Rob Ford Dies at 46

Former Toronto mayor had been battling cancer
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 22, 2016 10:21 AM CDT
Rob Ford Dies at 46
In this Nov. 21, 2014, file photo, Toronto's outgoing Mayor Rob Ford, front center, stands next to his brother Doug Ford outside his office.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young, File)

Just one day after Rob Ford's office confirmed that the former Toronto mayor was in palliative care, his family says Ford has died. He was 46. Ford dropped his 2014 bid for re-election when he was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. In a lengthy obituary, the Star recounts the treatment he undertook in his quest to beat pleomorphic liposarcoma over the course of 18 months, including a May 2015 surgery, chemotherapy, and a clinical trial. It also traces his political career, from his role as a "plain-spoken champion of the little guy, always eager to get a pothole fixed" to his 2010 mayoral win, which ushered in a "wild, scandal-filled term."

As mayor, the headlines grew less positive: He was ordered removed from office in November 2012 over an alleged violation of conflict of interest rules (an appeal court overturned it). In May 2013 both the Toronto Star and Gawker said they had viewed a video that showed Ford smoking crack cocaine; that November he admitted that he had smoked the drug and had bought illegal drugs while in office. He was stripped of most of his powers. In October 2014, the father of two had this to say about how he would be recalled: "People know that I saved a lot of money, and people are going to know that I had a few personal struggles. So you can remember it for what you want, but they're definitely going to remember it." (More Rob Ford stories.)

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