Daniel Dale Urban Affairs Reporter
Moe Levin, no fan of Mayor Rob Ford, had considered telling him off at the annual Mayor?s New Year?s Levee on Monday afternoon.
In the end, Levin thought better of it. When the 24-year-old got his chance to speak to Ford, he politely conveyed his holiday best. Then, with a broad smile, he posed with Ford for photos.
In an exceptionally rare occurrence at City Hall, good cheer ruled the day. Ford, in his glad-handing element, exchanged greetings with more than 300 people who lined up in the lobby to meet him. Most were supporters; Ford smiled and bantered with even the critics.
One critic, Occupy Toronto member Loretta Lime, told Ford that she hadn?t voted for him and that he had given her no reason to do so. He grinned, shrugged, and said, ?At least you?re voting.?
?At least he didn?t get mad at me,? Lime, 28, said afterward.
The prevailing pleasantness was interrupted twice by people chanting in opposition to proposed budget cuts. One Stop the Cuts Network member who helped to unfurl an anti-cuts banner in front of Ford was detained by City Hall security.
Police officers released the man on a promise not to return to City Hall for the rest of the day, city spokesperson Chris Fernandes said.
Ford left without speaking to reporters. The levee was his first public appearance since the Star revealed that police were investigating two domestic incidents that resulted in 911 calls to his house.
The people at the front of the levee line waited more than three hours for their brief encounters with Ford and the councillors who stood beside him. Many others waited about an hour to say little more than hello.
?It?s like a tradition now: I basically just greet the mayor and wish him all the best. It?s just a day to kind of have fun. Everyone can agree you should kind of leave politics aside on this day,? said Hosna Ahmad, 18, from North York.
Another 18-year-old, Ryan Endoh, called himself ?Mayor Ford?s number one fan from Scarborough.? Ford, Endoh said, has quickly responded to his phone calls.
?I think he?s a great guy, and I think he?s doing great things for the city, and I think he?s just misunderstood,? Endoh said.
Linda and Lee Dunlop, a wife and husband from Etobicoke, attended for differing reasons. Linda Dunlop said she planned to wish Ford a happy new year and thank him for taking on a difficult job. Lee Dunlop said he planned to ask Ford how he could possibly have a happy new year when his ?taxes are going up but services are going down.?
?We have a split,? Lee Dunlop said, smiling himself.
People who did not want a photo with the mayor were given sticky pink pieces of paper to affix to their jackets. The colour choice, several of them said, called to mind Don Cherry?s rant about ?left-wing pinkos? at Ford?s inauguration.
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