07.26.2012 08:11 AM

The Toronto mayor’s far-right friend (updated)

This is ARC’s picture of Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, with John Latvis. The last time John and I ran into each other, he was a member of the neo-Nazi band, RAHOWA (Racial Holy War).

More about John, and his exploits, is here and here and here and here.

Here he is in an unofficial shot from ARC, swastika tat evident.

Choice lyrics, sung by John:

I can hear the rumble on the streets
I can see the look in our eyes
I’m more convinced with every person that I meet
We don’t believe the jewish lies

Ref: (Oh oh) I can see us coming on
(Oh oh) I can see the brand new dawn
(Oh oh) WHITE MAN! Stand, march and kill!

That info took me 45 seconds to locate on the Internet. It would have taken the mayor’s staff about as much time. Latvis doesn’t hide his name or past, particularly.

Question: why is Toronto’s mayor palsy with a former neo-Nazi icon?

UPDATE: The Mayor answers. It’s a good answer.

July 26, 2012

Statement from the Office of the Mayor

An online blog today posted a picture of Mayor Rob Ford meeting a citizen during the 2012 New Year’s Levee at Toronto City Hall. The blog alleges the man posing with the Mayor is a member of a hate group and has a history of making racist, hateful and offensive comments.

The Mayor of Toronto meets, and poses for photos, with thousands of residents each year. Over the past two years, the Mayor has hosted two New Year’s Levees. These events welcomed over 800 visitors to City Hall, and 700 to 750 of them were personally greeted by the Mayor who posed with them for photographs.

While having his photo taken with the Mayor, the gentleman in the photo requested a meeting with the Mayor to discuss issues of concern to him as a constituent. The Mayor routinely receives these requests from members of the public and makes every effort to accommodate them whenever possible. In March 2012, the gentleman met briefly with the Mayor to discuss his concerns which primarily focussed on transit issues.

During both the Levee and the March meeting, the gentleman identified himself using a name different from the one attributed to him in the recent blog article. Once the photograph was posted online today, Mayor’s Office staff recognized the individual as someone who had met with the Mayor at the Levee and again in March.

At no time was the Mayor aware of allegations that this individual had made racist, hateful or otherwise offensive comments, nor were any such comments made during his meeting with the Mayor. Mayor Ford is a strong supporter of Toronto’s Jewish community and strongly deplores anti-Semitism in any form.

-30-

George Christopoulos
Press Secretary
Office of the Mayor
City of Toronto
P: 416-338-6642
E: gchrist2@toronto.ca

67 Comments

  1. DanO says:

    Disgusting and inexcusable for any public official.

    What was the photo-op for?

  2. Joe Archibald says:

    Are you kidding me ? I can not wait to hear the response from Team Ford.

  3. Skinny Dipper says:

    Possible Rob Ford reply to the Jewish community of Toronto:

    “Uh…I like Jews. Uh…I thought the guy was a Latvian. Uh…I like Latvians, um, Lithuanians, er, I like all kinds of people…purple, pink, white, and Jewish. I like Jews… Uh…They work hard…like the Chinese. Dog-gone-it. They’re good people…those Jews. I like Seinfeld…and Rob Sandler. You know me? I like all kinds of people. I’m a people person.”

  4. smelter rat says:

    Why would his staff allow anyone with a goofball uniform like that one anywhere near the Mayor?

  5. Bill From Willowdale says:

    Question: why is Toronto’s mayor pals with a former neo-Nazi icon?

    Answer: He is a moron of the highest order lacking any good judgement whatsoever.

    The hard question to answer is, “will his opposition and contenders to replace him work together to ensure that there is only one candidate running and the vote is not split?”

  6. Matt says:

    The link to the message board and the comments there make my skin crawl… wow. Perhaps the Mayor can deport this Latvis character. Preferably to another universe.

  7. H says:

    Maybe it was the mayor’s New Year’s levee where anyone that wants a pic with the mayor gets one?

  8. Tom says:

    Rob Ford is not just stupid, he’s dangerous. What the hell was he thinking taking a photo with that insane jerk, and in that nutty uniform no less!

  9. Jason Hickman says:

    Yes, I should have checked before clicking, but Jaysus, next time give us a warning that clicking on the image would take us to “stormfront.org”.

  10. Thomas Roberts says:

    I’m a jerk.

