Toronto City Council Moves to Strip Rob Ford of Power

Members vote to make him mayor in name only

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Mark Blinch / Reuters

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford during council at City Hall in Toronto, on Nov. 13, 2013.

The Toronto City Council is aiming to remove most of disgraced Mayor Rob Ford’s authority through a series of motions, after the mayor refused to step down in the wake of his admitted drug use and excessive drinking.

City Council members voted 39-3 to suspend Ford from control over the deputy mayor and his executive committee. The council does not have authority to oust the mayor unless he’s convicted and jailed for a crime, but members are hoping to severely limit his authority. The motion also gives the deputy mayor power over civic emergencies, the Associated Press reports.

The governing body will reconvene Monday to vote on removing Ford’s power over the office budget and appoint the deputy mayor to lead the executive committee, a motion that 28 of the 44 members have already signed.

The embattled mayor has come under public scrutiny after admitting to smoking crack cocaine following months of denial.

[AP]