Heather Latter
If Raymond Calder lived in Toronto, you can bet Rob Ford would have his vote in the upcoming municipal election.
The 11-year-old has followed the Toronto mayor through his political career—and controversial antics—for the past few years.
“He’s on the news a lot and he’s a big-city mayor,” Calder said about why Ford has garnered his attention.
His father, Raymond Sr., while admitting Ford always seems to “get into trouble,” said the youngster sees the mayor as a “celebrity” and had hoped to one day meet the “character” he has watched on television.
So when the family was visiting Toronto recently, Calder and his dad decided to stop by City Hall, not expecting to even get a glimpse of the mayor.
While checking out the landmark building, they tried to access an elevator that perhaps wasn’t meant for the public.
“We tried pushing some buttons and nothing happened,” Ray Sr. noted. “But before we could get out, the elevator started moving.”
When the door opened, there was Rob Ford’s brother and campaign manager, Doug.
“He asked us if we wanted to meet Rob Ford,” Calder recalled. “And of course I said yes.
“We were both pretty nervous.”
He noted Doug Ford took them into a city council meeting that was going on.
“They invited us right down—we were in the front row,” Ray Sr. said, adding he asked his son if he could take a picture on his Ipod without a flash.
So the youngster took a brief video clip of the meeting.
“We felt pretty weird in the council meeting because we were just in shorts and a T-shirt and everybody else was wearing suits,” he remarked, adding there was plenty of security around yet they very welcoming.
Ray Sr. noted there were a couple of votes during the meeting, and it was neat to see the computers and how they vote.
After the council meeting wrapped up, Mayor Ford went over to the pair.
“He said do you want a fist pump and I gave him a fist pump,” Calder enthused.
“And then I took a ‘selfie’ with him.”
He said he felt happy, nervous, and a little awestruck.
“We were both walking out of there and were both just shaking because it happened,” his dad said.
“We got lucky,” echoed Calder, conceding they just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
He added the Ford brothers were both very nice and very polite.
“Doug went out of his way and Rob was like someone you knew well, just friendly,” Ray Sr. said.
And while Calder admitted a lot of 11-year-olds probably don’t know who Rob Ford is, when he told his classmates at school, they all thought it was really cool.
“We went to the CN Tower, a baseball game, and Niagara Falls, and meeting Rob Ford was definitely what we’ll remember most,” he remarked.
“It was the highlight of the trip.”
Calder is hoping Ford is re-elected as mayor of Toronto because he thinks he is a good guy—despite the scandals and his portrayal in the media.
“He took the time to meet us, so that was nice,” he reasoned.
And since not just anyone gets a chance to fist pump with the popular Toronto mayor, Calder said the chance meeting must have been “meant to be.”
