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Toronto mayor rob Ford refused to resign Tuesday after earlier admitting he smoked crack cocaine once "probably a year ago... in a drunken stupor." Many were expecting Ford to use his second press conference to resign or take a leave of absence from office. Some reporters said Ford would announce he'll "seek help," but that wasn't the case. Ford turned his second press conference into, essentially, a stump speech for the next civic election. "I know what I did was wrong. And admitting it was the most difficult and embarrassing thing I've ever had to do," he told the assembled reporters at City Hall. "Folks, I have nothing left to hide. I would do anything to change the past. But the past is the past. And we must move forward." Ford's ability to turn his second press conference into a redemption-seeking campaign spot amused the present reporters:
"Again, I sincerely, sincerely, sincerely apologize," Ford says. "God bless the people of Toronto," he says as someone in the room laughs.
— colin horgan (@cfhorgan) November 5, 2013
After months of non-denials, denials and run arounds, Toronto mayor Rob Ford finally admitted to smoking crack cocaine. "Yes I have smoked crack cocaine," Ford told a mob of assembled reporters at City Hall on Tuesday. "Probably in one of my drunken stupors." Shockingly, the mayor's brother and the mayor's staff apparently had no idea his admission was coming today. Ford still won't talk to police, though, or comment on the alleged video of the alleged one time he smoked crack cocaine.
This is a huge admission from the embattled mayor, who for months denied being a crack addict but would dance around answering whether he's ever smoked crack before. The press conference got off to a strange start, with Ford prompting reporters to set up the dynamite query. "You asked me a question back in May," he said. "You can repeat that question." After taking a moment to figure out what Ford meant, one reporter jumped at the obviously planned opportunity: "Do you smoke crack cocaine?"