PCs back down in Cambridge

Nomination spat with local riding puts end to so-called parachute candidate

CAMBRIDGE — The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario has reversed course on its controversial decision to intervene in the Cambridge riding association’s contest to choose a candidate in the 2018 provincial election.

After the central party overrode the local board’s plans and imposed an earlier date for a nomination meeting, some local members pushed back — accusing the party leadership of pulling strings to give a leg up to a so-called parachute candidate.

The association’s board sought legal counsel, and told the central party it had broken the rules. Facing a revolt, PC party headquarters in Toronto cancelled the Oct. 4 nomination meeting, and reopened the application process to new candidates.

By Friday, both the party and the local association were trying to downplay the internal spat.

“The Cambridge association formally raised these concerns with the party this week. Our view is that the only way to avoid the negative perception was to adhere to the established rules,” read a statement from Rob Leone, the PC riding president. “We are very pleased to report that Patrick Brown and his team at party headquarters listened to the grassroots of the party.”

Leone, who held the seat before it was won by Liberal Kathryn McGarry in 2014, did not respond to requests to speak further about the issue.

In his statement, he denied the claims of his fellow board members.

Earlier in the week they had accused the PC party of trying to disadvantage local candidates, by bumping up the nomination meeting by a month and cutting off their chance to sign up more supporters.

“We wish to emphasize that no irregularities or rigging has in fact occurred,” Leone said.

Rick Dykstra, the provincial party president, said the PCs chose to honour the local board’s request to reopen the nomination process, so that others could throw their names in.

“If there are additional candidates who wish to run, they can also now file with the party,” he said.

“The executive indicated there were additional candidates who wanted to run, so I anticipate we will see a significant increase in the those seeking the nomination in Cambridge. This can be nothing less than positive, both locally and for our party.”

Five candidates met the previous deadline that was set by the party.

They were Bert Laranjo, Sunny Atwal, Paul Brown, Joshua Carron and Tanya Khattra. Some party members complained that three of them — Khattra, Laranjo and Atwal — didn’t live in the riding and that Khattra still maintains a dental practice in Alberta.

In a nomination meeting, candidates will try to sell as many party memberships as possible to shore up support for their bid.

More than 2,000 new members joined the local association during this nomination period, Leone said.

But he denied accusations that the party intervened in the nomination to help a parachute candidate, who had a head start signing up new memberships.

“Local members became concerned that the party was prepared to parachute a candidate in to the riding against the wishes of the local association.

“This was not based on fact,” he said in his statement.

“Rather, it was based on the dual perception that some candidates do not live in the riding and various media reports of irregular practices in other PC nomination races across the province.”

The riding association said it would work with the party to find a new date for the nomination meeting, Leone added.