Ahead of an unprecedented Toronto City Council vote this afternoon to curtail Rob Ford’s powers as mayor and his budget, Ford remain defiant.  He told a U.S. television network yesterday, he is not an addict or alcoholic and boasted that he will run for Prime Minister one day.  It appears unlikely Ford will go to the courts this morning in hopes of stopping the special council meeting scheduled to begin at 12:30pm.  But his lawyer George Rust-D’Eye tells the CBC, if Mayor Ford is stripped of his powers, Ford will look to overturn the vote in court.  “He feels very strongly that he has a job to do, and he wants to do it, and he is doing it, and the city can’t essentially gang up on him and remove the powers which the province has given him.”

The mayor’s brother, Councillor Doug Ford, says if council votes to strip Rob Ford’s powers, there will be a backlash from the citizens of Toronto.  “They’re going to trample on everyone’s democracy.  They’re going to tick off 383,504 people and they’re going to resonate (sic) Ford Nation like they’ve never seen before, and we can’t wait for the election.”

Mayor Ford showed up at the Argos game yesterday afternoon, creating a distraction among the fans.  CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon last week suggested the mayor stay away from the game and also criticized Ford  for making crass, vulgar comments while where an Argos jersey.