politics
Local Opportunist Giorgio Mammoliti Accuses Other Councillors of Opportunism, Hypocrisy
In a bizarre press release, Mammoliti uses Rob Ford's funeral to call out six councillors, current and former, he doesn't want at his own service.
It’s a general rule for journalists not to trust any press releases that flood their inboxes on April 1.
That’s why, when Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) sent along a press release proclaiming, in true clickbait fashion, “If I Die Tomorrow, These Six People Need Not Attend the Funeral,” we were skeptical.
The press release goes on to describe six of his fellow councillors (both current and former) as “vermin” and “hypocrites” in how they have spoken tastefully about late councillor Rob Ford in his wake. (Mammoliti has recently vocalized his unwavering support for Ford, despite past tiffs with the former mayor.)
Torontoist phoned Councillor Mammoliti’s office to confirm that the release was, indeed, legitimate. The response? “Uh, yeah, it is.”
And so, given this confirmation, we provide a full-fledged fact-check.
For Immediate Release: April 1st, 20161
“Dirty Half Dozen”2
If I Die Tomorrow, These 6 People Need Not Attend the Funeral3
1 Any sufficiently skeptical journalist does not trust any press release he or she receives on April 1. So when Torontoist received this release, our first instinct was to ask, “wait, is this real?” We phoned to check it out for you, the taxpayer reader, because we care. After speaking with Mammoliti’s executive assistant we learned that this is not a joke, at least not intentionally so.
2 This is not the first time that Mammoliti or Ford has made an enemies list. In fact, Mammoliti pretty much ripped the idea off of Doug Ford, who referred to his brother’s detractors as the “dirty dozen.” Also on Mammoliti’s list of ne’er-do-wells: communists , “gangsters” who shoot up his ward, cats, and, oh yeah, Rob Ford.
3 Apparently Mammoliti is the bizarro world-version of Mitch Albom? Ok then.
In the worst case of hypocrisy that I have ever witnessed4, the vermin that dwell in the underbelly of Toronto5 were out in full force in an exemplary display of the wickedest behaviour Shelly Carrol6, Adam Vaughan7, Gord Perks, Janet Davis, Joe Mihevc and Josh Matlow, need to explain to the public through the media how they have the face to pretend that they respected the man8 when they used the previous years to attack the man instead of the message.
4 Mammoliti knows hypocrisy well. After all, he was against Rob Ford before he was for him (and then against him), before he was for him again. There’s even a list of insults that Mammoliti and Ford exchanged between 2000 and 2010, before Ford became mayor and it became politically convenient to become allies. Among the Mammoliti quotes in this time period includes a 2009 comment that “I think [Ford] thinks that God put him on this Earth to embarrass City Council.” When Ford seemed like he would be removed from office due to a conflict of interest court ruling in November 2012, Mammoliti resigned from the mayor’s executive committee. After the mayor kept his job on appeal, Mammoliti rejoined his executive later in the year. Rather than maintaining his principles through thick and thin, Mammoliti was only there for Rob Ford when there seemed to be something in it for him.
5 Mammoliti remains unoriginal in his insults. Rob and Doug took the lead on the “vermin” insult, infamously calling the media “maggots” on their radio show in May 2013. Two years later, Mammoliti made his feelings about rats and mice very clear. While raccoons are not vermin (although they are often referred to as such), the media-savvy councillor has also positioned himself as an anti-raccoon crusader.
6 That is not how you spell Shelley Carroll’s name.
7 In an interview with Newstalk 1010’s Jim Richards, Adam Vaughan confirmed that he was personally invited to the funeral by Ford’s family.
8 See number four.
This is not a left-right issue. 9Many on the left and he10 right that disagreed with some of his political positions, limited their disagreement to the issues without attacking the man.
9 Mammoliti sometimes uses two spaces after a period. That’s really gross.
10 “The”
These people went to the disgusting extent of turning their back in Council11 at Rob Ford’s most vulnerable point in his life. I could not believe what I saw in the days after his death from these people.
11 In a symbol of opposition to the mayor’s conduct, Mammoliti turned his back to Ford on the same day.
Mammoliti knows cameras are allowed in council meetings, right? He also turned his back on Ford. pic.twitter.com/CF0m39V4Ga
— Ben Spurr (@BenSpurr) April 1, 2016
Even God was squirming in his own house12 with their presence.
12 We are unsure how Mammoliti presumes to know God’s will, but it’s a terrifying thought.
Giorgio Mammoliti's Funeral Invitations
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Giorgio Mammoliti addressed six current councillors. Adam Vaughan is a former councillor. We’ve corrected the article to reflect this. Torontoist regrets the error.