Doug Ford says he will continue telling people he should be mayor of Toronto despite a warning from the city clerkâs office about premature campaigning.Ford, who lost to John Tory in the 2014 mayoral election, and announced at his familyâs September âFord Festâ gathering that he plans a 2018 rematch, called the warning unfair.âTheyâre saying, âYou canât campaign, but Iâm going to let the mayor campaign on a daily basis,â â Ford said, referring to the mayorâs steady stream of announcements, including some where he has said Toronto canât go back to the âchaosâ of 2010 to 2014 when Doug Fordâs late brother Rob was mayor and Doug Ford, himself, was a city councillor.Tory is âout there full-swing campaigning,â Ford said. âI want to debate the guy before the election. Letâs sit down. Thereâs no rule saying we canât debate. They debate every day at city hall. I want to debate with this guy. You can sell tickets, raise money for charity . . . I donât care, but I want to debate this guy.âUlli Watkiss, Torontoâs city clerk, wrote to Doug Ford in September that a Torontonian had complained about his robocalls inviting people to the annual Ford Fest party in his motherâs Etobicoke backyard. Ford confirmed before the event he would announce he intended to challenge Tory, but that was not in the robocall.In the letter, first reported by The Globe and Mail, Watkiss warned Ford he âcannot spend or raise any money to support your candidacy, including paying for robocalls, as that is a violation of the (Municipal Elections Act) provisionsâ and she would take âappropriate measuresâ to maintain âpeace and orderâ for the Sept. 22 election.The Act says hopefuls cannot raise or spend campaign funds until they register as candidates.Past Toronto campaigns started Jan. 1 of each election year, but ...
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