Toronto mayor to stay in office pending appeal

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford can remain in office pending his appeal against an earlier court ruling that ordered his ouster, a justice ruled on Wednesday. Citing Ford's "willful blindness" in a conflict-of-interest case, Ontario Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland last week ruled that the mayor of Canada's largest city leave office by Dec. 10. Yet the ruling was suspended on Wednesday by Justice Gladys Pardu of the appellate Divisional Court, who ruled that Ford can stay in office until a decision has been made on his appeal. "Significant uncertainty will result and needless expenses may be incurred if a by-election is called," Pardu said in her judgement. "There is no basis to conclude that any harm will be caused to the public interest" by a stay of the previous ruling. The appeal is set to be heard on Jan. 7, but it is likely to take months before a decision is made. The legal saga began in 2010 when Ford, then a city councilor, used government letterhead to solicit donations from lobbyists for a children's football charity created in his name. The city's integrity commission later ruled that Ford broke ethical rules and ordered him to repay donations totalling 3,150 Canadian dollars (about 3,170 U.S. dollars). But Ford refused to do so. In February, Ford participated in a city council debate on the issue and voted to scrap the sanctions against him, although the city council speaker had warned him that he would break the law if voting. "I'm very pleased with today's decision and I can't wait for the appeal, and I'm going to carry on doing what the people elected me to do," Ford told reporters on Wednesday. Should Ford win his appeal, he can remain in office until his current term ends in 2014. If he loses, the city council will either appoint a successor or call a special election, in which Ford is bent on running again. Aside from the conflict-of-interest case, Ford is also facing other public battles capable of removing him from office, including a multimillion-dollar libel case and an audit of his campaign finances.