The “worried” premier made her strongest statement yet on the turmoil at Toronto city hall Thursday, sparking a furious response from the administration as two more Rob Ford staffers resigned from the mayor’s office.

The resignations came hours after Star published a story quoting sources who said Ford told senior aides not to worry about a video appearing to show him smoking crack cocaine because he knew where it was. The mayor has publicly said there is no such tape.

Brian Johnston, a policy adviser and council relations official, was escorted to a stairway by city hall security after his resignation in the early afternoon. He joined an exodus of former loyalists that started with the firing of chief of staff Mark Towhey last Thursday.

Reporters looking into the mayor’s glass-walled office suite soon that learned Kia Nejatian, Ford’s executive assistant, was already gone. Nejatian was described later as an administration linchpin who earned the mayor’s trust with tireless work during the 2010 campaign.

As he marched through an underground parking lot, Johnston told reporters: “I chose to leave on my own terms . . . The timing was right for me.”

Asked if Ford can survive the crack video scandal, Johnston said: “He’s recovered from a lot of things already. Anything is possible.”

At Queen’s Park, a grim-faced Premier Kathleen Wynne said she is “worried” about the Toronto city hall turmoil grabbing world attention.

“The mayor needs to deal with his personal issues,” said Wynne. “It would be better if he were able to deal with them, confront them and allow the city to move on.

However, “there is no clear path of action for the province” to intervene, Wynne told reporters.

“I am worried about the situation. We’re monitoring it very carefully. As appropriate, we will be involved.”

In an afternoon speech outside the office, Ford thanked the staffers who resigned. He refused to answer, however, when reporters asked him whether he has done any illegal drugs since he became mayor, whether he has tried to obtain the video, whether he tipped his staff to an address where he thought the video was stored, or how he knows Anthony Smith, a 21-year-old murdered in March.

In response to each of those questions, he said simply: “Anything else?” He insisted that there is “nothing going on” in his office.

Ford cautioned Wynne against interfering at city hall, saying she “should take care of the problems that she has at Queen’s Park right now.” Touting his administration’s fiscal record, he promised not to resign and to run in the 2014 election.

Many councillors, however, have had enough.

“I do believe Mayor Ford should step aside even if for an interim time, putting the city before himself — that would be leadership,” said centrist Councillor Josh Matlow, calling Ford “selfish” for hunkering down amid the crack video scandal.

“He’s the chief magistrate — the ducking and weaving and waffling just won’t work around here,” said Councillor James Pasternak, a former Ford ally.

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“Clearly it’s a distraction, it’s damaging, it’s knocking us off our message. We need a full-time mayor who is focused on city building and building a better community . . . and these are just allegations.

“They’re unproven but they have legs and that’s damaging . . . The longer it lasts the more destructive it becomes and it’s not healthy for the city.”

Councillor John Parker, a conservative voice of calm on council, accused Ford of being “evasive.”

Ford’s two spokesmen, George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom, tendered their resignations on Monday, and slipped out of the building before they could be marched out by security.

Towhey, Ford’s chief of staff, right-hand man and policy guru, was fired and marched out by security last Thursday.

After Nejatian and Johnston resigned, Towhey tweeted that they are “exceptional young pros with great integrity. I was privileged to work with both of them.” He later called Nejatian the office’s linchpin “from day 1.”

Ford’s office now has only 12 employees. Many councillors believed it was too lean even when it still had 17.

Councillor Frank Di Giorgio, Ford’s budget chief, urged Ford to hire “a minimum” of six more staffers — “hopefully not just young people, but some experienced people.” But he said he suspects the cost-conscious Ford might not do so.

“Knowing the mayor the way I do, I wouldn’t be surprised if, for two leaving, he brings back one. So how many have we had leaving, five? We might be lucky to get three, in total, to replace the five,” Di Giorgio said.

With files from Daniel Dale

With files from Daniel Dale

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