An investigation is underway to determine if the Liberal candidate running in Chatham-Kent-Leamington has violated Ontario election law.
In an email provided by the NDP to CKXS News, Elections Ontario has confirmed that it is investigating after receiving a complaint that Liberal candidate Audrey Festeryga submitted electoral signatures collected by former CKL candidate Alec Mazurek. Mazurek was terminated by his party on May 12, mere hours before the nomination deadline.
According to the Election Act, the 25 elector signatures needed to submit a nomination must be for the specified candidate.
The NDP was the first to make the accusations against Festeryga last week after reviewing her nomination form at the Elections Ontario returning office in Chatham.
The NDP candidate in the CKL riding, Brock McGregor, said her nomination forms were handed in approximately 15 minutes before the submission deadline.
“I think, in the rush to name a candidate in the last minute, they’ve made a mistake and been sloppy,” said McGregor. “We’ve been doing the hard work, we’re not cutting any corners. It’s really disappointing to see that their sense of entitlement has made them think that the rules don’t apply to them and they’re willing to cut corners.”
McGregor said he recognized some of the names on Festeryga’s nomination and called to confirm that they had signed them. However, one of the individuals, Chatham resident Mike Brown, told the NDP that he had not signed the forms.
The NDP provided CKXS with the following statement from Brown:
“Earlier this month, a young man named Alec Mazurek came to my house in Chatham. He told me he was the Liberal candidate in the upcoming election and needed signatures to get his name on the ballot. I signed the forms, as I wanted to support a young person being involved in politics. These are the only forms I have signed for the provincial election.
“I have not met nor heard of Audrey Festergya until I learned that my signature is on her forms. Nobody asked me to sign forms for Ms Festergya.”
CKXS News has not been able to independently verify the claim.
McGregor said the NDP is calling for Festeryga’s immediate removal as a candidate in the Chatham-Kent-Leamington election race.
“We want Elections Ontario to investigate. We don’t think that investigation is going to be challenging. We think the rules are there and need to be followed,” said McGregor. “We think the candidate should be disqualified and removed from the ballot.”
However, the Liberal Party is standing behind its candidate.
“Our lawyers have looked into the NDP complaint and we are very confident the nomination of our candidate Audrey Festeryga is perfectly valid,” Press Secretary Andrea Ernesaks says in an email to CKXS News. “Elections Ontario approved the candidacy almost two weeks ago and issued a Certificate of Nomination to our candidate.”
