Three saner mayors than Rob Ford
Running a major city with 3 million people
in it might seem like a hard job. Besides
a lot of responsibility, tough decision making
and public outreach, you really have to
be an outstanding public figure to fit the
shoes. Then there's Toronto mayor Rob
Ford, who has a rap sheet longer than all of
the Wu-Tang Clan combined.
Ford's colourful past includes getting kicked out of a military ball for being too sauced, throwing around the term “Orientals,” verbally assaulting someone at a hockey game and his pièce de résistance — smoking crack cocaine. When did being mayor become this relaxed? The person your teacher picked to bring the attendance to the office shows more responsibility than Ford.
Many other mayors have proven you can be dysfunctional and still keep their city running better than our favourite mayor... whether they're in a “drunken stupor” or not.
Mayor “Diamond” Joe Quimby
Mayor Quimby is the overweight, slick-talking, corrupt, womanizing, Kennedy sounding mayor of Springfield, the setting of The Simpsons.
Why he's a better mayor:
Many say Quimby and Ford are quite alike, with their heavyset appearance and proneness to spurt out inappropriate comments. Two classics include, “Oh my god, I never want to hurt a bike. That's the last thing I want to do, precious little bikes” and “I'm sick of you people, you're nothing but a pack of fickle mush head.” You'll be quite surprised at who actually said what. The thing about Quimby is that his comments are written by professional comedians to be funny, while Ford just seems to not have the whole thinking before talking thing down yet.
Taking bribes from the local Mafia and giving handouts to the police chief come along with the job, and it's not like Quimby's hiding anything from the public — the banner hanging in his office reads “Corruptus in Extremis.” That honesty connects with the voters and why he is re-elected time and time again. Take a hint, Ford — people like honesty.
Stubbs the Cat
This feline seems like he was born to be mayor. After being found in a box outside of a corner store parking lot, the owner decided to keep Stubbs because he did not have a tail. After locals didn't approve of any of the human candidates running for office in the small town of Talkteena, Alaska, they decided as a joke to nominate the tailless feline, who won and has been mayor ever since, for the last 16 years.
Why he is a better mayor:
Thanks to Stubbs, thousands of tourists come to Talkteena to see this “pawesome” mayor. Fans write him letters and send postcards — he even has his own fan club. Stubbs has boosted the local economy and brought positive recognition to his city, unlike some other mayors.
Stubbs is a mayor of the people, always sparing time to greet the many tourists coming into town and receive belly rubs. Stubbs often will wander around town and check in on local residents, hanging around the local pizzeria and the bar to order his favourite drink, water with catnip in it. Hey, Ford, you're not the only mayor that likes to party.
Antanas Mockus
This former professor at the University of Colombia decided to try some very unconventional campaign tactics and treat his time in office as a social experiment, which paid off and won him the title of Mayor in Bogotá, Colombia.
Why he's a better mayor:
Mockus is a man who knows how to get the public's attention and take action. While presenting a lecture to a crowd of disruptive students, he decided to drop trou and moon his entire class. Mockus explained his actions as an act of “symbolic violence,” saying, “Innovative behaviour can be useful when you run out of words.”
For some odd reason, the university didn't see it as a learning experience like Mockus did, and reprimanded him until he was forced to resign. I'm sure the students fell awfully silent after seeing their middle-aged teacher go all Ace Ventura on them.
This, of course, just motivated Mockus, deciding to run for mayor with no previous experience, which just makes his feats that much more impressive.
Under Mockus's two-term rule, Bogotá saw improvements such as water usage dropping 40 per cent, the homicide rate falling 70 per cent, and traffic fatalities dropping by over 50 per cent. Mockus was so well-liked by the citizens that when he asked residents to pay a voluntary extra 10 per cent in taxes, 63,000 signed up. The man's like a Colombian Tom Hanks!
