Lesley Hughes, the former Liberal candidate, has announced that she will run as an independent candidate in Manitoba’s Kildonan-St. Paul riding. Ms. Hughes made the announcement in the same campaign office she used when she was running as a Liberal.
As you’ll recall, Ms. Hughes was the Liberal candidate who, in an online article, suggested that Israeli businesses had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks and broke their leases to get out of dodge. She also blames the US administration for being involved with the 9/11 attacks.
According to the CBC, Manitoba Liberal campaign co-chair Sharon Carstairs was surprised by the move:
“That property was leased by the Liberal Association of Kildonan-St. Paul,” she said. “It is hard for me to understand how Ms. Hughes can hold a press conference in property which, quite frankly, she has no authorization to use.”
It looks like Ms. Hughes continues to run afoul of the Liberal campaign in Manitoba. According to Ms. Carstairs she also hasn’t returned the campaigns calls to wrap up her Liberal candidacy and pay off debts incurred on her behalf.
Maybe Ms. Hughes has other things on her mind. Besides running as an independent candidate it appears she is planning on suing everyone. The Globe and Mail reports that she is waiting until after the election to sue Liberal leader Stephane Dion and Conservative leader Stephen Harper for slander.
The Liberals, however, have bigger problems than picking up another lawsuit. The late timing of their decision to drop Lesley Hughes as a Liberal candidate means that her name will still appear on the ballot as a Liberal.
Elections Canada officials suggested it was up to the Liberals to ensure that voters in the riding know that Ms. Hughes isn’t a Liberal. The regional media spokesperson for Elections Canada says,
“I guess it would be up to the party to let people know that that’s not a person that they’re endorsing for their campaign — but again, that’s not something that Elections Canada would get into.”
The question is, are the Liberals going to spend their incredibly limited campaign funds letting voters know they made a mistake nominating Lesley Hughes in Kildonan-St. Paul? Or, are they going to keep quiet and hope the issue goes away?
- Rafael.
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