TORONTO

Who’s better at making news? Noooooobody.

Mega-Mayor Mel Lastman made headlines Wednesday when he weighed in on Mayor Rob Ford’s term in office in a less than flattering way.

“I’m not a genius, obviously, but he makes me look like one. I know him, he’s stubborn and stubborn sometimes is good, but not constantly. You can’t be that stubborn and run a city,” Lastman told the Toronto Sun.

Ford and his office have yet to respond to the verbal slap from the mayoral predecessor.

Councillor Doug Ford kept his powder dry and simply said, “God bless Mel Lastman.”

“We’ll put our record up against his any day,” Doug Ford said Thursday.

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong said both mayors are smart where it counts.

“I don’t think any of them made the dean’s list in university but both have demonstrated a level of street smarts that you have to respect,” Minnan-Wong said.

Councillor Adam Vaughan said Ford has made every past mayor “look better,” not just Lastman.

“But I appreciate Mel’s sense of humour on this one,” Vaughan said. “I think what Mel is recognizing is that he may have had five or six gaffes, Rob is having five or six (gaffes) a month.”

A diplomatic Councillor Michael Thompson said he “loves Mel and always will.

“I know that Rob is working hard. I know that Mel worked hard,” Thompson said. “It’s a matter of style – a different style.”

“Clearly, we want people who are running the city to focus their attention on the good things to address and to allow for the city to work for the best interests of our citizens.”

Back when he was a councillor, Ford was no stranger to taking a shot at then-mayor Lastman.

Ford weighed in on January 2002 about Lastman’s very public handshake with a member of the Hells Angels, saying Lastman’s move would hurt the mayor in the long term.

“I’m sure he does it purposely. What else could it be? You can’t be that dumb,” Ford said at the time.