Former four-term Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry, famous for starring in an undercover FBI film while smoking crack cocaine in 1990, told
Slate that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is making a "fool of himself" with his out-of-control drinking and drugging.
Barry, who led D.C. for 18 years and now serves as a member of the D.C. Council, said of Ford, "He's not connected to me. He doesn't have my historical record of achievement.
"My record is so far better. He shouldn't use the fact of him using drugs as an excuse for being a fool."
Ford, 45, who made his own appearances in videos while apparently drinking and smoking crack cocaine, is running for re-election after spending two weeks in drug and alcohol rehab in June, but says he can't guarantee if elected that he won't drink or drug again, adding that he has "no control" over his behavior, the
Huffington Post reported.
Barry, 78, who served six months in a federal prison just before seeking a fourth term and losing, launched a comeback after he got out, won a fourth term and did not seek a fifth.
Barry told Slate, of Ford, "I sympathize with him. I know what he's going through, but I don't agree with what he's doing."
Ford has run into criticism in Canada for homophobic, racist, and misogynistic statements, but recently blamed it all on his addiction, saying, "When you have this disease, you say things, do things, that aren't you."
Barry has also been criticized for anti-Asian comments and accused of "race baiting" for recent comments such as "We’ve got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses, those dirty shops. They ought to go, I’ll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too,"
The Washington Post reported.
Ford recently told
Toronto voters, "You're going to have to look at my record and compare it to the people I'm running [against], and you're basically going to have to trust me."
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