Fred Thornhill/Reuters
Toronto residents elected John Tory as the city’s next mayor, rejecting the candidacy of Doug Ford, brother of scandal-plagued Rob Ford. But the bigger headline may be that voters gave Rob Ford an endorsement of sorts, electing him to his old city council seat, meaning he will return to challenge Tory at City Hall. Tory, 60, won with promises of good governance and swift improvements to public transit, but his victory margin was slimmer than expected, suggesting devotees of the Ford brothers could still hold political sway in Canada’s largest city. Doug Ford jumped into the race last month when Rob Ford dropped out after being diagnosed with cancer. Rob previously had acknowledged smoking crack cocaine but doggedly refused to step down as mayor. The city council finally stripped him of most of his powers, leaving him mayor in name only and giving most of his authority, staff, and budget to the deputy mayor. Asked after the election if he would run again for mayor in four years, he said it was too early to tell, but hinted that a Ford would be in the race.