Councillor Paul Van Meerbergen faces call to audit campaign as Blackridge scandal widens

A request has been filed to audit the campaign finances of Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen, the latest development in the widening controversy surrounding the role of London public relations firm Blackridge Strategy during last fall's municipal election.

The compliance audit of the Ward 10 councillor was requested by retired firefighter John Hassan, who says recently reported details about a smear website connected to Blackridge and a Van Meerbergen campaign volunteer need a full public airing.

"Something just doesn't seem right about it," said Hassan in an interview with CBC News on Monday."I want to know that the law was followed and if it wasn't, I would like those people that engaged with this brought into compliance with the Municipal Elections Act. Because to me, it looks like they're doing an end run around it."

CBC News did not get a response from calls to Van Meerbergen for comment on Monday evening.

Hassan says he felt compelled to file his request for the compliance audit after reading news reports about two websites linked in court documents to Blackridge co-owner Amir Farahi. The websitesappeared during the October election and targeted Ward 5 candidate Maureen Cassidy and Virginia Ridley, an incumbent who lost her seat to Van Meerbegen in Ward 10.

The fake website in Ridley's name accused her of child abuse for bringing her child to a budget meeting.

Last week, Van Meerbergen's campaign volunteer, Barry Phillips, said he paid Farahi about $1,000 to build an attack site, though he said Farahi included the child abuse allegation on his own.

In a statement, Phillips said Van Meerbergen didn't know anything about the site.

Controversy about smear websites

Earlier this month,Cassidy's opponent, Randy Warden, apologized to her in a statement and said that although he didn't know the website was being created, it was ultimately his responsibility, as the candidate.

To Hassan who retired as a fire captain with the city at the end of 2016the entire Blackridge scandal reeks of theworst elements of politics. And he's hoping his request can be the first step in getting to the bottom of what happened.

In particular, Hassan said he wants to know why Phillips didn't come clean about his role in the Ridley attack when it became a news story in October. He also has questions about why a campaign volunteer would spend his own money to pay for an attack website without the knowledge of the candidate he was working for

'Too many coincidences'

"None of it sounds believable to me," said Hassan. "There just seems to be too many coincidences. We need to hold politicians to a higher standard."

It's unclear whether the compliance audit committee even has the authority to fully look into Hassan's complaint.

The smear ads may fit the definition of a third party advertisement in the Municipal Elections Act. But the city clerk's office, through the compliance audit committee, doesn't have jurisdiction to investigate groups or people that didn't register as third parties.

Neither Blackridge nor Farahi registered as third parties in the election.

At the same time, it does contravene the Act to conduct a third party advertisement, which includes websites, without registering.

Hassanadmits he did make personal contributions to the campaigns of a handful of council candidates in the last election, including council candidates Ridley, Josh Morgan, Arielle Kayabaga and mayoral candidate Tanya Park who lost to Ed Holder.However as a candidate, areview of Van Meerbergen's campaign is well within its jurisdiction.

The compliance audit committee is set to hear Hassan's requeston June 27.