The Liberal nomination battle in Eglinton-Lawrence looks to be heading to a bitter end on Sunday, with rival campaigns for Eve Adams and Marco Mendicino raising questions about hundreds of new members.
Torstar News Service has learned that formal challenges of hundreds of members signed up by the Adams campaign, as well as an unknown number of new Mendicino supporters, have been filed with the Liberal riding association.
It’s the latest salvo in what has been a bitter battle between Adams, a former Conservative MP, and Mendicino, who has support among Toronto’s Liberal establishment.
Adams and her fiancé, Dimitri Soudas, a former adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, ran afoul of the Conservative party after allegations of dirty tricks in an Oakville nomination battle. Adams quit that race in August 2014, saying she needed time to recover from a concussion.
Adams did not return a request for an interview Wednesday. On her behalf, veteran Liberal campaigner Tom Allison sent a written statement to Torstar.
“With respect to the questions you posed, all candidates have signed an undertaking with the Liberal Party not to publicly disclose this type of information,” Allison, who recently helped secure Premier Kathleen Wynne’s re-election, wrote.
“On Sunday, members will choose who they believe can best fight for the community and win the election.”
CBC
reported Thursday that Soudas bought a Liberal Party membership in Eglinton-Lawrence. But because he and Adams don’t live in the riding, they can’t cast ballots in Sunday’s vote, CBC added.
Heated Toronto Liberal nomination featuring ex-Tories nears sour end | Metro