  11. Thomas Roberts says:

    The pic does look to be from a New Year’s Levee.

    I guess this is a bad photo op as well.

    Rob Ford is a NUN!!!:
    http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297225800318_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x

    or this one,
    Rob Ford supports Black people:
    http://i.thestar.com/images/77/ef/97b1f4444b719fb64a2528a7f2cc.jpeg

    Rob Ford shakes hands with wheelchair person… Ohhh NOees!:
    http://www.toronto.ca/mayor_ford/gallery/2011/images/newyears_levee_03.jpg

    Seriously, one picture doesn’t make a person. If we were to judge him based on all of the pictures he took that day, then he seems like a person who has no problem with anyone; which in this day in age is a very good quality.

    #makingamountainoutofamolehill

    • Justin says:

      Nope, it does matter. It shows a lack of real adult judgement. I mean really? He was allowed in with that stupid uniform on!?!?! And he’s not even in a real millitary! 2015 can’t come soon enough for Toronto, they should have a big clock at yonge dundas square counting down the rest of fords term in office.

    • Philip says:

      It is a big deal, his staff should have filtered this uniformed neo-Nazi on the reception line. I mean seriously, it’s not any version of our Canadian Forces uniform. What organization did the Mayor’s staff think he was representing? These are the “adults” that are supposed to keep the spoiled man-child of a mayor on task and out of the newspapers.

  12. Paul says:

    I remember being taught in high school that guilt by association is logical fallacy, but keep on grasping at straws if it makes you feel better. There are plenty of valid reasons to attack Mayor Ford but resorting to the predictable leftist cry of “racist!” is a sign of desperation if you ask me.

    • Mooj says:

      I don’t think anyone is arguing that Rob Ford is a neo-nazi racist.

      That him and his staff continually exhibit poor judgement and decision-making to the extent that he’s an embarrassment to the city? I’ll argue that till the cows come home.

  13. Tim says:

    Yeah, serious question: what the hell uniform is the dude wearing?

    I think it might be uniform of that far-rght Latvian militia which just got in trouble with the Russian Government because of their role in atrocities against civilians in WW2.

    What a total fuck up. I think the Mayor should literally resign over this. Just beyond unconscionable.

  14. Kelly says:

    I remember when Mayor Lastman got caught on camera shaking hands with a Hell’s Angels member. I can’t recall if that was before or after the “getting cooked in a pot” comment…Kenya…etc.

    How do Toronto voters come up with these guys?

    Is it too early to strike up a Draft John Tory committee?

  15. Patrick says:

    Oh man, a public official took a picture with a citizen. Has the location of the public hanging been determined yet?

  16. Mick says:

    This statement was forwarded to the press at 2:40pm Thursday, July 26:

    July 26, 2012

    Statement from the Office of the Mayor

    An online blog today posted a picture of Mayor Rob Ford meeting a citizen during the 2012 New Year’s Levee at Toronto City Hall. The blog alleges the man posing with the Mayor is a member of a hate group and has a history of making racist, hateful and offensive comments.

    The Mayor of Toronto meets, and poses for photos, with thousands of residents each year. Over the past two years, the Mayor has hosted two New Year’s Levees. These events welcomed over 800 visitors to City Hall, and 700 to 750 of them were personally greeted by the Mayor who posed with them for photographs.

    While having his photo taken with the Mayor, the gentleman in the photo requested a meeting with the Mayor to discuss issues of concern to him as a constituent. The Mayor routinely receives these requests from members of the public and makes every effort to accommodate them whenever possible. In March 2012, the gentleman met briefly with the Mayor to discuss his concerns which primarily focussed on transit issues.

    During both the Levee and the March meeting, the gentleman identified himself using a name different from the one attributed to him in the recent blog article. Once the photograph was posted online today, Mayor’s Office staff recognized the individual as someone who had met with the Mayor at the Levee and again in March.

    At no time was the Mayor aware of allegations that this individual had made racist, hateful or otherwise offensive comments, nor were any such comments made during his meeting with the Mayor. Mayor Ford is a strong supporter of Toronto’s Jewish community and strongly deplores anti-Semitism in any form.

    -30-

    George Christopoulos
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Mayor
    City of Toronto
    P: 416-338-6642
    E: gchrist2@toronto.ca

  17. Kyle Trojan Murphy says:

    To be fair there is a photo of George Stroumboulopoulos with some nazi boneheads out there too. Is Strombo a closet nazi? No, I highly doubt it. Sometimes people ask for a photo and you don’t have the time to google them.

    • Phiip MacQuarrie says:

      I honestly don’t think the Mayor is a supporter of neo-Nazism or the objectives of this particular pinhead at all and his office’s response was well thought out. All that said, this is why the Mayor has a staff. A case of where an ounce of prevention (removing pinhead in odd military uniform from the reception line) is better than a pound of cure ( having to issue a press release after a day of news coverage).

      • The Doctor says:

        Yeah, and if they removed him, they’d be accused of shielding Rob Ford from real people. They’d call Ford “Bubble Boy” etc. I think Ford’s generally a buffoon, but I think the matter of this photo is a non-issue.

        • Philip says:

          Way to write a script there, Doc. You are actually telling me that the removal of an avowed neo-Nazi, dressed in a bizarre uniform from a civic gathering, would have caused any other reaction than: “good job” or “well done”? Really? Keep on manufacturing those greivences Doc.

          • The Doctor says:

            My general point was merely that once you start looking for “eccentric” or “unusual” characters at events like that, it becomes a bit of an exercise in line-drawing, that’s all. Where do you draw the line? What about the unclean? The unshaven? The homeless? The obviously drug addicted? The obviously mentally ill? And besides, as I understand it, most people associate Naziism with the swastika etc., whereas this guy’s uniform was just unusual.

            As far as “an avowed neo-Nazi” goes, yeah, but it’s not like this guy was well-known, or a celebrity. Until WK put him on his website, next to nobody knew this guy. What, is there some form of face recognition technology out there that instantly identifies Neo-Nazis or other undesirables? If so, do tell. I’m not aware of it.

            What you suggest sounds fine in theory; I’d suggest it’s more difficult in practice than you care to admit.

            And BTW, what fucking “grievance(s)” have I been manufacturing?

          • Philip says:

            This one, for starters.
            How about drawing the line at strange looking military uniforms. Before you take up tap dancing on the head of your pin again, “strange looking military uniforms” would mean anything other than Canadian Forces Dress uniform. That’s the line. If its military and not Canadian Forces dress uniform (no combats and no working dress) you get pulled from the Mayor’s receiving line and you get checked out by his staff. The Mayor’s New Years Eve Levee is a civic occasion, not Comic-con. Play dress up on another occasion.

            According to the neo-Nazi pinhead in question, his costume did actually have a swastika or as he delightfully calls it: “a Cross of Thunder” on it. It gets easier and easier to draw that line, doesn’t it Doc?

            I truly place no blame on the Mayor but his staff failed him in an epic way. Warren’s right someone should be updating their resume right now.

  18. Ian Young says:

    “Mayor Ford is a strong supporter of Toronto’s Jewish community and strongly deplores anti-Semitism in any form.”

    So, all that bigotry based on skin colour is still ‘cool’ with the Office of the Mayor? WTF?

  19. Raymond says:

    You’d think the bizarre costume would’ve raised an eyebrow or two.

    Imagine how Rosalynn Carter felt after posing with John Wayne Gacy…(but at least he wasn’t wearing his ‘Pogo the Clown’ outfit).

  20. SaM says:

    Isn’t Earl Provst in charge of outreach to the Latvian community?

  21. andrzej says:

    It is disgusting smear attack on trusting, down to earth Rob Ford who was guilty of nothing more than having photo taken with man in strange uniform. I have lost respect for Warren Kinsella for publishing this photo.

    • Phiip MacQuarrie says:

      Are you talking about the same Rob Ford who is a petulant man-child that fails so spectacularly at being Mayor of Toronto? The Rob Ford, who upon finding out that on being mayor of a large city was quite a lot of work, promptly gave up in a sulk? That Rob Ford?

      Rob Ford may be a dire failure at almost everything he has attempted in his life but he is no neo-Nazi. I’m just wondering what excuse you have for his staff which let that man in a strange uniform get his picture taken with the Mayor.

    • Tom says:

      You must be talking about a different Rob Ford.

      Rob Ford, in his own words:
      “I’ll try buddy, I’ll try, … I don’t know this shit, but I’ll fucking try to find it. … What does OxyContin go for on the street, so I have an idea?” — June, 2010
      The Toronto Sun reports that Mr. Ford offers to help an ill man “score” the powerful painkiller OxyContin in a taped phone conversation.

      “Those Oriental people work like dogs. … They’re slowly taking over.” — March, 2008
      Statements during a council debate over holiday shopping

      “I can’t support bike lanes. … Roads are built for buses, cars and trucks. Not for people on bikes. And my heart bleeds for them when I hear someone gets killed, but it’s their own fault at the end of the day.” — March, 2007
      Statements during a council debate

      “If you’re not doing needles and you’re not gay, you won’t get AIDS, probably.” — June, 2006
      Statements during a council debate on public-health grants for community-based AIDS-prevention programs

      “Who the fuck do you think you are? Are you a fucking teacher? … Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?” — April, 2006
      Security guards remove a drunken and belligerent Mr. Ford from a Maple Leafs game after he shouts insults at an out-of-town couple.

      “Giving the mayor more power for this council is like giving criminals free guns.” — Dec., 2005
      Mr. Ford during a debate on a new structure for city government. The comment drew a chorus of demands, ultimately unsuccessful, that he withdraw the remark.

      “She’s a joke. She’s a waste of time. A waste of skin.” — July, 2005
      Mr. Ford on councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, during a debate over a pothole.

      “People do not want government housing built in the city of Toronto. They want roads fixed, more police presence, but they don’t want more government housing that will depreciate the value of their property.” — July, 2005
      Mr. Ford questions the need to speed up construction of affordable housing.

      “I don’t understand. No. 1, I don’t understand a transgender, I don’t understand, is it a guy dressed up like a girl or a girl dressed up like a guy? And we’re funding this for, I don’t know, what does it say here? We’re giving them $3,210?” — June 2005
      Mr. Ford queries grant programs funded from the city coffers.

      “This is so foolish. What are we going to ban next? Fireplaces?” — Sept., 2004
      Mr. Ford criticizes a bylaw requiring permits and a fee to fell any tree thicker than 30 centimetres.

      “Pathological liars.” — June, 2004
      Mr. Ford describes fellow councillors during a debate. He apologized but insisted ‘The truth is the truth.’

      “To me, if you are going to water plants, water all the plants. You just don’t pick and choose what plants you’ve got to water.” — April, 2004
      Mr. Ford alleged his plants weren’t being tended by staff. His poinsettia died; Ford called it “plant discrimination.” He later tried to scrap the watering service.

      “It just makes me sick when you left-wing nut jobs like Howard Moscoe are down here trying to bash the police non-stop.” – Feb., 2003
      Mr. Ford reacts to councillor Howard Moscoe’s suggestion that police overtime be audited.

      “I know he’s a weasel and weasels and snakes belong in the zoo. I’m not letting this go. He did it out of spite.” – Feb., 2003
      Mr. Ford lashes out after returning late from lunch and learning that councillor George Mammoliti had pushed through an increase to the Toronto Zoo’s funding.

      “This is an insult to my constituents to even think about having a shelter in my ward!” – April, 2002
      Mr. Ford lets fly during a debate on whether there should be homeless shelters across the city, instead of only downtown.

      http://www.stoprobford.ca/whats-wrong-with-rob-ford

  22. You can just see Stephen Harper’s hand off there to the side…

    LMFAO

    .

  23. Do you have any proof that this individual is the mayor’s friend? Just because he is shaking hands doesn’t make one a friend. I’m sure you’ve shaken many hands and have taken pictures also,would you call all them your friend?

  24. derek pearce says:

    If he’s so damn careful not to come to the Pride flag-raising ( we’ll leave the actual parade out) then you’d think he’d be smart enough to avoid this. I don’t think he’s (officially LOL) fascist, but he’s dumb enough to let this happen.

  25. Rob says:

    I’m an asshole.

  26. Mudhooks says:

    To be fair, the mayor meets with thousands of Torontonians in a year and a good number of them probably dress in neo-Nazi uniforms. How could he have known this was a REAL one.

    The man is an idiot.

  27. Lord Kitchener says:

    i just wish this happened to Hudak

  28. Jesus M.F. Christ says:

    I just read those quotes of his and it reminded me of Ron Burgundy if he were trying to be the mayor of Toronto. Someone should make a reality show on this jackass’s day to day exploits!

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