TORONTO

Mayor Rob Ford says his supporters need not worry because he’ll be back in time for the election — and in fighting shape, too.

“Of course, I am coming back and I am going to kick butt,” he said.

While in self-imposed temporary exile, the mayor admitted he’s in kind of a working rehab.

“I asked for my calls sheets and I am making calls to constituents,” he said. “I am getting help but I still want to help.”

The mayor said, however, there is no timeline for his return.

But, he insisted, it won’t be his brother, Doug, running for mayor.

“I will be on the ballot for mayor in October, guaranteed, and I will do well,” he said, teasing that, “on Oct. 28, there will be no need to change the locks. There will be no need to clean out my office because I am coming back.”

He had a touch of humour in his voice — but also determination.

The mayor, on a leave of absence to deal with personal issues following images and recordings of intoxicated behaviour and potential crack use, said he is doing fine.

“I feel great,” he said. “Rehab is amazing. It reminds me of football camp. Kind of like the Washington Redskins camp I went to as a kid.”

He said there are meetings with “eight people in a group,” then sometimes four, “then there is a meal before we have some one-on-one sessions.”

Ford added: “I am working out every day and I am learning about myself, my past and things like that.”

One of the areas covered so far is his own anger at his political opponents — something he acknowledged he needs to work on.

“It’s not an excuse to play the victim and it’s not an excuse to drink,” he said.

The treatment centre treats “addictions to alcohol and other things” and is “worth every penny.”

The mayor also said he realizes the mess he left behind, but is hopeful he can right his wrongs.

“I think alcohol is the worst drug of all. It makes you do things that you would never do or say things that you wouldn’t,” he said.

Through the first week of being clean and sober, he’s starting to come to terms with all that has happened.

“At first, I was mad. I was mad at myself and saying, ‘Why me?’ ” he said. “But then I realized it could have been a whole lot worse.”

Being dead or in jail were very real possibilities, he said.

“I do feel bad about what happened, but it might have been the best thing that happened because I am working on getting better.”

Ford said he is committed to doing whatever it takes to get there.

As for he being mayor of Toronto, he said, it’s not something that has been talked much about in the treatment centre.

“They know but there are two doctors here, a captain of industry and a professional athlete,” he said. “There are terrific people in my group. We are all supporting each other. We are connecting in a weird way.”

Ford said he does wish he had done it sooner.

“It has been a week,” he said since the decision was made to get professional help.

Ford said that he woke up on April 29 — the morning after he was taped in an apparent intoxicated state delivering a rant at Sullie Gorman’s pub — and told his brother, “That’s it.”

Ford recalled: “I told Dougie, ‘I am going away’ and then started looking up rehab and treatment centres.”

But he would not reveal the name of the treatment centre or where it is located.

He said that out of respect for the other patients, he “will not say where I am.”

Nor would he even answer whether the treatment facility is in Canada.

He did not talk about reports he was turned away in the United States.

His family knows where he is and he is in regular contact with his children.

“They know I am getting help but they don’t know why,” he said.

As difficult as the past week has been on him, Ford said he feels he is finally owning up to his demons and said he “appreciates” all the support he has received from members of council and the public.

No matter what happens going forward, he said, going into rehab was the “best decision” he has ever made.

“I said to myself, ‘Am I going to try to cover it up for the rest of your life or deal with it and go to professional help?’ ” he said. “I decided to get help.”