If it was not enough to finish a distant third in the mayoral race for North Bay, Sheldon Forgette is now facing a complaint about the way his campaign was conducted.
The complaint is in relation to political emails members of the public have said they received from the Forgette campaign prior to the election. Some who objected to receiving the unsolicited emails are current or former customers of Forgette’s computer repair business, and many claimed in September that is where their contact information was obtained.
According to a report in The North Bay Nugget, the complaint will be he heard by a four-person committee that deals with grievances related to municipal election practices. The matter has been put over until Forgette files his financial disclosure. A candidate who is the subject of a complaint such as this has until March 29, 2019, to comply and file the requisite paperwork.
The committee will decide if an auditor’s report is warranted and would base any future legal action on that report. If Forgette was complicit in any infraction deemed an offence, it could result in a $25,000 fine or six months in jail.
Forgette has shown in the past that filing paperwork to clear his name can be an obstacle. When North Bay’s deputy mayor was removed from the Nipissing District Social Services Administration Board this past summer for absenteeism, Forgette maintained he had the documentation to prove he had attended the meetings via conference call. Those records were never shared with the board and Forgette’s position was ultimately filled by fellow City Councillor Mac Bain.
See related story: Board replacement is ‘political assassination’ says Forgette
Forgette streaked to the top of the table in the City Council race in 2014, becoming one of the youngest serving deputy mayors in the country.
Last week, Forgette finished well back as a mayoral hopeful, garnering 1,532 votes, some 5,000 behind runner-up Gary Gardiner, and nearly 6,500 votes shy of the incumbent, Mayor Al McDonald, who voters returned for a third term.
