Controversial Tory Jim Karahalios could be back in the Tory leadership race after an Ontario judge threw out a decision to chuck him out of the contest..But now, if he wants to be on the final ballot,Karahalios has to raise $100,000 in the next two weeks..Justice Paul Perell ruled the decision to disqualify Karahalios’ was made improperly by the four-member dispute resolution appeal committee (DRAC), a subcommittee of the full 18-member leadership election organizing committee (LEOC)..“The DRAC did not have the authority to disqualify Mr. Karahalios,” Perell said in his decision..“The authority to disqualify is reserved to the eighteen members of the LEOC, which has never formally or properly considered the matter of Mr. Karahalios’ status as a candidate..“Mr. Karahalios status is properly left to the LEOC to adjudicate.”.The situation arose when candidate Erin O’Toole filed a complaint accusing Karahalios of racism for a letter he distributed accusing O’Toole of promoting Sharia law by having a Muslim, Walied Soliman, on his campaign..It used a decade-old newspaper article where Soliman answered readers’ questions about Sharia financial programs..Karahalios has denied the letter was racist..The race’s chief returning officer (CRO) Derek Vanstone imposed a $50,000 fine over the letter and said Karahalios needed a further $50,000 for his refundable deposit..When he appealed the ruling, the DROC decided to throw him out instead..The National Post reported the judge’s ruling invalidates the March 18 decision of DRAC to disqualify and reinstates the original financial sanctions..If Karahalios pays the fine within fourteen days he’s on the ballot..In a statement Karahalios said he is reviewing the ruling “to assess how I can best re-enter the race in a competitive manner that respects the Court’s ruling, the Rules of the race as clarified by the Court, and the will of Conservative Party members.”.“The challenge before me is that in order to get on the ballot, I have to raise an additional $100,000 without the use of the Party (membership) lists as the CRO required. The Court has given me 14 days to raise this amount in order to be placed on the ballot. While I disagree with the CRO’s heavy-handed ruling, I have no further means by which to appeal it because of the Court’s limited jurisdiction.”.The Tory race will have mail-in voting this summer and conclude Aug. 21..The four candidates currently qualified for the final ballot are O’Toole, Peter MacKay, Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
