Preservation of Toronto’s heritage will be the focus of a mayoral debate tonight, but Mayor Rob Ford won’t be in attendance.  Stacey Rodas of Heritage Toronto says the mayor pulled out of the debate on Sunday so he could attend his $300 a person fundraiser in his mother’s Etobicoke backyard.  Other than when he was in rehab, this is the first debate Ford has chosen not to attend.  The debate will focus on matters relating to the conservation and promotion of Toronto’s natural, architectural, archaeological and cultural heritage.  John Tory, Olivia Chow, Karen Stintz and David Soknacki have agreed to participate.

Meantime, Mayor Ford is being challenged by mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson to take a drug and alcohol test. Ford skirted around the request by saying he is the only one who’s admitted to drug and alcohol use, but says he doesn’t have to do a test for the sake of doing it.  Ford did say he would do the test if all the other candidates agreed to do the same.  Challenger John Tory has no problem with it as long as Ford takes the test first.  Candidate Olivia Chow also says she’ll take a drug and alcohol test. No response from Karen Stintz, but David Socknaki calls it a “distraction” and “discriminatory.”