Rookie councillor Donna Skelly nominated as Flamborough-Glanbrook PC candidate
1 candidate who wanted the nomination says the experience was 'a whole lot of House of Cards'
Donna Skelly will run for the Ontario PC party in Flamborough-Glanbrook next year — making it a rare race where two city councillors will face off against each other. They'll also be able to run for council again if neither win.
Skelly, who won a Ward 7 byelection just last year, will run for the Tories in June. Judi Partridge, Ward 15 councillor in Flamborough, will run for the Liberals in the newly redrawn riding.
Skelly said last month that the Flamborough-Glanbrook nomination wasn't an acclamation, and that she'd have to compete for the spot. But at Thursday's meeting, she was the only contender.
Nick Lauwers, a mental health therapist, posted to social media in September saying he'd been told to step back, even though he'd been fundraising and signing up members for months. Dan Sadler said the same.
Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown issued a statement Thursday welcoming Skelly to the team.
"I congratulate Donna Skelly on her nomination as the Ontario PC candidate for Flamborough-Glanbrook.
"Donna brings a wealth of experience to our Ontario PC team," he said. "She currently sits as a local city councillor where she is becoming known for holding council to account on waste. Her dedication to her community has been recognized as the Hamilton Woman of the Year by the YWCA."
This is Skelly's third attempt at a provincial run. The former CHCH-TV reporter took her first run at municipal politics last February and won by 92 votes over a heat of 22 people.
Her closest contender, John-Paul Danko, said he's "strongly considering" running in Ward 7 again.
With the timing of next year's elections, both Skelly and Partridge can run provincially and then for their council seats if they lose. The provincial election is scheduled for June 7, while the municipal election will be Oct. 22.
Skelly said she doesn't see her running against Partridge as being an issue at the council table.
"It would make great headlines, but the truth is she's the ultimate professional, and there's absolutely no issue," she said. "It's very respectful. It's a nice healthy competition."
Skelly's election expenses from last year show that her council run had strong financial backing from local PC party members.
The NDP haven't nominated a candidate in Flamborough-Glanbrook yet.
Another Hamilton PC race has drawn headlines. Two would-be candidates, Vikram Singh and Jeff Peller, are challenging the party in court, asking for a judicial review of what they say was ballot box stuffing at an Ancaster nomination meeting.