As you can see, dysfunctional and governing a large body of people practically go hand in hand. With a little luck and a tiny amount of bribery, who knows? Maybe you, your friend or the crazy person yelling on the bus will run your city — the possibilities are endless! If you're thinking about becoming mayor, please don't be a boring one — shake it up a little bit.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Ford's colourful past includes getting kicked out of a military ball for being too sauced, throwing around the term “Orientals,” verbally assaulting someone at a hockey game and his pièce de résistance — smoking crack cocaine. When did being mayor become this relaxed? The person your teacher picked to bring the attendance to the office shows more responsibility than Ford.
Many other mayors have proven you can be dysfunctional and still keep their city running better than our favourite mayor... whether they're in a “drunken stupor” or not.
Mayor “Diamond” Joe Quimby
Mayor Quimby is the overweight, slick-talking, corrupt, womanizing, Kennedy sounding mayor of Springfield, the setting of The Simpsons.
Why he's a better mayor:
Many say Quimby and Ford are quite alike, with their heavyset appearance and proneness to spurt out inappropriate comments. Two classics include, “Oh my god, I never want to hurt a bike. That's the last thing I want to do, precious little bikes” and “I'm sick of you people, you're nothing but a pack of fickle mush head.” You'll be quite surprised at who actually said what. The thing about Quimby is that his comments are written by professional comedians to be funny, while Ford just seems to not have the whole thinking before talking thing down yet.
Taking bribes from the local Mafia and giving handouts to the police chief come along with the job, and it's not like Quimby's hiding anything from the public — the banner hanging in his office reads “Corruptus in Extremis.” That honesty connects with the voters and why he is re-elected time and time again. Take a hint, Ford — people like honesty.
Stubbs the Cat
This feline seems like he was born to be mayor. After being found in a box outside of a corner store parking lot, the owner decided to keep Stubbs because he did not have a tail. After locals didn't approve of any of the human candidates running for office in the small town of Talkteena, Alaska, they decided as a joke to nominate the tailless feline, who won and has been mayor ever since, for the last 16 years.
Why he is a better mayor:
Thanks to Stubbs, thousands of tourists come to Talkteena to see this “pawesome” mayor. Fans write him letters and send postcards — he even has his own fan club. Stubbs has boosted the local economy and brought positive recognition to his city, unlike some other mayors.
Stubbs is a mayor of the people, always sparing time to greet the many tourists coming into town and receive belly rubs. Stubbs often will wander around town and check in on local residents, hanging around the local pizzeria and the bar to order his favourite drink, water with catnip in it. Hey, Ford, you're not the only mayor that likes to party.
Antanas Mockus
This former professor at the University of Colombia decided to try some very unconventional campaign tactics and treat his time in office as a social experiment, which paid off and won him the title of Mayor in Bogotá, Colombia.
Why he's a better mayor:
Mockus is a man who knows how to get the public's attention and take action. While presenting a lecture to a crowd of disruptive students, he decided to drop trou and moon his entire class. Mockus explained his actions as an act of “symbolic violence,” saying, “Innovative behaviour can be useful when you run out of words.”
For some odd reason, the university didn't see it as a learning experience like Mockus did, and reprimanded him until he was forced to resign. I'm sure the students fell awfully silent after seeing their middle-aged teacher go all Ace Ventura on them.
This, of course, just motivated Mockus, deciding to run for mayor with no previous experience, which just makes his feats that much more impressive.
Under Mockus's two-term rule, Bogotá saw improvements such as water usage dropping 40 per cent, the homicide rate falling 70 per cent, and traffic fatalities dropping by over 50 per cent. Mockus was so well-liked by the citizens that when he asked residents to pay a voluntary extra 10 per cent in taxes, 63,000 signed up. The man's like a Colombian Tom Hanks!
As you can see, dysfunctional and governing a large body of people practically go hand in hand. With a little luck and a tiny amount of bribery, who knows? Maybe you, your friend or the crazy person yelling on the bus will run your city — the possibilities are endless! If you're thinking about becoming mayor, please don't be a boring one — shake it up a little bit.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
