Mayor Rob Ford’s own deputy mayor and council speaker publicly urged him to take a leave of absence, protesters outside city hall demanded his resignation, one of his longest-serving aides resigned, and an ex-wrestler showed up to yell things at him.

Ford’s response: a kiss, blown at the journalists to whom he said not a word.

A day after admitting that he smoked crack cocaine while in office and vowing that he has “nothing left to hide,” Toronto’s scandal-plagued chief magistrate continued to avoid questions and continued to shrug off public and private pleas from council loyalists to temporarily vacate his office to address his personal issues.

Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly and Speaker Frances Nunziata, Ford’s most prominent allies who are not his brother, both said publicly for the first time that they believe he should take a leave. They also acknowledged that he was not listening to them.

“The option that I have been recommending is that he take a pause, leave the hurly burly and the stress and strain of life at city hall and seek some peace and quiet,” Kelly said after meeting with Ford. “He listens patiently, asks a few questions, and concludes with he hasn’t seen or heard anything that would make him change his mind.”

“I’m just banging my head against the wall,” said Nunziata. She added: “He needs to listen. And he's not listening."

Ford policy adviser and council liaison Brooks Barnett quit at the beginning of the day. Barnett’s departure, the first scandal-related resignation from the mayor’s office since a mass exodus in May and June, left Ford with only three of the staffers who began the term with him in 2010.

Barnett was one of the young aides who tried to corral Ford at city hall on St. Patrick’s Day of 2012, when Ford drank brandy and got “out of control.” When the intoxicated mayor decided to start making telephone calls, the aides decided to unplug the telephone; Ford, enraged, shoved Barnett with enough force to send him flying backward, sources said.

Ford stayed in his office until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, much later than usual. On Take Our Kids To Work Day, he spent some of the day giving Grade 9 students a tour — a decision that bewildered CNN host Anderson Cooper and raised “concerns” with Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon, who said she has received numerous emails from parents upset about Ford’s drug use.

The crisis that threatens the functioning of the city government turned briefly farcical in the afternoon when troubled ex-wrestler Iron Sheik, who has had his own issues with drugs and alcohol, made an appearance outside Ford’s office to castigate the mayor and also to challenge him to an arm-wrestling match.

“What kind of role model is he?” shouted the Sheik, who is managed by Toronto impresario brothers Page Magen and Jian Magen. After he brayed Ford’s name, a city security guard sternly admonished him to talk quieter.

Councillor Doug Ford, the mayor’s de facto chief spokesman, joined his brother in ducking questions a day after launching an extraordinary attack on Police Chief Bill Blair in a widely criticized media blitz mere hours before the mayor’s admission that he used crack about “a year ago.”

Doug Ford gave reporters a rare “no comment” upon his arrival at the building. In marked contrast to his usual bombast and banter, he stayed silent after he sat down at a meeting of the budget committee.

“I’m just trying to figure out my escape,” he said near the end of the meeting. “They (journalists) have got me covered.”

In an interview with Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington, he said Tuesday was the “worst day” of his life — worse than even the 2006 day his father died. He said the mayor had not answered his three phone calls in the hours before the noon-hour bombshell on Tuesday.

“I didn’t see it coming,” Doug Ford said. “He didn’t talk to me, the lawyer, his staff or anybody.”

A majority of councillors has now called for the mayor to take a leave. More than 100 protesters gathered in Nathan Phillips Square, outside city hall, to call for his resignation. They wrote messages to Ford in chalk.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“MAYOR FORD: IF YOU LOVE TORONTO, SET IT FREE,” someone wrote in yellow.

One of the protesters, Liz Reynolds, listened to Ford’s admission and heard his emotional apology. But it seemed, she said, to be all about Ford himself.

“Mayor Ford has claimed so many times to love the city of Toronto,” she said, “But I feel now he’s dragging the city through the mud and if he truly did love the city and want the best for the city then he would step down.”

A larger protest is being planned for next Wednesday by SaveToronto.ca, a self-described non-partisan group. And Elizabeth Hill, a former school trustee, arrived outside the mayor’s office on Wednesday to drop off a Dr. Seuss book, Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!

“I want to give it to the mayor so he can read it and ponder it,” Hill said.

Barnett, who worked on Ford’s 2010 election campaign, was seen pacing alone in a hallway soon after the mayor’s Tuesday admission. He had handled constituent matters for much of the term, and he was given more responsibility this year, acting as the mayor’s liaison to the TTC among other duties. J.P. Boutros, an adviser to mayoral candidate and TTC chair Councillor Karen Stintz, called him a “consummate professional.”

“He is an asset they will truly miss,” Boutros said.

Ford promised Sunday to meet the media “anywhere” other than his home. But he has not yet made himself available to face any of the numerous questions he has not yet answered on the extent of his use of illegal drugs, his associations with criminals, and his secret meetings with an accused drug dealer now charged with extortion for allegedly attempting to obtain the video Ford said in May “doesn’t exist.”

Even Ford’s exit from the building went poorly for him: the front door of his office would not open. He then chose to leave through a back stairwell to the parking garage rather than a side door where journalists were waiting.

With files from Betsy Powell, Paul Moloney, Robyn Doolittle, Rachel Mendleson, Gemma Karstens-Smith, Jane Gerster

Read more about: