6 Toronto mayors who behaved badly before Ford
List of mayors of Toronto
William Lyon Mackenzie
Toronto's first mayor helped lead the Upper Canada Rebellion against the colonial regime that dominated the country in his day. Rebels marched down Yonge Street with plans to reach the home of Lt.-Gov. Sir Francis Bond Head. Mackenzie and the rebels were intercepted at Montgomery's Tavern and defeated. Future mayors would rob his home and try to shoot him.
George Gurnett
Toronto's fourth mayor tortured an opposing candidate by having him stripped, beaten, tarred and feathered. The feathers were so stuck to the candidate's body that he had to peel off his own skin to get them off.
John Powell
Toronto's fifth mayor had been involved in putting down the Upper Canada Rebellion. He killed a rebel, then tried to shoot William Lyon MacKenzie, Toronto's first mayor, but the gun jammed. He was elected anyway.
George Monro
How many times has a sex scandal vaulted a mayor INTO office? That was true of George Monro, Toronto's sixth mayor, who won the job after it turned out that the incumbent, John Powell, had rented out a property to be used as a brothel.
Henry Sherwood
Poor William Lyon MacKenzie. Not only had John Powell tried to shoot him, but Toronto's seventh mayor, Henry Sherwood, broke into the man's house! He led a drunken mob, which proceeded to destroy a printing press at MacKenzie's newspaper office and throw it into the harbour.
William Howland
And you thought Rob Ford's crusade against graffiti was puritanical. Hogtown's 25th mayor came up with the motto "Toronto the Good" and campaigned against liquor, gambling and prostitution. It was like having "Boardwalk Empire's" Nelson van Alden as your mayor.
Ernest Macdonald
Can't fault a man for trying. Toronto's 30th mayor finally landed the job after running for public office 17 times. Ernest Macdonald's reign was brief (one year) but eventful: he was boorish with city commissioners, who refused to hand over documents that would allow him to deliver his inaugural council address. He died of syphilis after losing a bid for re-election.
Thomas Church
Toronto's 37th mayor (at left) despised bilingual money and was mocked by Ernest Hemingway.
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Thomas Foster
Toronto's 40th mayor was so tight with money that he preferred to pay back robbery victims rather than add to Toronto's police force.
Sam McBride
Toronto's 41st mayor helped to create the Toronto Transit Commission. He was also known for taking swings at council members, even smacking them with agenda packages. He even slammed a councillor's head against a wall. Oh, and he also cheated on his taxes.
Allan Lamport
Rob Ford wasn't wrong about city hall excess, he was just several years too late. Allan Lamport (right), Toronto's 50th mayor, spent an estimated $373,000 of taxpayers' money on booze, cigars, dinners and room service at the lavish Royal York Hotel.
He was also known for bizarre quotes such as, "The only thing you'll catch swimming in Lake Ontario is dead fish" or "If anyone's going to stab me in the back, I want to be there."
Meet a Toronto Mayor: Allan Lamport
Mel Lastman
It's tough to know where to begin with Mel Lastman, Toronto's eccentric 62nd mayor. For now, let's just recall that he welcomed famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma to city hall with — what else? — a yo-yo.
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David Miller
David Miller, Toronto's 63rd mayor, went to school with Prince Andrew.
Why David Miller doesn't read the papers
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