Earl Provost and Toronto mayor Rob Ford are shown at City Hall on May 28, 2013.PETER POWER/The Globe and Mail
Rob Ford's erstwhile right-hand man is going to work for Kathleen Wynne.
Earl Provost, who served as the Toronto mayor's chief of staff at the height of the crack scandal, was appointed executive director of the Ontario Liberal Party Thursday.
"Our party will be well-placed to build on our success with the benefit of Earl's considerable knowledge and experience, allowing us to continue to advance our agenda for progress," party president Siloni Waraich said in a statement late Thursday.
The executive director is a party staff job, largely responsible for organizing and overseeing fundraising, membership and election preparation.
The appointment is certain to raise some eyebrows. Mr. Provost was a key player in Mr. Ford's administration, which implemented a right-wing agenda of privatizing and cutting services, and freezing taxes.
The provincial Liberals, for their part, have taken on a leftish look under Ms. Wynne, increasing some social spending and emphasizing infrastructure-building to rev up the economy.
Mr. Ford and Ms. Wynne also had a somewhat distant relationship. Their two offices did, however, work together on some files, including cancelling the Scarborough LRT and replacing it with a subway extension in the summer of 2013.
Mr. Provost is a lifelong Liberal. The party says he has been active since he was 14, and served on the executive of the Ontario Young Liberals. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from York University's Glendon College and a master's in political management from George Washington University.
The Globe has previously reported he had trouble finding work after returning from the United States, until he became deputy campaign manager for Mr. Ford's 2010 mayoral bid.
He followed Mr. Ford into the mayor's office, working as director of stakeholder and council relations.
In May, 2013, shortly after the first video of Mr. Ford smoking crack emerged, the mayor fired his then-chief of staff, Mark Towhey, and replaced him with Mr. Provost.
Mr. Provost steered the office through six tumultuous months, culminating in Mr. Ford admitting to having smoked crack, and revelations in police documents that Mr. Ford may also have done heroin and associated with gangsters, which Mr. Ford denied.
In November, 2013, city council took away most of Mr. Ford's powers and transferred them to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly. Mr. Provost went to work for Mr. Kelly, running his office until after last year's elections.
Mr. Provost was often lauded for his loyalty during his time at city hall. During a notorious party in Mr. Ford's office and several downtown bars on St. Patrick's Day 2012, Mr. Provost famously tried to keep the mayor under control. Police documents said Mr. Provost escorted Mr. Ford home in a cab at the end of that night, even after Mr. Ford shoved him into tha doorway earlier in the evening.
Mr. Provost's former colleagues sang his praises after hearing of his appointment.
"Let me add: team 1st, wise, history buff, fun, loyal, honest, good with the ladies," tweeted Nick Kouvalis, the architect of Mr. Ford's 2010 victory and a strategist for current mayor John Tory's winning campaign, in response to a Globe reporter's tweet about Mr. Provost.
Adrian Morrow