A centrist councillor wanted it changed. City communications officials wanted it changed. But Mayor Rob Ford and his top aides would not let the municipal government get rid of the distinctly Ford-ian paragraph that has ended city press releases for most of his term.

Ford’s former allies took matters into their own hands on Thursday. Council’s executive committee, now chaired by Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly rather than Ford himself, approved Kelly’s motion to replace the 71-word Ford-preferred paragraph with a 96-word paragraph that is less overtly political.

It is the latest little indication of Ford’s diminished power and influence. If he still controlled the executive, he could have told his hand-picked committee appointees to ignore the matter entirely.

“While I recognize that this is simply a boilerplate, I believe it’s reflective of a new style of politics at city hall with the deputy mayor at the helm,” said Councillor Josh Matlow, who waged a lonely battle on the issue for more than a year.

The Ford-endorsed paragraph says Toronto’s government is dedicated to “reducing the size and cost of government” — essentially, that it is conservative — and to “customer service excellence,” a Ford-favoured phrase. The paragraph also says the government wants to build a “transportation city,” the label Ford attached to his own transportation plan.

The new paragraph eliminates all of those references. Instead, it simply boasts about the city: “Toronto is one of the best cities in the world to do business, consistently ranked at or near the top in global competitiveness, innovation, entrepreneurship and quality of life.”

Matlow forced the paragraph onto the executive agenda by making a formal “administrative inquiry” to the city manager. He said the Ford-backed version was “far too partisan, ideological, and politically aspirational, rather than expressing factual merits about our city that all Toronto residents can agree on.”

Council will almost certainly approve the new paragraph at its meeting in two weeks.

The current paragraph:

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. Toronto’s government is dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The new paragraph:

Toronto is Canada’s largest city, sixth-largest government and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. Toronto is one of the best cities in the world to do business, consistently ranked at or near the top in global competitiveness, innovation, entrepreneurship and quality of life. Toronto is proud to be the Host City of the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games, the world’s third largest multi-sport Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, visit www.toronto.ca , call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on twitter @torontocomms.