Toronto Mayor Rob Ford returned from two months of rehabilitation and delivered an emotional apology at a City Hall press conference Monday for his previous outbursts and drug use, Reuters reported, but also admitted that his struggle against substance abuse will never end.
Having taken leave on April 30 to deal with an alcohol problem, Ford returned to city hall Monday, claiming that rehab had saved his life. "For a long, long time I resisted the idea of getting help. Like a lot of people dealing with substance abuse, I was in complete denial. I had convinced myself that I did not have a problem," Ford told reporters, at points appearing to fight back tears. "Substance abuse is a very, very difficult thing to overcome but I will keep battling this disease for the rest of my life."
The mayor rejoined the re-election campaign where he is running in second place despite his absence from the campaign trail, according to a poll released last week by Forum Research. "First elected mayor in 2010, Ford has maintained a cost-cutting 'respect the taxpayer' mantra that has resonated with many suburban voters. He often paints himself as a champion of the suburbs against downtown 'elites,'" according to Reuters.
Ford thanked staff at the Greenstone rehab facility, which is a two-hour drive north of Toronto in the cottage-country Muskoka region, for helping him confront "personal demons" and go through "intensive" therapy. After months of denial that he had a substance abuse problem and nearly a year after videos surfaced showing the mayor smoking crack, turning him into a global sensation for his admission of having smoked the drug in a "drunken stupor," he eventually entered rehab on May 1.
Several other recordings emerged of the mayor ranting, slurring his words and making crude comments, including one in which he made lewd remarks about rival mayoral candidate Karen Stintz. Although he refused to take questions from the media on Monday, the mayor singled out the city councilor in his emotional comments. "To my fellow councilors and especially to Karen Stintz, for my hurtful, degrading remarks I offer a deep-felt apology for my behavior," he said.
Since Ford's name popped up in a drug probe, he has been under investigation by Toronto police for the past year, including most of his budgetary powers being handed down last fall to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, who stood in for the mayor during his time in rehab, after Toronto city council became exasperated by his antics.