Unproven allegations that Mayor Rob Ford groped a political rival have done nothing to diminish his support among Torontonians, a new poll from Forum Research finds.
The telephone poll of 918 city residents conducted on Monday night found that 43 per cent of respondents approve of the job the mayor is doing, compared to the 44 per cent that said the same in a similar poll conducted on Feb. 28.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent, 19 times out of 20.
“The more trouble Rob gets in, the more his supporters love him,” Forum Research President Dr. Lorne Bozinoff said in a press release. “He's made of Teflon, Kevlar and puppy dog tails, it seems.”
Last Friday former mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson accused Ford of making an inappropriate comment and then grabbing her buttocks during an event put on by the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee.
Ford then issued a statement, calling Thomson’s allegations “completely false.”
He reiterated those comments while hosting his weekly radio show on Newstalk 1010 this past weekend.
So far neither Thomson or Ford have backed away from their version of events.
The Forum Research poll found that Ford’s support is highest among those aged 65 and older with 52 per cent of respondents in that category saying they approve of the job he is doing. At the other end of the spectrum, only 36 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 approved of Ford’s performance.
Ford also continues to do well in the suburbs and struggle in the downtown core, the poll finds. About 54 per cent of respondents in Scarborough and Etobicoke said they approved of the job Ford is doing while only 42 per cent in North York and 28 per cent in Toronto and East York answered that question affirmatively.
