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Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives have appointed a candidate to run in Ottawa Centre, bypassing a nomination meeting there and in 10 other Ontario ridings.
The weekend move surprised both the chosen candidate, Colleen McCleery, and Chris Lunardi, who had also been seeking the party’s nomination.
“I was preparing for a nomination vote,” McCleery said hours later. “We were waiting for the party to give us the date.”
Then, on Saturday morning, “I was at a spin class, I came upstairs and I got this phone call at 10:30. The president of the party, Jag (Badwal), called and just said, ‘Colleen, you are our candidate.’
“I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘We’ve made a decision.’”
McCleery explained she was expecting a nomination vote, “and he said, ‘We’ve appointed you.’”
She said no further reason was given and described herself as “totally shocked.”
Lunardi, reached Saturday evening, also sounded surprised.
“I’m not going to say a comment right at the moment,” he said. “I’m still digesting it.”
Party leader Doug Ford’s appointments were met with criticism by some within his own party.
“After nearly two years of campaigning for the Ontario Progressive Conservative nomination in London West, I learned this morning that another candidate had been summarily appointed,” Jake Skinner wrote in a statement on Twitter. “Frankly, I’m in a state of shock. I am deeply disappointed for our members.”
“I can’t recall something like this, in one fell swoop like this, so close to the election,” said Jonathan Malloy, chair of Carleton University’s political science department.
“But on the other hand, pretty much everything about the Ontario Progressive Conservatives in the last five months has been kind of unprecedented, making it up as they go along. So it’s not completely surprising that they would suddenly do this. They’ve had all these ridings that have not had nomination meetings, and I have been curious about Ottawa Centre, in particular.”
Malloy said it’s likely the party felt it was facing a time crunch and that it had to finalize the list of candidates without delay.
“I would assume Mr. Ford and the party decided: Let’s just get this over with. Let’s do it.”
But he said it could create bad feelings in the riding associations, a situation which won’t help during a campaign.
“It’s not good in the sense of the health of the political party. … But, again, the party has had an unusual year so far.”
The Tories have been plagued by controversial nomination battles in ridings across the province. Patrick Brown stepped down as the party’s leader in January amid allegations of sexual misconduct, plunging the Tories into turmoil and leading to Ford’s successful leadership bid.
The 11 new appointees include Mike Harris Jr., the son of former Ontario premier Mike Harris, who led a Tory government in the province for nearly seven years from 1995 to 2002.
Harris Jr. has been appointed to represent the PCs in the riding of Kitchener-Conestoga — a seat currently held by a politician with a strikingly similar name.
Michael Harris — no relation to Harris Jr. — announced earlier this month he would not be running for re-election due to medical reasons.
He was later booted from the Tory caucus amid allegations of harassment from a former intern.
Ford issued a statement Saturday, saying the PCs are “only 47 days away” from defeating the Liberals under Premier Kathleen Wynne.
“Help is on the way,” Ford said. “We have a strong team of candidates who are committed to delivering change that works for the people.”
With files from The Canadian Press
tspears@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
The weekend move surprised both the chosen candidate, Colleen McCleery, and Chris Lunardi, who had also been seeking the party’s nomination.
“I was preparing for a nomination vote,” McCleery said hours later. “We were waiting for the party to give us the date.”
Then, on Saturday morning, “I was at a spin class, I came upstairs and I got this phone call at 10:30. The president of the party, Jag (Badwal), called and just said, ‘Colleen, you are our candidate.’
“I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘We’ve made a decision.’”
McCleery explained she was expecting a nomination vote, “and he said, ‘We’ve appointed you.’”
She said no further reason was given and described herself as “totally shocked.”
Lunardi, reached Saturday evening, also sounded surprised.
“I’m not going to say a comment right at the moment,” he said. “I’m still digesting it.”
Party leader Doug Ford’s appointments were met with criticism by some within his own party.
“After nearly two years of campaigning for the Ontario Progressive Conservative nomination in London West, I learned this morning that another candidate had been summarily appointed,” Jake Skinner wrote in a statement on Twitter. “Frankly, I’m in a state of shock. I am deeply disappointed for our members.”
“I can’t recall something like this, in one fell swoop like this, so close to the election,” said Jonathan Malloy, chair of Carleton University’s political science department.
“But on the other hand, pretty much everything about the Ontario Progressive Conservatives in the last five months has been kind of unprecedented, making it up as they go along. So it’s not completely surprising that they would suddenly do this. They’ve had all these ridings that have not had nomination meetings, and I have been curious about Ottawa Centre, in particular.”
Malloy said it’s likely the party felt it was facing a time crunch and that it had to finalize the list of candidates without delay.
“I would assume Mr. Ford and the party decided: Let’s just get this over with. Let’s do it.”
But he said it could create bad feelings in the riding associations, a situation which won’t help during a campaign.
“It’s not good in the sense of the health of the political party. … But, again, the party has had an unusual year so far.”
The Tories have been plagued by controversial nomination battles in ridings across the province. Patrick Brown stepped down as the party’s leader in January amid allegations of sexual misconduct, plunging the Tories into turmoil and leading to Ford’s successful leadership bid.
The 11 new appointees include Mike Harris Jr., the son of former Ontario premier Mike Harris, who led a Tory government in the province for nearly seven years from 1995 to 2002.
Harris Jr. has been appointed to represent the PCs in the riding of Kitchener-Conestoga — a seat currently held by a politician with a strikingly similar name.
Michael Harris — no relation to Harris Jr. — announced earlier this month he would not be running for re-election due to medical reasons.
He was later booted from the Tory caucus amid allegations of harassment from a former intern.
Ford issued a statement Saturday, saying the PCs are “only 47 days away” from defeating the Liberals under Premier Kathleen Wynne.
“Help is on the way,” Ford said. “We have a strong team of candidates who are committed to delivering change that works for the people.”
With files from The Canadian Press
tspears@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
