TORONTO: The Ford Era Has Ended

Via the Associated Press:

Toronto's next mayor will be a straight-laced, button down moderate conservative — almost the polar opposite of current Mayor Rob Ford, whose term was plagued by scandals involving public drinking and illegal drug use. John Tory won Monday's election with 40 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent for Doug Ford, brother of the outgoing mayor. Left-leaning Olivia Chow was third with nearly 23 percent, with 100 percent of polling stations reporting. "Torontonians want to see an end to the division that has paralyzed city hall for the past four years, and to all that I say, 'Toronto, I hear you. I hear you loud and clear,'" Tory told cheering supporters, vowing to restore Toronto's reputation on the international stage. Rob Ford's four-year tenure as mayor of Canada's largest city was marred by his drinking and crack cocaine use. He announced last month that he wouldn't seek re-election as he battles a rare form of cancer. His brother, a city councilor, ran in his place. "Hallelujah!" Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said upon learning the election results while on a trade mission in China.

More from the National Post:

Earlier in the day, Doug Ford had joined hundreds of volunteers pulling out the vote across suburban Toronto, where the brothers’ support remains strong. “I’ll be your voice, but we got to get elected,” he said urgently to anyone he met at a Toronto Community Housing building on Ellesmere. “If I don’t get elected, you’ve got no voice.” At an after-party at the Woodbine Banquet Hall that was much smaller than the 2010 victory romp, supporters had swarmed Rob Ford, who won his seat back in Ward 2. They demanded a “recount” on the mayoral race and yelled “In Ford we Trust.” “Ford Nation is alive and well,” Doug Ford confirmed after he gave a concession speech in which he congratulated John Tory on his victory. “We’ve changed the landscape of politics across the country and I’m proud of it.”

Voter turnout was pegged at just under one million, the highest in many years. Rob Ford won his brother's city council seat with 59% of the vote. His term as mayor ends on December 1st.