Ward 9 challenger Gus Cusimano may have voted illegally in the municipal election

Ward 9 challenger Gus Cusimano may have voted illegally in the municipal election

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Having won her Ward 9 city council seat by the narrowest of margins (89 votes!), Maria Augimeri is facing a by-election after the Ontario Superior Court ruled her victory invalid because of irregularities in the voter list. Gus Cusimano, the challenger she narrowly defeated (and a man who’s loudly proclaimed his allegiance to Rob Ford), is now hoping to beat her in a rematch. Just one problem: it turns out Cusimano may have a voting irregularity of his own.

According to the Toronto Star:

City lawyer Diana Dimmer wrote to Cusimano’s lawyer, Lorne Honickman, earlier this month asking him to “advise in what capacity Mr. Cusimano voted in the election in Ward 9…as it appears he resides elsewhere in the City of Toronto.”

Cusimano has a home on Ruth Ave., near Bayview and Cummer Aves. in Ward 23 Willowdale, which is represented by Councillor John Filion.

Cusimano’s lawyer says that he voted in Ward 9 because he was leasing property there (his campaign office), which he assumed was legit. Regardless, Cusimano probably doesn’t like his name associated with allegations of voting illegally—nor is it exactly catnip for voters to learn that a candidate doesn’t actually live particularly close to the ward he’s running in.

Cusimano’s right to vote in Ward 9 questioned [Toronto Star]