'Help prove Rob Ford broke the rules', urges Toronto mayoral candidate David Soknacki

David Soknacki challenges Rob Ford in a live television mayoral debate

Wherever Rob Ford is right now, his troubles are not over. Beyond the latest video and reports of drugs, public intoxication and reproachful behaviour, Toronto's mayor-in-exile is facing a whole slew of accusations about how he runs city hall and how he has been campaigning for re-election – or at least, how he had been campaigning.

Ford is currently on a temporary leave from the campaign, and from his role as Toronto's mayor, after admitting to problems with alcohol after more allegations of drug use and boorish behavior were recently revealed.
Now, one of his rivals is rallying support to prove that Ford broke campaign rules by misusing city resources. On Tuesday, David Soknacki’s campaign emailed supporters with a request for additional donations, which were to help Soknacki secure some 2,000 documents they believe will show Ford broke campaign rules.
"In February, the Soknacki campaign filed a freedom of information request to find out whether Rob Ford was wasting city resources on his election campaign. Now, the City has over 2000 pages of possible evidence and we want access. Don’t you?" reads a donation request.


Soknacki’s campaign manager claimed in February that he believed Ford could be using city hall resources to run his re-election campaign. Brian Kelcey said at the time that there were questions about what Doug Ford, the mayor's campaign manager, discussed with public staffers during his frequent visits to the Mayor's Office.
There were also questions about the propriety of Ford's press secretary promoting his Ford Nation YouTube series, which had the clear, distinct tones of campaign advertisements. Of course, these are not the only recent allegations about Ford using his clout at city hall for personal gain. The Globe and Mail reported this week that Rob and Doug Ford had taken unique steps to help one of the customers of Deco Labels and Tags, the Ford family business, lobby the city.
According to the Globe, the pair "unsuccessfully urged City Manager Joe Pennachetti" to give a generous property tax grant to Apollo Health and Beauty Care, a company that had received labels from Deco over the past dozen years. Penachetti told the newspaper he was never told of the Ford family's relationship with the company.


The Globe also reports that Toronto's integrity commissioner is being urged to re-open an investigation into allegations Ford had violated council's code of conduct. The investigation had reportedly been placed on hold while Ford was away from city hall.
All this comes on the heels of the very volatile removal of Toronto Community Housing CEO Gene Jones – a Ford ally – who resigned after the release of a scathing city ombudsman report that decried, among other things, his hiring practices.


Last week, the Toronto Star reported a senior TCHC manager who had worked on Ford's mayoral campaign and was later hired by Jones without competition, resigned from her post. It is not clear why Soknacki would need more campaign donations to secure the documents he seeks, but it surely helps underline for supporters that he will not stand for Ford's antics. Soknacki launched his campaign by releasing an ethics and transparency pledge and later garnered headlines for a meme-worthy promotional campaign that played off Ford's notoriety.


Right now, Ford is seeking help for substance abuse problems. But when he gets back to city hall, he might need help responding to the list of problems that have stacked up in his absence.


Thanx Yahoo