[Senator Clay Davis]

Mayor Rob Ford’s executive committee is preparing to take the extraordinary step of publicly urging Toronto’s troubled leader to confront allegations of drug use, and is making contingency plans to run the city in his absence.

Amid an escalating crisis of confidence in the city’s leadership, members of Mr. Ford’s cabinet-like executive committee are drafting a statement, to be released Friday, attempting to reassure residents of Canada’s largest city, deputy mayor Doug Holyday said.

“The letter is really just stating what’s already been stated by myself and others throughout the week,” Mr. Holyday said in a news conference Friday. “The business of the city will continue as usual. And also, these members that are signing the letter are urging the mayor to come out and make a comment to the media and to the public.”

Councillor Gary Crawford, one of 12 councillors who sit on the mayor’s executive, said the “open letter” now has support from 4 or 5 members and will be signed by as many members of the committee as possible. But all councillors are concerned for the mayor, he said.

City Hall was the scene of frenetic activity and closed-door emergency meetings for much of Thursday after the mayor fired his chief of staff, one of his closest allies in the administration. The chief of staff, Mark Towhey, told his boss there was only one way out of a mounting scandal – seek help for your addiction, say two sources close to the administration.

It has not been established that Mr. Ford has an addiction.

Mr. Towhey made the demand as pressure mounted on Mr. Ford to respond to reports of a video showing him smoking crack cocaine, a source said. The plan was to quietly put the mayor on a plane to a rehab centre and issue a statement after he was gone.

Mr. Ford refused, the source said, and on Thursday Mr. Towhey was escorted by security from City Hall.

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