Mark Towhey Explained

Mark Towhey (born 1964) is a broadcaster, columnist, and former political aide.

From 2019 to 2020 he was editor-in-chief of Sun News, a group of five tabloid newspapers in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton owned by Postmedia Network.[1] He left Postmedia management (and the Suns) in 2020 but remains a freelance columnist with the Toronto Sun.

He was previously a Canadian management consultant, and political strategist[2] [3] From 2013 until 2021, he hosted a 2-hour radio talk show, Sunday afternoons, on CFRB in Toronto.[3]

He was a key player in the election of the late Rob Ford as mayor of Toronto,[4] and Patrick Brown as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.[5] [6] He is the author of Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable – How I tried to help the world’s most notorious mayor. [7] Towhey remains a frequent contributor and political analyst and roundtable panelist on CFRB and has also appeared on CTV, CP24, TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin and in Huffington Post, the National Post, the Toronto Star and other media outlets.

Personal life

Towhey was born in Kamloops, British Columbia.[8] He briefly attended the University of Victoria until joining the Canadian Army as an officer, serving with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry for 13 years.[9]

In October 2015, Skyhorse Publishing published Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable[10] [11] co-written by Towhey and Globe and Mail journalist Johanna Schneller.[12] The book was briefly a best seller in Canada.[13]

Towhey has two sons[14] and holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and is a Certified Management Consultant.[15]

Towhey became known for his sense of humor on Twitter when he tweeted "Finished May issue of Toronto Life, now plan to spend rest of night just hanging out, being evil" after reading a Toronto Life cover story that contained an unflattering portrait of him.[16] Later, shortly after being fired on May 23, 2013 he retweeted a photo from a Toronto Sun photographer of him in his car leaving city hall, saying "Very happy now that I remembered to wash my car yesterday."[17] His chocolate macaroon recipe was featured in the Toronto Star a few months later.[18]

Career

He left the military in 1996.[9] He was a spokesperson for Canada Trust[19] before starting his own crisis communication firm in 1998. His clients included the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, McCain Foods, the Government of Canada, Ontario, and the United Nations.[20] After returning to Canada from two years consulting in Afghanistan and Pakistan for the UN[21] and World Bank Group,[20] Towhey was hired by Toronto City Councillor Rob Ford to help on his mayoral campaign.[22]

When Ford was elected in October 2010, Towhey was appointed his Director of Strategy & Policy, a role in which he was widely referred to by city councillors as the mayor’s "Rasputin."[9] [23] In August 2012, he was promoted to Chief of Staff[24] [25] [26] [23] [4] until he was fired by Ford on May 23, 2013[27] for reportedly telling Ford to go to rehab for his drug addiction.[28] When CFRB cancelled Ford’s Sunday afternoon radio program in November 2013,[29] they hired Towhey as his permanent replacement in that time slot.[30]

