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And then there’s Rob Ford. Way back in December 2012, when the Mayor’s troubles were few — he merely faced removal from office at the hands of the Ontario Superior Court — I opined that he likely couldn’t win re-election because, most of his promises having turned into pumpkins, he would “somehow have to run on his record.”

I must have been high. It’s even more likely now that he can’t win. But Mr. Ford has no problem campaigning on his record, because his record is whatever he says it is at any given moment. Maybe he saved the city $750-million. Or maybe he saved $1.1-billion. He said both Tuesday night. He said he “built the Scarborough subway,” which he quite clearly didn’t, and he said he did it without resorting to “revenue tools.” Apparently a 1.6% tax hike, phased in over three years and lasting for 30 (“a quarter of 1%,” in Ford-math) isn’t a revenue tool. The promises and misrepresentations, meanwhile, are just as brazen as ever: A streetcar is the same as an LRT is the same as an express train. So get ready for a subway on Finch and a subway on Sheppard. And prepare to say sayonara to the land transfer tax. And on, and on, and on.

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There’s not much a debate moderator can do about this except invite the other candidates to call him out. Mr. Ford’s undiluted shamelessness makes him a formidable opponent, but anyone who hopes to be Mayor of Toronto had better be able to take him on. For voters, moreover, what candidates don’t dispute can be as revealing as what they do. But if it turns out Mr. Ford can’t win back the support he needs, then he serves as little but a distraction at these debates.

Don’t get me wrong: He’s running. He’s the Mayor. Of course he deserves the chance to debate his opponents, and he’ll get it. But the upside of our interminable election campaigns is innumerable debates, which can occur in any number of formats. A Chow-Tory race presents us with two quite compelling candidates, who are currently busy accusing each other of things that don’t matter: He’s rich! She’s a career politician! At some point soon, and not just once, we ought to see them go mano-a-mano, with a moderator who insists they debate things that do matter.