Is Doug Ford truly his brother’s keeper?

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford aspires to be our premier on the strength of his public persona:

Brother of former mayor Rob Ford. Heir to Ford Nation.

Man of the people. Businessman. Family man.

But does the real person fit the persona?

Is Doug Ford his brother’s keeper? What about the rest of us?

Is he the keeper of his late brother’s widow and their two surviving children?

Not according to the stunning allegations aa in a $ 16.5 million lawsuit filed by Renata Ford last week ( on behalf of her children and herself) against Doug Ford and his surviving brother Randy Ford, co- owners of Deco, their late father’s label printing business.

She accuses him of siphoning about $ 5 million from her late husband’s estate through a combination of manipulation and deprivation of what she claims should go to her and the children.

The claims — not least that she hasn’t yet received the proceeds of Rob Ford’s $ 220,000 life insurance policy, which ww remain under Doug Ford’s FF control — remain un- proven.

All the allegations are strongly denied by Doug Ford and dismissed by his mother Diane, who in a written statement denounced her daughter- inlaw as a drug addict ( an accusation she never made publicly about a her late son Rob while he ran an entire city and smoked crack cocaine).

Now, on the eve of Thursday’s election, a matter that may one day be contested in a court of law is being assessed in the court of public opinion by voters who have every reason — and right — to wonder what is going on.

But we are at a distinct disadvantage.

While Doug Ford would have to answer questions under oath during the legal process of discovery, and testify on the witness stand, he feels no obligation to answer specific questions on the campaign stump.

Doug Ford, who cheerfully mocks the ( admittedly) overpaid CEO of Hydro One as the “Six Million Dollar Man,” is now accused of overpaying himself with “extravagant compensation” while shortchanging his late brother’s widow and children. Not true, Ford insists, but there’s a dif- ference between merely deny- ing and disproving an allegation.

In a brief encounter with reporters Tuesday, Ford ignored repeated questions as to whether he would release audited aa financial statements so as to show voters that Deco is still the successful business he has long claimed it to be — and which the lawsuit asserts it has long ceased to be.

Nor did he respond to questions from reporters about his remuneration over the years as CEO at Deco if, as the lawsuit claims, it was a money- losing operation on his watch. Conjuring up the refusals of Donald aa Trump to release his tax returns when running for the presidency, Ford declined to answer.

That’s unfortunate. Releasing Deco’s financial statements, and aa disclosing his compensa- tion package — “paid regardless of the financial performance of those businesses,” according to the lawsuit — is surely not asking too much given that he is asking us, as voters, to repose our trust in him for the next four years running a $ 150- billion concern at aa Queen’s Park ( Canada’s second- biggest government).

There are legitimate questions of public interest — quite apart from a private family dispute — that arise from this legal matter now that it’s in the public domain.

Unless the matter is one day settled out of court, a judge will ultimately decide whether Doug Ford acted properly or deceptively in dealing with a widow and her children. Among the allegations that the judge may pronounce upon is whether Ford has the educational qualifications to run Deco, the business he inherited from his father — a question many voters are asking themselves in terms of his qualifications to be premier.

The lawsuit claims “neither Doug Ford nor Randy Ford have the education and business ability to justify their employment as senior officers of Deco.”

Any judge’s verdict is a long way ww off. But the people’s ver- dict is barely a day away, and Ford has proven himself to be a persuasive salesman throughout his life.

He has personalized the Progressive Conservative campaign from the start, displacing the party’s brand with his own trademark Ford Nation labelling.

Asign at his campaign podium declares “Doug Ford — for the people.”

The fully- costed policy platform that he promised to deliver has never materialized, replaced by Ford’s sales pitch that he is a man of the people, against the elites, and a prudent steward of his company’s finances.

By minimizing policy and maximizing personality, Ford has made his own character pre- eminent in this campaign.

Now, unanswered questions about his personal conduct may give pause to some voters who ww might otherwise have supported the Progressive Conservatives.

Or perhaps people will explain away the latest allegations as a bitter court fight over money, as Ford has suggested. Trust me, Ford says. Even if his late brother’s widow apparently doesn’t.

Doug Ford feels no obligation to answer specific questions he would have to under oath about his late brother’s family

Martin Regg Cohn is a columnist based in Toronto covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @ reggcohn