With his legal woes behind him, Mayor Rob Ford was asked Tuesday if the numerous close calls had him “scared straight” when it comes to following the rules.

Speaking in a rare one-on-one interview, Ford told Sun News Network: “There’s not a more honest politician than I am … People want me to change — what do you want me to change into, a left-winger and become a tax-and-spend socialist? That’ll never happen … I am who I am and I follow the rules.”

The 11-minute segment with Ford-friendly host David Menzies touched on a range of recent controversies, including Ford’s campaign spending audit, his libel lawsuit victory, attacks from the left, and who will end up paying for the mayor’s legal fees in his conflict of interest case.

After welcoming Ford to the “man cave,” Menzies asked Ford about what the host felt was a “trivial amount” of overspending — about 3 per cent — in the 2010 campaign.

“Oh, this is simply the left wing coming after me trying to make hay when there’s nothing there,” Ford said, describing the spending over the legal limit as a “minor glitch” in campaign accounting.

In a split decision on Monday, the city’s compliance audit committee voted not to begin prosecution proceedings against Ford over campaign spending violations. It was a third major victory for Ford in recent months. He also successfully defended against a libel lawsuit launched by a Beach restaurateur, and won his appeal of a ruling turfing him from office over conflict of interest.

Ford’s lawyers are now arguing that the citizen who launched the latter case should be responsible for $116,000 of the mayor’s defence bill.

Last week, constitutional lawyer Clayton Ruby’s legal team suggested Ford use the city’s insurance, which covers council members’ legal fees, instead of going after private citizen Paul Magder for the money. Ford scoffed at the suggestion in the interview.

“They have the nerve to come out and say, ‘Well, the city has insurance; why don’t you go and get your money from the taxpayers?’ The last thing I’m going to do is go to the taxpayers and say, ‘Give me the $120,000… that they owe me,’” Ford told Menzies. “If Mr. Magder and Mr. Ruby took me to court and they lost, then they’re going to pay it. I’m not going to have the taxpayers pay it.”