There are a lot of good reasons Rob Ford should be kicked out of office. Incompetence being the most obvious. His lack of care for urban Torontonians, their needs, or their opinions seems to border on pathological. His sound bite against the “gravy train” is in stark contrast to his actions; most recently the diverting of buses for his football team, his use of office to petition the government for money for his football team, or his use of city owned vehicles for his football team. (Apparently the man likes his football) What Rob Ford shouldn’t be in trouble for is saying the Tuggs Inc. deal stinks. It does, and it stinks to high heaven.
Sandra Bussin, former City Councillor of Ward 32, infamous for her poor handling of 204 Beech Ave, helped negotiate a sweet-heart deal for Fouldis.
The city council extended that arrangement until 2028 – without competitive bids and with sweetened terms, including the right to hawk merchandise on the boardwalk, sell booze in Ashbridge’s Bay Park and pay $50,000 less in annual rent than city council asked for more than five years ago. The deal would see Foulidis paying $1 million less in rent – some $4.75 million compared to the $5.75 million proposed by him in April 2007 – and only $340,000 in sponsorship revenue compared to the $750,000 he’d offered in his original proposal. This would occur over the 20-year term of the lease, which is to end in 2028.
What is truly mind boggling about this is how most government purchases have to jump through procurement hoops to get a $40,000 deal signed (including 3 RFP submissions) but this deal was allowed to be single sourced and is worth millions. The plot thickens when you add in that Bussin received $8,250 in donations from Foulidis’ company.
Rob Ford is now being sued for 6 million for stating it “smacks of civic corruption,” although he denies making that statement to the Toronto Sun. Now there is an audio recording which has surfaced and Foulidis crying on the stand claiming he was made to feel bad.
Imagine, Rob Ford goes down not because of a poor job, but because he said something everyone who lives in the Beach was already thinking.