Mayor Rob Ford was the lone member of council to vote Wednesday against finding a street to dedicate to Nelson Mandela. He was also the lone vote against a symbolic motion to congratulate Canada’s Olympians.

Both proposals passed 40-1. Ford did not explain his opposition to either of them.

But he rose about 35 minutes after the Mandela vote and about 20 minutes after the Olympics vote to say he had “voted the wrong way” both times.

Ford asked council to allow a re-vote. But council did not grant him the courtesy, since not all of the members who voted the first time were still in the chamber, and some of Ford’s colleagues were openly dubious of his chief of staff’s claim that he had twice made an honest “error.”

“Don’t buy it for a second,” Councillor Josh Matlow told reporters. Ford, he said, casts votes “out of disdain and disgust and just out of spite,” sometimes because of personal antipathy to a councillor who has put forth the proposal.

“He knew exactly what he was doing — at least as much as he often does. And now he’s trying to get out of it because he’s been caught,” Matlow said.

At the end of the meeting, Ford falsely told reporters that he had asked for the Mandela re-vote “immediately” after the first vote. Told it was actually half an hour later, he said, “You know what? Forget it, guys. I’m just letting you know: forget it. I’ve made myself clear.” He then left.

Minutes earlier, Councillor Doug Ford said: "No one in this city supports the black community more than Rob Ford. No one. Bottom line. Zing. Done. Okay? No one. And no one supports Olympic athletes more than Rob Ford.”

AUDIO: Mayor Rob Ford on his No votes

The mayor has long been known for his contrarian protest votes against popular programs and proposals. The Mandela and Olympic votes came during a stretch in which he lost several other votes, all on minor matters, by margins like 39-1 and 38-3.

“Some of us are worried that his button is stuck and he’s too shy to ask for it to be fixed,” Councillor Gord Perks tweeted.

Councillor James Pasternak, the centrist who tabled the Mandela motion, called Ford’s vote a “profound disappointment,” though he said he did not know if Ford had made a mistake or not. Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong said the vote was “pretty stupid” and “clearly the wrong thing to do,” and he called on council to permit a re-vote to demonstrate unanimity.

Pasternak’s motion asked city officials to identify a segment of a “prominent” street to dedicate to the late anti-apartheid icon. The segment would retain its current name, but the city would add additional signage dubbing it “Nelson Mandela Way” or something similar.

The Olympics motioncost the city no money or employee time. The motion, from Ford’s Pan Am Games point man, Councillor Mark Grimes, moved simply that “City council extend its congratulations to all of Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes for their inspiring performances at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.”

Ford was a vocal booster of Canadian athletes during the Sochi Games as he opposed the city’s decision to raise the rainbow Pride flag in solidarity with the gay community in Russia. He even affixed a Canadian flag to his office window overlooking Nathan Phillips Square.

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On Wednesday, Ford introduced his own motion to plant 100 poppies in honour of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. After some lighthearted heckling about the cost of planting flowers — Ford railed for years about city hall plant-watering expenses — the proposal passed 41-0.

Council also voted to explore the feasibility of a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup along with nearby U.S. cities. Councillor Karen Stintz, a mayoral candidate, wants to mount such a bid.