Rob Ford met privately with mayoral hopeful Karen Stintz on Thursday to apologize for the lewd remarks he made about her at an Etobicoke bar in April.
According to the mayor's office, Ford initiated the 15-minute long face-to-face meeting. It comes after Ford had publicly apologized to her on June 30th during a post-rehab speech he made after completing a two-month stint in rehab. The Ward 16 councillor later released a statement on the same day, saying she wanted to speak with Ford about his alleged remarks "directly."
On Thursday, after her private meeting with Ford, Stintz did not tell reporters what the two had discussed.
"It’s a private matter," Stintz told reporters during a break at Thursday's council meeting. "We’ve discussed it, we’ve come to an agreement and we both agree that the matter is closed."
Ford took a leave of absence from office in late April to seek professional help for substance abuse at GreenStone, a rehab facility in Bala, Ont. The mayor announced he was temporarily leaving after a new string of racist, sexist and homophobic comments were recorded and made public in media reports.
In one of the recordings, Ford is allegedly heard making inappropriate comments about Stintz while at Sullie Gorman’s, a bar in Etobicoke.
Ford votes against motion to study feasibility of LGBTQ shelter
One day after Ford was singled out for being the only member of council to stay seated during an ovation for WorldPride organizers, the mayor again found himself in controversy after he voted against a motion to study the feasibility to open shelter beds for LGBTQ youths.
Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam, an openly gay member of council, accused Ford of being homophobic.
Ford was the only member of council to vote against the motion. It passed 37-1. Ford's brother, Coun. Doug Ford was among the seven councillors who were absent for the vote.
