

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A mayoral candidate has filed a freedom of information request with the city in order to determine whether Rob Ford is using his office improperly in his bid for re-election.

Officials with David Soknacki’s campaign filed the request at city hall Tuesday morning after reviewing “one or two” unidentified communications that allegedly suggested Ford or his staff could be using his office for campaign-related activities.

The request covers any schedules, scheduling notes, briefing notes, memos, draft speaking notes or emails that relate to the campaign and specifically mentions Ford, Chief of Staff Dan Jacobs, Special Assistant of Communications Amin Massoudi, Manager of Protocol and Events Victoria Colussi and Policy Adviser Christine Maydossian.

“We believe there is reasonable cause to suspect or at least inquire as to whether there are campaign conversations taking place in the mayor’s office,” Soknacki’s campaign manager Brian Kelcey told reporters at city hall. “I’ll be happy if they are observing the letter of the law, but given past habits it stretches belief to think that there wouldn’t have been an accidental or deliberate comment or an order given to one of the mayor’s staffers to execute a campaign task.”

The City of Toronto code of conduct prohibits the mayor and members of council from undertaking campaign-related activities on city property during working hours or using “equipment, supplies, services or other resources of the city” to help mount a campaign.

Speaking with reporters at city hall, Kelcey said the Soknacki campaign has had two or three lengthy discussions about whether to file the freedom of information request and ultimately decided it was an avenue worth pursuing given the “pattern of behaviour” exhibited by Ford during his years in office.

“We are not doing this as a fishing expedition.” Kelcey said. “There has long been a pattern of behaviour with this mayor where he is quick to criticize others in terms of how resources are being used but when you apply the same standard to his office the standard disappears.”

Ford’s office has not responded for requests for comment on the allegations made by Kelcey but his brother and campaign manager Coun. Doug Ford dismissed them out of hand while speaking with reporters at city hall shortly after the request was filed Tuesday.

“No, it’s not the case,” he said when asked whether the mayor uses his office for campaign-related activities. “He’ll find that out when he does the FOI. I think he is just getting a little nervous.”

Promotional video also questioned

Ford faced criticism earlier this month after his spokesperson sent out an email promoting a new YouTube video series featuring the mayor and his councillor brother discussing political issues.

In the wake of that criticism, Doug Ford said campaign officials have consulted the city’s integrity commissioner and have decided to no longer use city resources to promote the series.

The series, titled “Ford Nation”, will nonetheless continue with the release of another episode later today.

Kelcey said that “Ford Nation” is “one public example” of the kind of thing he hopes to draw attention to, but Doug Ford told reporters he believes the issue is a non-starter

“We talk to the integrity commissioner almost every single week and she said she would rather it not be done (by the mayor’s office) so we are not going to,” he said. “We are going to it through the format of Rob and Doug Ford.È

A former city councillor, Soknacki is one of 26 candidates to officially register for October’s mayoral election to date.

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