Rob Ford, the former conservative mayor of Toronto who was stripped from his duties following a string of scandals, said he will again run for the office he once held. Responding to a supporter on Twitter, Ford said, "I'll be on the ballot running for Mayor in 2018."
.@AbTheLeafFan I'll be on the ballot running for Mayor in 2018
— Rob Ford (@TorontoRobFord) January 6, 2016
Ford's office confirmed the authenticity of the tweet, but did not elaborate on further plans for 2018, the Guardian reported. Since 2014, Ford has been a Toronto city councilor as an independent, but had also been affilaited with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.
Shortly after being rejected by voters to return to the mayor's seat at the end of 2014, Ford indicated he would run for mayor in 2018, if his health permitted him to do so. "If my health holds up, my name will be on the ballot," said Ford, The Toronto Star reported. "I'm plotting it as we speak. I'm ready to go, I just got to make sure my health is okay and first and foremost my health and my family - and we're ready to go."
Ford had been undergoing chemotherapy and had at least one surgery for cancer at the time a scandal that would end his mayoral career unfolded.
In 2013, Ford had denied for months that a video existed showing him smoking crack, until police recovered it in a raid. Ford finally admitted in Sept. 2014 that it must have happened "during one of my drunken stupors," the New York Daily News reported. The admission - coupled with other behavior unbecoming of a mayor which included public urination, a brawl with fans at a hockey game, and threatening murder - led the Toronto city council to strip many of his most significant mayoral powers and reassign them to the deputy mayor for the rest of Ford's term.
Following treatment for substance addiction, Ford attempted a run for reelection in 2014, but when it became clear voters were moving in a different direction, he dropped from the race and threw his hat in the ring for city councilor, which he won handily.
Ford, who gained international attention for his antics, has drawn questions about his popularity among voters in Toronto. But as Toronto Star urban affairs writer David Rider put it, Ford connected with voters who had not previously been interested in politics. "He forged an intense bond with a group of voters, many of them working class, many of them visible minorities, who had not connected with politics before," wrote Rider. "His relentless criticism of city spending and hatred of taxes has shaped the election platforms of his two main rivals. While Torontonians tired of scandal, there is scant evidence they have tired of fiscal conservatism."
