Another person wants to vie for Cambridge PC nomination

Belinda Karahalios doesn't know if she's even allowed to seek the Progressive Conservative nomination in Cambridge, but she has filed her paperwork anyway.

Earlier this month, the nomination meeting was postponed for a second time and riding officials said on Friday it is still unclear when the meeting will be held.

It's unclear whether Karahalios, a Cambridge resident, can even enter the race at this point.

"I haven't been told that I can't file my papers," Karahalios said Friday afternoon in an interview. "I got everything together and they were filed today and I expect a democratic nomination, so that's why I submitted them."

She said the party members in Cambridge have not been treated well.

"After what we've been through, I'm not going to allow our riding to be hijacked again. I want to take back Cambridge," she said.

Party nominations paused or reopened

The nomination meeting was supposed to be held last November, but that was moved to October, then cancelled after local party members spoke up about whether it was a fair process.

On March 16 this year,riding president Rob Leone posted a statement to the riding's Facebook page. He said he was told on March 15 the nomination meeting, scheduled for March 24, had been cancelled.

"The notice came in a brief email and without an explanation. Understandably, our candidates and members are frustrated by yet another delay," Leone wrote. "Members of our riding association board share those concerns."

Leone said the "best explanation" for the reason why it was cancelled is newly minted party leader Doug Ford "promised to review party nominations during the leadership process."

"Party nominations have been paused or reopened in many ridings across the province," he wrote.

"Given that our nomination meeting in Cambridge was scheduled just two weeks after the leadership race, there seems to be a desire to provide the new leader with some breathing room to get a handle on the nomination process."

'I stand behind Doug Ford'

If Karahalios is allowed to run for the nomination, she will join Sunny Attwal and Bert Laranjo.

Karahalios's name will be familiar to local Conservatives. Her husband, Jim Karahalios, had a public spat with the party and the party even sued him late last year a lawsuit he won. Jim Karahalios is also an outspoken advocate for getting rid of the carbon tax and was not silent on his feelings for former party leader Patrick Brown.

Brown stepped down as leader after allegations of sexual misconduct allegations he denies.

Belinda Karahalios said now that Brown is gone, she's ready to run.

"When Patrick Brown was the leader of the PC Party, the way he was running things, he was for the carbon tax, there was a lot of corruption going on, so I did not want to run for someone like that," Belinda Karahalios.

"Now with Doug Ford at the helm, I'm feeling much more confident," she said.

"I stand behind Doug Ford and I'm looking forward to representing the party if that's what the people of Cambridge want."