When Postmedia appointed Towhey as Editor-in-Chief of Sun News, Canadaland questioned his appointed due to his lack of journalism experience.[31] Mark Bonokoski, a veteran Sun writer, noted that Towhey complained his criticism of Conservative leader Andrew Scheer was "boring" and encouraged the columnist to do better.[32] He left the position in 2020, after almost a year, but continued as a columnist for the chain.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mark Towhey named new head honcho of The Suns . Toronto Sun. 2019-03-30. en-CA. 2019-04-04.
  2. Web site: The Blog. towhey.com. 18 May 2017.
  3. Web site: iHeartRadio.ca NEWSTALK1010. iHeartRadio.ca. BellMedia CFRB NEWSTALK1010. 18 May 2017.
  4. News: Gillis. Charlie. Mark Towhey: The man behind Rob Ford. 18 May 2017. October 14, 2015. Maclean's Magazine. October 14, 2015.
  5. News: Reevely. David. Patrick Brown's path to victory. 18 May 2017. February 27, 2015. Ottawa Citizen.
  6. News: Mark Towhey joins Patrick Brown Leadership Campaign #ForTheWin. 18 May 2017. Canada News Wire.
  7. Book: Towhey. Mark. Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable. October 27, 2015. Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. New York. 1634500423. 360. 17 May 2017.
  8. News: Hui. Ann. With Towhey's exit, Ford lost a staffer who stood up to him. 17 May 2017. The Globe and Mail. November 15, 2013.
  9. News: McDonald. Marci. The weirdest mayoralty ever – the inside story of Rob Ford's city hall. 18 May 2017. Toronto Life magazine. May 15, 2012.
  10. Web site: Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable. Skyhorse Publishing. Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. 18 May 2017.
  11. Book: Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable. Towhey. Mark & Johanna Schneller. October 27, 2015. Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. 1634500423. New York, NY.
  12. News: Four things we learned from Uncontrollable, Mark Towhey's book about Rob Ford. Bredin. Simon. October 28, 2015. 18 May 2017. Toronto Life magazine.
  13. Web site: Independent Bestseller List, Canadian Non-Fiction Bestsellers. MyStore. Retail Council of Canada. 18 May 2017.
  14. News: Mayor Ford's policy guru is his new chief of staff. Grant. Kelly. August 15, 2012. 18 May 2017. The Globe and Mail.
  15. News: Rob Ford's long-time strategist, Mark Towhey, promoted to chief of staff. Kretzel. Lasia. August 15, 2012. 18 May 2017. National Post.
  16. News: Rob Ford's chief enforcer Mark Towhey admits to being evil. Wallace. Andrew. April 18, 2012. 18 May 2017. Toronto Life magazine.
  17. News: Rob Ford fires Mark Towhey – his chief of staff and most trusted advisor. Reddick. Michelle. May 23, 2013. 18 May 2017. Toronto Life magazine.
  18. News: Mark Towhey’s chocolate macaroons. Henry. Michele. 2013-12-10. The Toronto Star. 2017-10-11. en-CA. 0319-0781.
  19. News: Hui. Ann. With Towhey's exit, Ford lost a staffer who stood up to him. 18 May 2017. November 15, 2013. The Globe and Mail.
  20. Web site: Bio – Mark Towhey. The Blog. towhey.com. 18 May 2017.
  21. News: Grant. Kelly. Mayor Ford's policy guru is his new chief of staff. 18 May 2017. The Globe and Mail. August 15, 2012.
  22. Book: Towhey. Mark & Johanna Schneller. Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable. October 27, 2015. Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. New York, NY. 1634500423. 10.
  23. News: Wallace. Andrew. Rob Ford makes evil ideological genius Mark Towhey his new chief of staff. 18 May 2017. August 15, 2012. Toronto Life magazine.
  24. News: Grant. Kelly. Mayor Ford's policy guru is his new chief of staff. 18 May 2017. August 15, 2012. Globe and Mail. August 15, 2012.
  25. News: Mayor Rob Ford names new chief of staff. 18 May 2017. CBC News. August 15, 2012.
  26. News: Kretzel. Lasia. Rob Ford's long-time strategist, Mark Towhey, promoted to chief of staff. 18 May 2017. National Post. August 15, 2012.
  27. News: Reddick. Michelle. Rob Ford fires Mark Towhey – his chief of staff and most trusted advisor. 18 May 2017. May 23, 2013. Toronto Life magazine. May 23, 2013.
  28. News: Alcoba. Natalie. Rob Ford fired chief of staff after he told mayor to 'go away and get help for his problem': source. 18 May 2017. National Post. May 23, 2013.
  29. News: Powell. Betsy. Ford brothers' weekly show on Newstalk 1010 cancelled. 18 May 2017. The Toronto Star. November 8, 2013.
  30. Book: Towhey. Mark & Johanna Schneller. Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable. October 27, 2015. Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. New York, NY. 1634500423. 297.
  31. Web site: Sun Hires Conservative Operative With No Journalism Experience As New Editor-in-Chief. www.canadalandshow.com. 2019-12-12.
  32. Web site: BONOKOSKI: When Scheer-bashing becomes boring, it’s time to aim elsewhere . Toronto Sun. 2019-12-07. en-CA. 2019-12-12.

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