LILLEY: Doug Ford can't unsell his Olivia Chow endorsement

· Toronto Sun

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Doug Ford really wants everyone to know that when he endorsed Olivia Chow the other day, it wasn’t an endorsement. Ford had his office put out a statement to that effect late Thursday, about 32 hours after he made the original statement.

It’s a strange move that keeps this strange story alive longer than its natural shelf life.

“We would like to clarify that Premier Ford did not endorse Olivia Chow and will not endorse any candidate in the Toronto mayoral race. The premier has demonstrated that he will work with anyone no matter their political stripe to advance the interests of the people of Ontario,” the statement released to media said.

He went on Newstalk 1010 Friday morning with John Tory to again deny it was an endorsement.

“I just said the truth. I get along very, very well with the mayor and I kept going and I said, ‘read between the lines.’ Basically, we are going to work things out, we are going to get through this,” Ford said.

“But let’s be very, very clear when I endorse someone – which I am not – you come out and you fully endorse them.”

Interesting. Let’s rewind the tape to see what Ford actually said on Wednesday.

Read between the lines

Ford was holding an announcement at Sanofi Canada’s facility in North Toronto to unveil a new influenza vaccine facility. It was a good announcement, and Ford was joined by his Health Minister Sylvia Jones, Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli, as well as federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel.

Also there was Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, standing on stage next to Ford when the premier was asked about endorsing a candidate for mayor in the Oct. 26 election.

“Premier Ford, you haven’t endorsed anyone to this point. I’m just curious where you’re at in terms of the Toronto mayoral election,” Mark McAllister of CityNews asked Ford.

“I just want to say the mayor and I have a phenomenal relationship. Phenomenal. And we’ve given the city of Toronto more money than they’ve ever seen in their lives, over $9 billion. We’re going to continue supporting the mayor. She’s doing an incredible job. So read between the lines,” Ford said.

Any fair reading of that statement would be that Ford had just endorsed Chow.

What else are we supposed to read between those lines?

Ford said he has a “phenomenal relationship” with Chow. He said he’s given Toronto more money than ever, will keep supporting her and that she’s doing “an incredible job.”

Everyone thought it was an endorsement

First off, Chow is not doing an incredible job, not in any positive sense anyway. Secondly, how can Ford claim that is not an endorsement?

Yet he had several heated phone calls insisting to supporters, past and present, that he had not endorsed Chow.

If you look at the video and see the face Chow makes when Ford says, “read between the lines,” then it’s clear: she thought he had just endorsed her, and she wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

Chow’s base hates Ford. Chow fights Ford on everything from public safety to safe injection sites to Billy Bishop Airport.

In fact, just hours after Ford endorsed, but didn’t endorse, Chow, the Ontario NDP was out attacking Ford as an unpopular premier.

Progress Toronto, essentially Chow’s shadow campaign, was out attacking Ford after his endorsement/non-endorsement over his comments that Billy Bishop Airport needs to expand.

A mess of Ford’s own making

Why Ford said what he did remains a mystery.

He didn’t need to weigh in on Toronto’s mayoral race. He certainly didn’t need to issue a statement denying what everyone heard him say.

Yet that’s exactly what happened.

Ford told voters to read between the lines. They did. That’s why he’s trying so hard to explain it away now.

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