Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story by Robyn Doolittle Read Free Book Online Page A

Ravens’ offensive line, but it’s not clear if he ever left the bench. One of Rob’s former teammates, John Lindsay, explained to Toronto Life magazine, “I know it might sound strange now … but Robbie was a little guy.” Rob dropped out aftera year, went back to work at the family business, and started coaching on the side.
    Toronto’s future mayor still didn’t know what he wanted to do for a career, he just knew he wanted to be successful. “He used to say he’s going to be the first in his family to make a million dollars,” said one friend.
    But in those early days after Carleton, twenty-year-old Rob Ford seemed most committed to “having a good time.” After all, he was young, well-off, and his dad was his boss. He started to party. Primarily, he liked to drink and smoke pot, but he dabbled in cocaine as well. Said the high school friend, “What do you expect? He’s been around drugs his whole life.”
    By that time, Randy’s substance abuse had worsened. Randy and Doug Sr. stopped speaking for a while. Kathy was not doing well either, and she was no longer working full-time at Deco.
    For his part, Rob had never had a strong interest in the family business, but he wanted to be a team player, so he stuck around and joined the Deco sales force. Doug Jr. was running the company, although his father was still officially president for the time being. When the moment was right, Doug Sr. would step back and give the company to his middle son, who had more than proven himself worthy. Doug Sr. was getting ready to retire.
    Then fate intervened.
    IT WAS EARLY 1994 , election time in the pre-amalgamation City of Etobicoke. Long-serving local councillor Doug Holyday had decided to run for mayor of Etobicoke, and he needed help with his campaign signs. A friend recommended Deco Labels.
    Holyday was hoping to reuse his old white-and-blue councillor signs rather than print all new ones. He met with Doug Jr., who suggested covering the word “councillor” with a big red sticker that said “MAYOR” in white letters. Holyday loved it. But he got more than just signs that day. Doug Jr. asked if he needed help on his campaign.
    Holyday recalled one of Doug Jr.’s first days on the team. Doug Jr. was livid that their political rival was winning the sign war.
    “I remember Doug coming down to say, ‘You don’t have any signs in the Six Points, Kipling, and Dundas area. It’s all Bruce Sinclair,’” Holyday said. Doug Jr. vowed to take care of it. “The next day, I drove down Kipling and the area was covered in my signs.”
    Doug Jr. joined Holyday’s steering committee. He attended breakfast strategy meetings and helped with door-knocking. Against the odds, Holyday won, beating out the incumbent Sinclair.
    Doug Jr. was hooked. The next year, he encouraged his father to run provincially. Doug Jr. would be his campaign manager.
    “Dougie loved politics,” said Moody, Deco’s former general manager and long-time friend of Doug Jr. “He never talked about running, though. I think Rob had more time on his hands. Dougie couldn’t. He was running the business and taking care of his family.”
    This dynamic would haunt the brothers’ relationship for years to come. Doug Jr. had been left with the responsibility of running Deco, leaving baby brother Rob the freedom to pursue his dreams. Both worshipped their father, craved his approval, and spent their lives trying to emulate him. Doug Jr. went thebusiness route. Then Doug Sr. changed careers and decided to run for the provincial Conservative party. A few years later, brother Rob launched his own campaign, at least in part off of his family’s business credentials.
    Those close to Doug Ford Jr. say that not so deep down, he resented Rob. Glimpses of this tension surfaced during Rob Ford’s first year in office, with Doug hijacking news coverage. Friends and former staff go so far as to say that none of the three brothers get along very well. Sometimes they go