Ward 14 councillor-elect responds to allegations of illegal campaign tactics

Mike Spadafora thecouncillor-elect for Ward 14 is responding afterthe candidate he beat by 79 votes plans to request a recount and also accused Spadafora of using illegal campaign tactics.

Kojo Damptey, the formerexecutive director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion and a sessional instructor at McMaster University, lost the open seat toSpadafora in the city's closest race.

Damptey told CBC Hamilton Tuesday that due to the close result,"irregularities at the polls"and what he alleges were illegalcampaign tactics bySpadafora, he wouldaskfor a recount.

The allegationsincludehavingsigns in places they didn't belong and thatresidents reportedlyreceived robocallsthat falsely statedthe outgoing Mayor Fred Eisenberger endorsed Spadafora.

Spadafora didn't comment on Damptey's plans to request a recount, but addressed the allegations.

"To be clear, the campaign complied with any requests from the City of Hamilton bylawoffice in regards to signs as well any individual requests," Spadafora wrote in an email.

A spokesperson from Spadafora's team said he knew of two instances where there were complaints about signs.

The first came after Damptey's team reportedly told Spadafora he placed a sign at the home of a Damptey supporter.

The spokesperson saysthere was also a Spadafora supporter in that home who requested the sign and wanted the sign to stay put.

The other instance, according to the spokesperson, was Spadafora's sign team placing a sign on the wrong side of the sidewalk in front of a business that requested a sign.

The spokesperson said bylaw officials asked the team to move the sign and it was done so without incident.

The city's bylaw department told CBC Hamilton on Monday it received complaints but never issued charges.

Spadafora thought mayor supported campaign

As for the robocall, Spadafora says it wasn't donepurposely.

"My campaign's understanding was that we had both the [support of the] outgoing mayorand outgoing councillorof Ward 14for our campaign," Spadafora wrote in an email.

He and his spokesperson wouldn't clarify further.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger'sspokespersonAlia Khansaid the officereceived a report from a resident Monday about arobocall that took place during the campaign.

"Mr. Spadafora reached out through a third party for an endorsement to the Mayor, and a conversation was had,however, in the end, an endorsement to Mr. Spadafora was never provided," she wrote.

None of the alleged violationswould be factored into Damptey's request for a recount.

TheMunicipal Elections Actstates a recount can take place if there's a tie, if city council passes a resolution to do a recount or if someone applies to the Superior Court of Justice for a recount and the court orders the clerk to recount.