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Mayoral candidate Paul Cheng calls snap news conference to rebuke local media, refuses to take questions

Paul Cheng held a snap news conference at his headquarters on Friday, October 19, 2018. Andrew Graham/980 CFPL

It was a short but certainly not sweet news conference, as mayoral contender Paul Cheng put a local media outlet on blast and then refused to take questions.

Thursday night on Twitter, Cheng announced a Friday afternoon news conference after the London Free Press ran a story questioning whether he was in violation of campaign rules.

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Before he left out the back door of his campaign office, Cheng read a statement criticizing the newspaper story.

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“Last night, I was disappointed by the negative publicity I received on the pages of the London Free Press,” he said.

“I would like to make it clear. I am within the legal limits of campaign expenditure and am in full compliance of the Ontario Municipal Elections Act.”

The London Free Press, meantime, stands by its story, saying Cheng himself has admitted to personally spending $10,000 more than the $25,000 personal contribution limit allows.

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The story quoted city clerk Cathy Saunders as saying that he could potentially be in violation of the Ontario Municipal Elections Act.

She says the act isn’t clear about whether Cheng can make up the difference with future campaign contributions, as the article says he plans to do.

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