Doug Ford joined in a mayoral debate for the first time since he entered the race in place of his brother almost two weeks ago.

And, as expected, it was a raucous event. Ford chose to enter the debates in the friendly territory of Eglinton West near his home turf of Etobicoke.

Ford played to the audience for most of the evening, touting the record of his brother, Mayor Rob Ford, and chanting his familiar “subways, subways, subways.”

But, when it came to transit, Olivia Chow shot back that, under the Ford watch, transit service had deteriorated. She said they hadn’t cut the fat, they’d cut the bone, and as a result, transit riders are packed in like sardines.

Ford also took aim at front-runner John Tory. The councillor tried to highlight Tory’s lack of experience at city hall. He challenged Tory to state how many standing committees are at city council. Ford said, “You haven’t been working down at city hall the way I have for four years, day in and day out.”

Tory responded that Ford hasn’t been at city hall day in and day out. In fact, he has one of the worst attendance records of any city councillor.

The crowd was so rowdy that the moderator had to call a break almost right out of the gate. A woman identified as a Ford supporter was also ejected for being disruptive.