Friday, October 08, 2010

Tory Thuggery In Essex County

From The Windsor Star:

Like a one-man, political wrecking crew, Essex MP Jeff Watson seems determined to shape the outcome of key municipal races across Essex County, complain the candidates who don’t bask in the Tory MP’s favour.

[...]

At the same time, Watson lavished praise on Amherstburg Mayor Wayne Hurst and LaSalle Mayor Gary Baxter for their co-operation while leaving the warning that those local politicians seen to be “hostile” risked losing federal government grants for their municipalities.

Actually, an earlier story makes plain that the warning in this 2nd paragraph was pretty direct. It quotes Watson as follows: "Open hostility to the federal government can lead to missed opportunities for federal investment." And also notes some earlier shenanigans:

Watson charging a former campaign worker with death threats. The accused was acquitted, and the judge chastised those involved for using the court to play politics.

Meanwhile, construction boss Paul Sauve says something that's been on my mind for a long, long time: "The minister’s full of s---!!!”

PS. Apparently, I wrote about this death threats case back in 2007. The guy charged was Nick Kouvalis, who is now running Rob Ford's campaign. Small world.

1 comment:

RuralSandi said...

Hmmm...why would anyone be surprised - this guy is a piece of work to say the least:

In January 2007, the Windsor Star reported that Watson and his wife Sarah were involved in the filing of criminal charges against a campaign worker from Watson's 2004 campaign who became campaign manager for Windsor-Tecumseh Conservative Party candidate Rick Fuschi after a falling out with Watson. Testimony revealed that the Watsons invited crown witnesses to their home to review "time lines" and testimonies three days before the trial took place.[4] The campaign worker charged was ultimately acquitted.