Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s top communications aides, press secretary George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom, have both resigned, the Toronto Star reports.

The Toronto Sun says Ford “was spotted going through the empty offices with City Hall security looking unhappy just before 2 p.m.”

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford “unequivocally says there is no video that shows him using crack cocaine,” the Toronto Star reports.

He later called journalists a “bunch of maggots,” adding after a brief pause, “Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s two brothers were once involved in the drug trade and one was charged in relation to a drug-related kidnapping, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Ford has been an accused of smoking crack cocaine on an as-yet-unseen video.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford finally came to deny he uses crack cocaine, the Toronto Sun reports.

Said Ford: “There has been a serious accusation from the Toronto Star that I use crack cocaine. I do not use crack cocaine nor am I an addict of crack cocaine.”

He added: “As for a video, I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist. It is most unfortunate, very unfortunate that my colleagues and the great people of this city have been exposed to the fact that I have been judged by the media without any evidence.”

Jon Stewart suggests that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is either the victim of malicious video editing, or has decided to clean up his city by smoking all its crack himself.

[Read more…]

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg “went on a spitting-mad rant against a city cab-fleet boss” who won a court victory over the mayor’s plans to reform how taxis operate vowing to “destroy your fucking industry” when he leaves office, the New York Post reports.

Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman confirmed the blow-up noting that the mayor’s tirade included a warning: “After January, I am going to destroy all you fucking guys.”

Harrisburg mayoral candidate Lewis Butts “has been charged with criminal mischief and criminal conspiracy… for defacing the campaign signs of candidate Eric Papenfuse with black spray paint, changing Papenfuse’s name to ‘Papenpuss,'” the Harrisburg Patriot News reports.

“The impact on the outcome of the election is negligible, as Butts was polling somewhere between zero and 2 percent.”

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford “turned down three chances on Friday to address the specifics of media reports about a video in which he appears to smoke crack cocaine and utter an anti-gay slur,” the Toronto Star reports.

The mayor later told reporters that the allegations were “absolutely not true” and “ridiculous.” At city hall later, he emerged from his office to offer only a brief statement.

Said Ford: “Anyways, like I said this morning, these allegations are ridiculous, another story with respect to the Toronto Star going after me, and that’s all I have to say.”

“Some parents hope their children follow in their footsteps. One mayoral candidate in Michigan, however, is seeking to follow the path once walked by his own teenage son,” the Huffington Post reports.

“Scott Sessions is city councilman and a candidate for mayor of Hillsdale, Mich. He’s running for an office his son, Michael, won in 2005 as an 18-year-old high school senior, catapulting him, and the city of 8,000, to international attention.”

Gawker: “Here is what the video shows: Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, is the only person visible in the frame. Prior to the trip, I spent a lot of time looking at photographs of Rob Ford. The man in the video is Rob Ford. It is well-lit, clear. Ford is seated, in a room in a house. In one hand is a a clear, glass pipe. The kind with a big globe and two glass cylinders sticking out of it. In the other hand is a lighter…”

“So: That was a video of the mayor of Toronto smoking crack. The trouble is, the owner wants money. More money than I am willing to pay. The tipster has already reached out to one other news outlet, a Canadian organization that he refused to name, which offered $40,000. The owner rejected that. He thinks he can get six figures. It’s unlikely he’s going to get six figures.”

As former Rep. Anthony Weiner “prepares to roll out a long-shot bid for mayor, possibly as soon as next week, he is finding it difficult to attract prominent operatives, interviews suggest,” the New York Times reports.

“Recruiting top talent is a perennial challenge in politics, but Mr. Weiner faces daunting obstacles.”

“He is considering an unusually late entry into a race that is already filled with Democrats who long ago snapped up big-name campaign directors. He is known as an excessively demanding, at times confrontational boss. And he is still recovering from an embarrassing scandal, during which he misled the public and his own staff about whether he had sent sexually explicit messages and graphic images to women he had met online.”

Failed Dallas city council candidate Richard P. Sheridan left an amazing voice mail for D Magazine in response to his election preview article he didn’t like.

Be warned: It’s not safe for work listening.

Campaign posters for Anna Pierre tout that her mayoral bid in North Miami, FL was endorsed by Jesus Christ, WPLG-TV reports.

Explained Pierre: “It’s a spiritual endorsement. Why? Because everything I do I always get God involved.”

Pierre said she prayed leading up to registering for her candidacy and received three signs that Jesus was her endorser. But when asked about those signs, she said, “Well, I’m going to keep them private.”

Boston Globe: “They are career politicians and neophytes, influential community organizers and persistent gadflies, radio station founders and a justice of the peace. They are almost entirely men and come disproportionately from a handful of neighborhoods, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, and Dorchester. The next mayor of Boston will be one of the two dozen people who signed up for nomination papers by the deadline Monday. Time has run out for any last-minute surprises.”

“Sounding at once hopeful and deadly serious about the city he’s trying to turn around, emergency manager Kevyn Orr said Monday he’ll know in as soon as six weeks — after good-faith talks with creditors, unions and others — whether Detroit’s financial meltdown can be resolved outside of a municipal bankruptcy,” the Detroit Free Press reports.

Said Orr: “We’ll get a gauge on whether we have a true partner for an out-of-court solution in that sort of time frame.”

“Detroit has agreed to spend nearly $14 million since December to contract nine firms to provide a range of financial and legal services to help the city overcome its staggering deficit and costly long-term liabilities.” the Detroit Free Press reports.

“More than $3 million of that came in hiring emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s former law firm last month.”

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel “sought the endorsement of Republican Kevin James after he was eliminated from the race in the March primary. Now she’s out with an attack mailer blasting James’ backing of Eric Garcetti, her rival in the May 21 runoff,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

James quickly responded releasing fawning text messages sent by Gruel while she was still seeking his endorsement.

Former President Bill Clinton, stumping for Wendy Greuel in Los Angeles, said the 20.8% voter turnout in the March mayoral primary was “ridiculous,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

Said Clitnon: “We can’t tolerate… the kind of low turnout you all have in these mayors’ races. It’s ridiculous. There are too many people in Los Angeles, of all ages, that have a big stake in the future.”