Rob Ford, the once eccentric mayor of Toronto whose reign was marked by bombast and substance abuse, died Tuesday after battling a rare, aggressive cancer the past two years, his family announced. He was 46.
Ford made international headlines after a 2013 scandal in which he admitted to using crack cocaine, public drunkenness and drinking and driving, prompting colleagues to strip him of some of his mayoral powers.
The scandal vaulted Ford onto the stage of the outrageous. But he remained popular in Toronto, his followers calling themselves the "Ford Nation" and he aimed for a second run as mayor. He remained a strong candidate for re-election, according to the Toronto Star. But in the fall of 2014, Ford announced he had a rare form of cancer called liposarcoma that grows in the fat cells, and he had a tumor in his abdomen. .
The diagnosis forced him to drop his re-election campaign. He re-emerged on the political scene in October 2014, winning his old Toronto City Council seat representing Ward 2.
His chief of staff, Dan Jacobs, said Monday that Ford was receiving palliative care after the former mayor had not responded to chemotherapy when the cancer first appeared in his abdomen and then reappeared last year in his bladder.
"With heavy hearts and profound sadness, the Ford family announces the passing of their beloved son, brother, husband and father," Jacobs said Tuesday in a statement.
Jacobs described Ford as a "dedicated man of the people." He said the family wished to make no comments other than to ask that their privacy be respected.
Reactions poured in Wednesday.
The current Toronto mayor, John Tory, said the city was reeling from news of Ford's death. "I know there were many affected by his gregarious nature and approach to public service," Tory aid.
"Despite the challenges he fought and the controversies he faced, it is my sincere hope that Canadians will remember Rob Ford for his enduring love for his community and country, and his dedication to his constituents," said Rona Ambrose, interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Ford came from a wealthy family and made his first appearance on the public stage on talk radio. He was "a plain-spoken champion of the little guy, always eager to get a pothole fixed," according to the Toronto Sun.
It was a persona that eventually won him public support and election as mayor in 2010. Three years later reports emerged of public intoxication and then cellphone video surfaced showing him using crack cocaine.He eventually went into rehab.
Ford leaves his wife, Renata, children Stephanie and Douglas; mother, Diane; brothers Doug and Randy; and sister, Kelly.
