Bobby – Rob Ford returned to city hall on Monday after a two-month stint in rehab, offering a public apology for his past behaviour and asking for another opportunity as mayor of Toronto.

In a news conference Monday afternoon, Ford said he is “ashamed and humiliated” by some of the choices he made in the past.

“I was wrong, and I have no one to blame but myself,” he said in a 15-minute-long statement.

“It was never my intention to embarrass the city or offend my fellow members of council. I deeply regret some of the personal choices I have made in the past.”

Ford also apologized to mayoral candidate Karen Stintz for the “hurtful and degrading remarks” he made about her. “I offer a deep-felt apology for my behaviour,” he said.

Ford took a sudden leave of absence from office in late April to seek professional help for substance abuse at GreeneStone, a rehab facility in Bala, Ont. It came following a new string of racist, sexist and homophobic comments that were recorded and made public in media reports.

Let’s hope this is the new, crack free chapter in the life of Rob Ford. Rehab usually goes two ways: the person realizes they need to change their lifestyle and really commit to sobriety or they fake their way through rehab and relapse. Rob Ford seems like he’s taking the first path, which is good news for everybody. Did he make some mistakes? Sure. Did he smoke crack and say some terrible things about other city council members? He is guilty of that as well. But I believe it was Bill Paxton who said “fall down seven times, stand up eight.” I’m interested in seeing how tall Rob Ford can stand, not how far he’s willing to fall.

-Ryan