Adam Vaughan turned his last city hall scrum into a campaign speech on affordable housing, and he sounded and looked like he often sounds and looks: knowledgeable, eloquent, visibly aware of his knowledge and eloquence.

Someone then asked him about his real claim to fame: zinger-flinging critic-in-chief of Mayor Rob Ford. Minutes before his official resignation, Vaughan, as usual, declined to hold his tongue.

“Did I stand in front of that train first and fastest? Maybe. I’m proud to have done that,” Vaughan said. “He was a terrible mayor, the worst mayor this city has ever had, and the only good thing about today is that as I leave he’s not around to talk about it.”

Vaughan gave up his Ward 20 seat on Tuesday afternoon to run for the Liberals in the federal Trinity-Spadina by-election. The law did not require him to do so.

His departure leaves a void on the municipal left. In only his second term, the former television journalist leapfrogged more senior colleagues to become the face of the opposition.

He was polarizing, at city hall and beyond, and he will not be missed by the right. Asked what impact Vaughan’s decision has on council, Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong said three words: “Hopefully shortens it.”

Council must appoint someone to fill the seat. The appointee will have little to no impact on important legislative issues: he or she will be chosen at the second-last council meeting of the term, in July, and the last meeting, in August, is unlikely to include anything of much significance.

The appointment could affect the Oct. 27 general election. Nine candidates are already registered to run in the ward. Council usually attempts to get candidates for appointment to pledge not to run in the next election, but appointees sometimes renege.

At least one of the registered candidates, former Nova Scotia Green Party leader Nick Wright, is interested in the appointment. But Councillor Joe Mihevc said nobody who is already registered will be selected.

“It’s such a leg up. This time it might not be such a leg up because of the shortness of time, but nevertheless, there’s the bump of a few stories in the media, and therefore name recognition,” Mihevc said.

Ceta Ramkhalawansingh, a veteran of the city bureaucracy who retired as manager of diversity management and community engagement in 2010, said she will apply for the post. She vehemently promised she would not run.

Vaughan said he hopes his legacy is the creativity he brought to the housing file. He cited innovative projects such as non-profit commercial storefronts in the redeveloped Alexandra Park and low-income housing in the condo building at 10 York St. He told a moving story about a homeless woman who died.

He soon got to talking about the 50-odd cartoons he drew of Ford while sitting in council meetings, in part to restrain himself from heckling. Bending down, he sketched one final image of his muse.

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