A raucous City Council meeting in Toronto on Monday descended into farce when bumbling mayor under fire Rob Ford managed to knock over a city councilor as he charged around the chamber.Spectators shouted 'Shame! Shame' at Ford at the meeting where lawmakers debated a motion to strip him of much of his remaining staff, budget and power.Since Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine earlier this month, he has steadfastly rejected calls to resign or take leave despite mounting allegations about his excessive drinking and drug-taking.Red-faced Ford faced another likely setback on Monday as the City Council voted to strip scandal-plagued Mayor Rob Ford of many of his powersFord called the effort a 'coup d'etat' and challenged the council to call snap elections.The debate on the motion became heated after Ford paced around the council chamber and traded barbs with members of the public. The speaker asked security to clear the chamber and a recess was called.Ford himself charged at the gallery at one point and knocked over Councillor Pam McConnell before scooping her back up.The council voted overwhelming in a series of votes on Monday to cut his office budget by 60 percent and allow mayoral staff to join the deputy mayor. Ford now effectively has no legislative power as he would no longer chair the executive committee, however he retains his title and ability to represent Toronto at official functions.The council does not have the power to remove Ford from office, barring a criminal conviction. It is pursuing the strongest recourse available after recent revelations that Ford smoked crack cocaine and his repeated outbursts of erratic behavior.'Mayor Ford has had many choices... would he change his behavior? Would he step aside and seek help? ...The mayor unfortunately has chosen the path of denial,' Councilor John Filion said. 'Now it's time to take away the keys. ...The new allegations pile up faster than the old ones can be dealt with. If many Torontonians were initially fascinated by the drama, they are now fed up with it. They want it to end.'Far from being chastened, Ford has vowed to take the council to court and insists he will seek re-election next year.'It's a coup d'etat - that's all this is,' Ford said as he arrived at City Hall on Monday morning.He earlier claimed on a radio station that councilors were against his agenda to save taxpayers' money. 'If they want me out, they should just call a snap election,' Ford told radio station AM640.Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a former Ford ally, said it's about his conduct.'This about embarrassing the city, his involvement with gangs, his involvement with crack cocaine this about his admission that he gets behind the wheel while drinking,' Minnan-Wong said.'He's the worst spokesman for the city of Toronto right now.'On Sunday, Ford had described himself as the ‘best father around’ as he continued with his shameless attempts to ride out the media storm surrounding him.The beleaguered official spent the weekend carrying out a series of media engagements in an attempt to repair his tattered reputation which has made him a global laughing stock and left his rivals attempting to do everything to strip him of his political powers.Since his admission to smoking crack, Ford has barely been out of the headlines with a stream of allegations about his excessive behavior typically followed by gaffe-prone press conferences in which he steadfastly refuses to consider stepping down.‘I don't look at myself as the mayor. I look at myself as just a normal, regular person,’ Ford told CNN.When asked what his children would think of his behavior, Ford said he was the 'best father around.'Speaking at a weekend toy drive in the blue-collar City Council district that his brother Doug represents, Ford said he was 'sick and tired of all the allegations and all this bulls***.' 'Sorry, kids - I shouldn't have sworn in front of the kids,' he said. 'But after a while, I know what I'm doing is right. I'm serving people. I'm saving taxpayers money. And you know what, I made mistakes, I drank too much, I smoked some crack sometime. What can I say? I made a mistake, I'm human.'In a separate interview with Fox News, Ford also revealed that his ambitions don’t end with remaining as Toronto mayor and that he wants to be prime minister of Canada. ‘Yes, one day I do want to run for prime minister,’ said Ford.He insisted that he is working through his issues and is even working out two hours a day in an attempt to lose weight.  'I’m training every day. I’m in the gym for two hours every day. I’m seeking professional help. I’m not an alcoholic. I’m not a drug addict,' he said.Ford maintains that he doesn't have any addiction issues with either drugs or alcohol, but said his weight was 'a huge issue.''We have a team of professionals that are working with me on some health issues and I’m gonna leave it at that,' Ford said. 'It’s really no one’s business what I do in my personal life, what I do in a gym, or the professionals I talk to.''The professionals have said no, you don’t have an addiction. We’ve got ways of curbing your drinking and losing some weight and working on some other issues,' Ford said.Ford also said he plans to continue to act as mayor even if city council votes to remove his special privileges, which they did on Friday, and reduces his office budget, which the council was deciding on Monday.'I can assure you if the council wants to continue what it’s doing – stripping me of all my powers, taking away my staff – they can’t stop me from showing up to council, debating every issue,' Ford said. 'No one can stop me from returning phone calls, no one can stop me campaigning.''We’re going to move forward and I am going to continue to fight for the little guy, I’m going to continue to save taxpayer’s money, and if the councilors want to strip all my power, that’s up to them,' Ford said. Ford said he is ready to fight for re-election next fall, promising to start campaigning and fundraising on Jan. 2. Ford has remained defiant despite an increasingly-embarrassing list of public statements and admissions about bad behavior. Most recently, he made crude comments about his sex life with his wife - while she was standing with him. He was attempting to dismiss allegations that he had propositioned a female staffer for oral sex.On Sunday, Ford made a very public appearance at a Canadian Football League playoff game to cheer on the Toronto Argonauts - despite the CFL commissioner's pleas that he stay away from the game.'It's definitely a distraction... He means well, he's done well for the city. It's just, it's enough, you know? We need to get on with the city and take his business somewhere else for a bit.'Hamilton fan Shawn Kowalyshyn, wearing a Tiger-Cats jersey, said the mayor has 'embarrassed' himself and his family.'Unfortunately, I'd like to support him and his policies, but he's just gone too far over the top. ... It's gotten too ridiculous,' Kowalyshyn said.Brothers Kyle and Matt O'Connor of Hamilton held up a hand-lettered sign reading 'Our Mayor Doesn't Smoke Crack!!' as they lined up to wait for stadium gates to open.Earlier Sunday, the 44-year-old Ford was spotted outside the downtown studios of the tabloid Sun News Network, where he and brother Doug, a Toronto city councilor, were taping the first episode of their new current events television show, 'Ford Nation,' which will air on Monday night.Recently released court documents show Ford became the subject of a police investigation after news reports surfaced in May that he had been caught on video smoking crack cocaine. In interviews with police, former staffers accused the mayor of frequently drinking, driving while intoxicated and making sexual advances toward a female staffer.Ford's erratic behavior was parodied in the opening segment of the Saturday Night Live with cast member Bobby Moynihan portraying the mayor who at one point ducks behind the lectern at a press conference to do a drug deal, exclaiming, 'Wow, that's a lot of crack.'Ford finally decides he needs to go on a TV show which would believe him, and then is shown being interviewed by CBS '60 Minutes' correspondent Lara Logan (Kate McKinnon) who accepts his denials that he did crack, smoked marijuana and used alcohol.Logan recently had to apologize on-air for a '60 Minutes' story about the deadly 2012 attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, saying the network could no longer trust the testimony of a former security contractor who had claimed he was present during the attack.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az