Doug Ford didn’t think he was going to spend 2018 in provincial politics, let alone spending half of the year as premier of Ontario.

“I declared I was running for mayor,” Ford reminded me during a phone interview.

Ford had set his sights on taking on Toronto Mayor John Tory in a rematch of the 2014 mayoral race.

In that contest, Ford stepped in late to take over the mantle from his sick brother Rob, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Despite the late entry, Ford came within striking distance of Tory four years ago and wanted 2018 to be a rematch.

Then came Jan. 24, 2018.

That was the night that changed everything in Ontario politics and made 2018 one of the most dramatic political times in recent memory.

A report by CTV National News was scheduled to run at 10 pm accusing then-PC Party leader Patrick Brown of sexual misconduct.

There had been rumours and speculation about Brown among political staffers and journalists in the months leading up to that point. Countless conversations had ended with the conclusion that the Toronto Star would attempt to drop allegations against Brown just close enough to the election to help Kathleen Wynne secure another majority government.

Brown had taken the party higher in the polls in his three years as leader and had improved party finances but there were those rumours and there was unrest among the grassroots.

So when CTV was moving ahead with their story, Brown tried to get out in front.

I was hosting my radio show on Newstalk 580 CFRA when I got an email alert that Brown would be holding a news conference just before 10 pm. While the subject hadn’t been mentioned and CTV had not leaked their story, it could only mean bad news was coming.

Brown’s appearance before the cameras was short.

He denied allegations that none of us had yet heard. He refused to take questions, then looked lost and dishevelled as he walked out of the legislature being chased by cameras and peppered with questions.

He hadn’t resigned but three key advisors did in the middle of Brown’s statement.

During a late night conference call with the PC Caucus, Brown announced he would issue a statement saying he was stepping down as leader.

Enter Doug Ford.

Ford would skip running against Tory in a race to lead Toronto and instead seek the premier’s post for Ontario.

“When Patrick Brown stepped down I changed gears very quickly. Best decision of my life,” Ford said.

Ford had been involved in PC Party politics off and on for years.

Despite Ford’s significant influence, pull and connections, he had been shoved aside by Brown, who was concerned Ford would outshine him. Ford had shown his influence in helping the PCs win a breakthrough by-election in Scarborough and Brown felt threatened.

With Brown gone, the party was wide open for Ford to step in.

The smart set was convinced Ford could never win. Macleans columnist Paul Wells, a man with decades of experience covering politics, summed up the establishment thought in a Jan. 29 tweet: “Just so we’re clear here: there is no chance Doug Ford will lead the Ontario Conservatives. Suspense now is over whether he realizes this.”

“Doug Ford running. Christmas does NOT in fact only come once a year,” tweeted radio host John Moore.

What these men and other establishment types failed to grasp was the level of unrest among PC Party members over the direction Brown had taken the party.

While Brown sought the blessing of CBC listeners and Toronto Star reading types with his backing of a carbon tax, the grassroots were livid. They didn’t want to replace Kathleen Wynne with a man who would keep her worst policies in place.

Ford spoke to that side of the party.

After a quick leadership race, in which Ford squeaked by runner-up Christine Elliott, it was straight into the provincial election.

There were just 46 days between the allegations being levelled against Brown and Ford winning the party leadership.

There were only 90 days from that point until election day.

The same smart set that claimed Ford could never win the PC Party leadership were now saying he couldn’t win the election.

They were wrong once again.

My prediction at the time was that Ford would do very well in the GTA but not as well as an establishment type like Elliott would have in places like London or Ottawa. People in those cities didn’t know Doug Ford and some were prone to believe the false comparisons to Donald Trump.

In the end, my prediction was close to accurate but Ford and the PCs did better than I expected, taking 40.5% of the vote — a stronger majority than Trudeau and his Liberals had gotten federally.

Not that you would know it from the media coverage. While Trudeau is still celebrated for every move by many in the media, every move Ford makes is treated with suspicion or described as controversial.

It’s a point not lost on the premier.

“The ferociousness of some of the media is shocking,” Ford told me. “Certain parts of media jumped in and decided they would be the official opposition.”

Ford specifically points to CBC, the Star and the Globe and Mail as media outlets more interested in an agenda than fair reporting.

He’s not wrong and him making these comments and talking to me while ignoring many others who are actually in the Queen’s Park Press Gallery will likely cause him headaches.

But Ford isn’t the first premier to have complaints about media coverage or to be selective with who they talk to.

The controversies Ford has faced mostly have nothing or little to do with policy. They are however a combination of self-inflicted wounds and a media pack on the hunt for scandal.

Take the appointment of Ron Taverner.

The premier could have simply stated the truth, that he knows Taverner well and trusts him to clean up the mess at OPP HQ and the appointment is his prerogative as premier.

He could have avoided the mess he’s dealing with now.

The distraction of Ontario News Now, the partisan news service, could be fixed by having the party pay for it. It has the money.

Of course with the media that follow him, even good news stories are treated as controversies. Take Ford’s buck-a-beer announcement.

The premier announced the province would allow breweries to sell at a lower price. No brewery was forced to, no direct subsidies were given but it was treated as bad news and a controversy by a press gallery out of touch with regular people.

But those are distractions.

This is a government that has accomplished more in the first six months than many thought possible.

It scrapped the cap-and-trade carbon tax and lowered gas prices, shrank the size of the dysfunctional Toronto city council and launched a massive education reform consultation that aims to fix Ontario’s failing math curriculum.

That is just scratching the surface.

Taxes and fees have been frozen for the brewing industry, for hunters and fishermen, for the tourism industry, for drivers and more.

Ford said while the pace has been fast, he doesn’t intend to let up, noting many past leaders told him their mistake was not moving fast enough to enact change.

So what surprises him the most about his new job as premier?

“I guess it is just the volume of the work. So many areas to take care of,” Ford said.

And then there is the deficit.

“We knew there would be a big deficit but we didn’t realize just how big. We are going to tackle this responsibly; if it takes us four years to do it, so be it,” Ford said.

Ford has three-and-a-half years left as premier and, if the first six months are any indication, I don’t expect a dull moment between now and then.

The fun begins again in January.

ONTARIO PREMIER DOUG FORD ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO FAR

— Ended the cap-and-trade carbon tax of Kathleen Wynne

— Reduced natural gas costs and the cost for gas at the pump

— Launched a challenge to Trudeau’s federal carbon tax

— Scrapped the Green Energy Act

— Allowed brewers to sell for $1 a bottle if they want to do so

— Scrapped Wynne’s annual escalator tax on booze

— Reduced costs of OHIP+ by reforming the program while not cutting coverage

— Turfed Mayo Schmidt, the Six Million Dollar Man, from Hydro One

— Cancelled 758 renewable energy projects that did not meet requirements

— Cancelled the unneeded White Pines wind farm in Prince Edward County

— Legislated an end to the York University strike

— Froze fees for drivers in Ontario

— Froze fees for fishing and hunting licences and added more free days

— Started reinvesting in police guns and gang units to tackle criminal violence

— Added 9 new OPP detachments

— Expanded GO service in core areas and also to regions like Niagara and Kitchener-Waterloo