Rob Ford's absence the perfect opportunity to refocus on politics again

Last Wednesday night, the Toronto Raptors were midway through the second quarter of Game 5 when everything got interrupted by a literal explosion of Rob Ford news.

We’ve seen Ford newsplosions before, but nothing quite like this. First came reports that [Ford was stepping away to go to rehab.](transit, housing and the fiscal imbalance between city hall and the other orders of government. And why not schedule a debate or two? Maybe without the Ford factor, candidates will feel emboldened to talk about things in a more substantive way, and not just fire slogans at one another. Okay, that’s probably too optimistic. But still, it’s worth a shot. Yes, the announcement of a provincial election muddies the field a bit, but it doesn’t mean that municipal candidates should just wait things out. Voters will have politics on the brain — let’s keep them thinking about municipal issues as well. If candidates can manage to do that, they’ve got a real chance to turn this election on its head. Instead of being all about Rob Ford, this could be an election about the future of this city and the people who call it home. And that sounds a lot) Then came stories of an audio recording of an inebriated mayor saying awful sexist and racist things. Then — because hit movies always spawn sequels — we got word of a second video of Ford smoking what looks to be crack cocaine.

The stories sent every journalist in this city into overdrive through the night and into Thursday morning. But a funny thing happened after the dust settled. With the mayor well and truly gone from Toronto and Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly assuring us that he’s got things under control, things around city hall got quiet.

Very, very quiet.

For the first time in a long time, there was no Ford-related news and no real possibility of any new Ford-related news breaking. For at least 30 days — probably longer — Ford won’t be around to suck up attention. Toronto is a Rob Ford-free zone.

That’s a good thing for Ford — who clearly needs time to get help — and an amazing opportunity for this city. My concern since day one of this municipal election is that the choice at the ballot box would ultimately come down to a referendum on Ford’s behaviour. But his absence means candidates can actually talk about policy and plans without the Ford circus distracting from what they’re saying.

For Olivia Chow, David Soknacki, Karen Stintz and John Tory, they’d be crazy not to take advantage of this. For the next month, let’s see a flurry of policy announcements. Let’s get people talking about the issues that should be central to this campaign: transit, housing and the fiscal imbalance between city hall and the other orders of government.

And why not schedule a debate or two? Maybe without the Ford factor, candidates will feel emboldened to talk about things in a more substantive way, and not just fire slogans at one another.

Okay, that’s probably too optimistic. But still, it’s worth a shot. Yes, the announcement of a provincial election muddies the field a bit, but it doesn’t mean that municipal candidates should just wait things out. Voters will have politics on the brain — let’s keep them thinking about municipal issues as well.

If candidates can manage to do that, they’ve got a real chance to turn this election on its head. Instead of being all about Rob Ford, this could be an election about the future of this city and the people who call it home. And that sounds a lot better to me.