Rob Ford getting 'crazy requests' for auction items
CBC News | Posted: February 26, 2015 9:20 PM | Last Updated: February 27, 2015
Councillor and former mayor to sell off more belongings, but he won't reveal what he'll sell
Coun. Rob Ford is not done selling off belongings on the Internet, nor is he done courting controversy.
The city's former mayor also says he’s been getting some "crazy requests" for merchandise.
"I'll be putting up some more things as the days go on, so it might be pretty controversial, but if people want 'em, I'm going to put 'em up there," Ford said Thursday. "You're going to have to wait."
This week, Ford put a tie up for auction that he wore on the day that he first admitted to smoking crack. In less than 24 hours, the bids are now creeping toward $6,000.
He's also in the midst of selling a pair of pyjama pants, which Ford once wore to a local Walmart.
"Someone asked for 'em," said Ford. "They're my pyjamas, I'm going to miss those."
Ford clarified Thursday that 10 per cent of the money raised will go to Mount Sinai Hospital, while the rest will go to still-undetermined charities.
Several of his fellow councillors weren’t impressed by Ford's latest journey into the spotlight.
"It's embarrassing, I think, unfortunately, Coun. Ford has become addicted to making international news headlines and being ridiculed on comedy shows in the U.S., so he had to do this again," said Coun. Shelley Carroll.
Coun. Joe Mihevc said "anyone who has dealt with cancer in their family, I don’t think too many people follow this way of dealing with it."
Coun. Norm Kelly said he won't be selling any memorabilia of his own on eBay stemming from the time he served as the city's deputy mayor, but he sees why some people may see value in Ford's stuff.
Kelly took on additional responsibilities after council voted to strip some of Ford's powers in the wake of the crack scandal.
On Thursday, Kelly said he could understand why Ford-related memorabilia might be viewed as potential collectibles.
'Stand out in history'
"The Ford administration was one that whose character we had never seen before and the action that council took to transfer authority to the deputy mayor's office was unprecedented," Kelly said.
"So, I think it's going to stand out in the history of the City of Toronto and for that reason, memorabilia associated with that period will probably be more attractive and therefore more expensive than [and] more valuable than the memorabilia from other eras."
Ford and Kelly are again both part of city council, after both were elected as councillors this past October.
Ford had initially sought re-election as mayor, but withdrew from the mayoral contest after being diagnosed with cancer. He instead put his name on the ballot in Ward 2, the ward he had represented for a decade before he became mayor.
Ford told reporters Thursday that he had finished radiation treatment for his cancer. He said he'll find out in March if surgery is possible for his tumour.