Questions are being raised about the handling of the voters’ list in the Town of Essex municipal election.
Mayoral candidate Trevor Menard posted to social media stating that he was made aware that information from the voters’ list may have been shared with people who should not have received it.
He also says there are allegations that the home addresses of people supporting his campaign were shared publicly on social media.
The Town of Essex says it was contacted by multiple residents about a ‘potential unauthorized disclosure of voters’ list information’.
The town says it is reviewing the situation and taking steps to investigate.
Meanwhile, mayor and mayoral candidate Sherry Bondy issued a statement Thursday evening saying that a campaign volunteer made an administrative error by posting ‘standard internal field notes’ showing lawn sign locations.
Bondy says the voters’ list was not leaked, the post was removed within minutes, and the volunteer was let go.
She says she also raised concerns with the town about privacy procedures for campaign volunteers.
Menard provided a statement to AM800 News Friday morning.
It reads, “I have not seen the statement issued by Ms. Bondy regarding this matter. My concern remains the same: information identifying residential addresses, the people residing at those addresses and their association with myself was shared publicly on social media, and I take the privacy of residents and campaign supporters very seriously. This information could only be obtained through the use of the voter’s list. As such, it seems evident that the voter’s list was not appropriately controlled as instructed via the signed acknowledgement form from the Town of Essex contained within our candidate package.
Given Ms. Bondy is offering a differing account of the event, I believe the responsible course of action is to establish the facts as collected by both the Town of Essex and OPP and wait to hear the conclusion of their investigation before drawing any further conclusions. I will be seeking clarification through the appropriate channels including where the information originated, and whether any municipal election information or personal information was improperly disclosed.
This breach of privacy is concerning as it has the potential to compromise the safety and security of residents.
This should not be about political accusations. It should be about protecting residents’ information and maintaining public confidence in the integrity of the municipal election process.
I believe residents deserve a clear understanding of what occurred and how residential address information along with information identifying themselves and their association to myself came to be posted publicly."