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Doug Ford accused of buying memberships to help preferred candidate win Tory nomination
I'm just so shocked I tell you, shocked...Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford paid for memberships for new Tories —contrary to party rules — and bused them in to help his preferred candidate win the PC nomination in the riding where he lives, say a former top Conservative official and a party member present at the 2016 vote.
The losing contender for the Etobicoke Centre nomination, lawyer Pina Martino, filed a complaint, which included testimony from members recruited by Ford, said the former official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But the party decided to allow Kinga Surma to remain as the candidate, the source said.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Liberal Party announced Wednesday evening it would release a recording of Ford and Surma Thursday morning which it said would implicate Ford “directly” in a nomination controversy.
If true, the charges would call into question the PC leader’s frequent criticism of controversial nominations held under former leader Patrick Brown, and his mantra that he inherited a “mess” from the party’s previous administration and has been busy cleaning it up.
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The former party official, who wasn’t at the meeting, said the appeals committee decided not to overturn the vote partly because such tactics for recruiting members are widespread, despite rules that say party members must pay their own dues. As well, the party under then-leader Patrick Brown did not want to start a “war” with Ford in a community where he is a political powerhouse.
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