Rob Ford was an unusual adversary, John Tory says

Although the two politicians couldn't be more different in their style, Mayor John Tory saidWednesday he didn't mind sparring with Rob Ford, even when the former mayor promised to "knock him cold" with a devastating verbal jab during a debate.

• ANALYSIS |Rob Ford: A mess of contradictions whose fans were quick to forgive
• CBC FORUM |What will Rob Ford's legacy be? Chat with Jamie Strashin

It happened quite a bit, Tory told Metro Morning Wednesday. While someone else was talking during a debate, Ford would lean over and tell Tory he was about to lay him flat with a monster verbal assault.

"He'd say 'Buddy' and he did use that expression a lot 'I'm gonna knock you cold with this next one.' And you wouldn't really know what was coming."

Ford died of cancer yesterday at age 46. Tory told host Matt Galloway how Ford's outspoken nature, penchant for brashnessand struggles with addictionmade him a household name.

"As I travel now, everybody knows who he was," said Tory. "I suspect with me, most people wouldn't have the slightest idea who I was as the mayor of Toronto unless they looked it up. They knew who he was in connection with circumstances that were unusual and had little to do with the substance of running or promoting the city. I'm not commenting on that for good or for bad, that's just a fact."

Tory praised Ford for his ability to connect with voters with a simple, consistent message of respecting taxpayers.

"He didn't waver from that," said Tory. "He was almost like a machine in the sense that he was talking about the taxpayers and respect for the taxpayers. People can talk about whether that was right or wrong, but that was him."

Ford was first elected mayor in 2010 and ran for re-election against Tory in 2014. Ford's cancer diagnosis forced him out of that race. Doug Ford took his brother's place in the mayoral race andlost to Tory, while Ford won a council seat in Ward 2.

Metro Morning12:22Mayor John Tory

Mayor Tory says despite their differences, he will sincerely miss Rob Ford's presence in Council.The federal budget funding for transit and social housing.

Two very different styles

Tory spoke about the differences in style between the two men: Ford more combative,Tory more conciliatory.

"I just don't think that's the way to get things done," said Tory of Ford's fight-first approach. "I've tried to change that approach, but we're all different people."

Prior to his cancer diagnosis, Ford entered rehab for a drug and alcohol problem that had turned city hall into a circus and drew internationalmedia attention, much of it bad.

"He had some personal issues and unfortunately, those kind of overwhelmed him," said Tory. "And I think they overwhelmed the city's reputation because that's what started to get focused on, and that wasn't helpful."

Tory also spoke about Ford's reputation for personally answering complaints and concerns from residents. If a taxpayer called about a missedgarbage pickup or a blocked street drainit was often Rob Ford, not a staff member, who would return the call.

"I commend him for choosing to do it that way and do it very effectively," said Tory.

Again though, Tory admitted his approach is different.

"I try to do as much of it [calling residents] as I can because I think it's important to see first-hand what's going on with people's problems," he said.

Still, Tory said he finds it more effective to focus on the systemic problems affecting residents.

"You can't make [calling residents]the total focus of your job and again.I'm not being critical of [Ford]. It's not the day to do that or the time. Your job is really to fix the problem, not just the problem of the one person it's to fix the systemic problem. You have to spend the time at that. And that's what I'm choosing to do. It's a different way to go about the job.

"There are some things he did that I happen to disagree with but that's why we have elections: so people have choices."

Despite the differences, Tory said council members always hoped that Ford, who so loved a battle, would be able to defeat cancer. Unfortunately, itwas a fight he couldn't win.

It's that, not the differences, that people should keep in mind this week, Tory said.

"This is a human being that died way too young," said Tory.