Rarely do you find a politician so adamantly determined to shoot himself in the foot. A great deal of his defense in this case rests on "I didn't read the rules that the Mayor's supposed to follow, so even if I did something wrong, I did it in ignorance".
Yes, the whole "I didn't know it was illegal" defense has worked so well in the past. "I'm sorry, your honor, I didn't know that it was illegal to drive 150kph."
Then there's stuff like the fact he refuses to get a personal driver in order to 'save the city's money', but is then photographed behind the wheel of his car, driving as he's reading documents. His defense -- that he's a busy guy, and needs to use his driving time to catch up on stuff. The fact that it's massively unsafe doesn't faze him, and not only did he not give much of an apology, but he seemed to indicate that he'd continue doing it.
The man is an arrogant buffoon. He has good intentions, of that I have no doubt...from a perspective of what he wants to do, he's probably the most honest and sincere politician that Toronto's seen in decades. But he continues to operate on the principle that he can do whatever he wants, just because he thinks it's right...and any rules that may exist simply don't apply to him.
My biggest concern is that this case could turn him into a martyr, and he'd be voted in again in the next elections as a kind of sympathy vote; Toronto needs to get rid of this guy, and find someone who actually understands how to communicate and work with people who aren't their brother.
