Toronto’s controversial and now notorious mayor Rob Ford today announced his plans to run for re-election in this fall’s race.

Mayor Ford’s image faced some major challenges in 2013. In May, he was accused by several news outlets of smoking crack cocaine. Not only did the allegations obviously tarnish the mayor’s reputation, but Rob Ford’s public relations response did not help his case. He was slow to respond, blamed the press, and provided minimal and scripted statements that never directly addressed the actual accusations.

After six months of vehement denials, the truth about Rob Ford’s drug use eventually came to light. The mayor admitted that he had smoked crack “in a drunken stupor” and said that he previously denied the claims because the media had not asked the right questions.

In the end, Ford’s poor crisis management made the blunder even worse than it had to be. Despite the negative publicity, the mayor had the opportunity to come clean early and tell the story himself. By lying about the accusations, Ford’s credibility was irreparably damaged and he faced multiple rounds of negative news stories which could have been avoided.

Following the major hit that Rob Ford’s integrity has suffered over past year, his re-election campaign should undoubtedly be interesting to watch. Stay tuned to the Red Banyan Group blog for the latest updates on Ford’s run for office.