Toronto

Mayor Rob Ford declared war on Toronto city council Monday.

Councillors voted overwhelmingly to strip Ford of most of his remaining powers, slash his mayor’s office budget and cut his staff in the wake of his ongoing crack cocaine scandal.

An irate Ford left councillors with a warning before the unprecedented vote to politically neuter him.

“This folks, reminds me of when I was watching with my brother when Saddam attacked Kuwait and President (George H.W.) Bush said, ‘I warn you, I warn you, I warn you, do not,’” Ford told council. “Well, folks, if you think American-style politics is nasty, you guys have just attacked Kuwait.

“Mark my words friends, this is going to be outright war in the next election and I’m going to do everything in my power to beat you guys.”

Ford called the vote a “coup d’etat” and argued council was kicking him out of his own office.

“Am I mad? You’re absolutely right I’m mad because every one of you guys have sinned and it is absolutely the worst thing you can do for democracy in the City of Toronto,” he said. “What goes around comes around friends, remember what I am saying.”

Monday’s vote came after a council debate that often descended into chaos with Ford and Councillor Doug Ford getting into heated shouting matches with members of the public watching the meeting. At one point, the mayor knocked Councillor Pam McConnell on the ground as he rushed to his brother’s aid.

WATCH Mayor Rob Ford barrel into Councillor Pam McConnell in council chambers:

Councillor Ford promised the Fords would be challenging the vote in court and called the meeting a “kangaroo court.”

“This is a battle that we’ve lost today, the war is not done,” said the mayor’s brother.

“I ask the people of Toronto to rise up and we will fight against this.”

Monday’s vote — if allowed to stand — installs Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly to replace Rob Ford as the head of the city’s powerful executive committee.

Kelly will also oversee the mayor’s office staff that no longer work for Ford and take carriage of about $880,000 of the mayor’s office budget. Ford will be left with a budget of $712,000 and around eight staff members — instead of 20.

Kelly tried to strike a conciliatory tone after the vote.

“The mayor wants to wage war and I’d rather wage peace,” the Scarborough councillor said. “My goals are to restore the confidence of the public in the government of Toronto, to repair the damage done to the relationships between members of council and to focus on the business of the city on a go-forward basis.”

Kelly plans to spend Tuesday meeting with mayor’s office staffers, executive committee members and — “hopefully” — Mayor Ford.

“I’m going to extend my hand out to him and try to work with him as closely as possible,” Kelly said.

He denied the city now has “two mayors,” as Ford’s lawyer claimed.

“You have one mayor and a deputy mayor with more powers,” Kelly said.

Councillor John Filion predicted Ford’s “bad behaviour” will keep on going but now it won’t interfere with the work of council.

“It won’t be pretty to watch,” Filion said. “He’s like a rampaging gorilla, as long as he’s in the room, he’s going to disrupt the room — he’s not going to let us ignore him.”

Filion denied Monday’s vote was a coup and argued things can’t get worse than when Ford had all the powers council stripped from him.

Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker said Ford has “declared war on council and every single member of council.”

“It’s ridiculous, all the mayor knows is how to destroy and how to attack,” he said.

“We’ve somehow elected a mayor that wants to destroy everything like King Kong on an apartment building.”

De Baeremaeker said Monday’s meeting felt like being at a wrestling match.

“The mayor literally didn’t go up to the edge of the ring, he went out of the ring and into the audience trying to provoke a fight,” De Baeremaeker said.

“All he did all meeting long was threaten, threaten, threaten and deny, deny, deny.”

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong — a one-time Ford ally — said council was only putting a “picket fence” around the mayor. He argued Ford, through his behaviour, has given up his remaining rights, including the right to represent the city at events.

“The Santa Claus parade didn’t want him there,” Minnan-Wong said.

“You sir, have lost the ability to lead this city.”

— With files from Shawn Jeffords