wendy Gillis

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