Aurora Councillor Rachel Gilliland says her bid to be the Conservative Party nominee in the upcoming federal election has been blocked in a local riding already plagued with some controversy.
Gilliland, who began campaigning a year ago, said she has not been told why her bid to join the nomination race in the Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill riding had been denied.
“People want a fair, open and transparent election process," said Gilliland, who is "deeply disappointed" by the decision. "Essentially, people’s rights have been taken away to vote for the person they feel is the best candidate for the riding."
Conservative Party spokesperson Sarah Fischer said Gilliland "was in clear violation" of the party's rules and procedures for candidate nominations.
"The local candidate nomination committee (CNC) recommended disqualification and the national candidate selection committee upheld the local CNC decision. After review, the national council did not accept Ms. Gilliland's appeal of this decision," Fischer wrote in an email.
There has been controversy in the riding during the nomination process.
Gilliland said she had pointed out several "irregularities and suspected contravention of party nomination rules" that left her "very concerned and troubled."
"Negative character emails" against three candidates sent to new members prior to the release of any final voter lists, targeted emails and door knocking on new members as recent as last month, and the Electoral District Association board president and members actively campaigning in favour of a candidate are among the concerns Gilliland said she presented to the Electoral District Association.
The two-term councillor added while issues like these are not isolated to the Conservative Party, the nomination process may need to be managed.
"The reality is maybe this is something that should be managed by Elections Canada, by a non-partisan entity to manage, because these situations clearly are coming more (to the) forefront than before."
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: It is with great regret that I inform all of you that I will not be one of the Conservative Party nominees for our riding, and thus the possibility of me becoming your nominated Conservative candidate at the federal level for our riding is no longer possible.
— Rachel Gilliland Aurora Councillor (@Rach_Gilliland) May 22, 2024
Gilliland is not the first candidate to take issue with the nomination process this election cycle.
Former journalist Sabrina Maddeaux suspended her campaign for the nomination on May 9 because she the process had been “corrupted.”
“Living up to my values, why I entered this race to begin with, and my record of standing up for what’s right, leaves me no other choice,” she wrote on X. “It comes down to this: I no longer have faith in the integrity of this election.
“Despite raising concerns to the Conservative Party nearly two weeks ago, despite submitting clear evidence of a corrupted process and potential legal actions taken by another campaign, nothing has been done,” added Maddeaux.
With both Gilliland and Maddeaux not on the ballots, the nomination election will be held on May 28 with two candidates: former MP Costas Menegakis, who was elected in 2011 but lost the seat in 2015, and Carmine Perrelli, former Richmond Hill regional councillor who was defeated in the 2022 municipal election.
The winner will go on to run for the Conservative Party in the next federal election.
