I was wrong about Rob Ford (and then I was wrong again)

When the verdict came down on Rob Ford in November, I was surprised. I wasn’t a lawyer, but I felt fairly certain that the judge in question could, and would, have found a loophole that would have enabled a ruling in Ford’s favour. As we now know, I was wrong.

When the appeal decision came down this morning, I was equally surprised. I’m still not a lawyer, but I understood the ruling to be a reluctant but mandatory measure under the letter of the law. As we now know, I was wrong again.

In a way, I’m glad that people like me were surprised twice. We live in a polarized city, thanks in no small part to the mayor himself, and we don’t often take the time to see things from the other person’s point of view. But the people who shouted “This is bullshit and the system is broken!” back in November got to shout “Hooray for justice and democracy!” today, and vice versa.

There’s probably a lesson in that – or at least an awesome body-switching comedy - but I’ll leave all that to the “mushy middle,” thank you very much.

In the meantime, unless Clayton Ruby fulfills his pledge to haul an “appeal appeal” before the Supreme Court, this ugly matter is finally behind us. Ford can get back to the business of running the city at last, because after all, there’s a first time for everything.

I’m confident that years from now, we’ll look back on today as the day City Council finally got down to work and made us proud. Please understand, however, that you should probably take that prediction with the saltiest grain of salt this side of the Dead Sea, because it doesn’t seem like I’ve got a super good track record on predictions like these.

After all, call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure the one and only man who can restore some real dignity to City Hall is Giorgio Mammoliti.

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