Patrick Brown to appear in Windsor today

The former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario will be making an appearance in Windsor today.

Brown will assist with the opening of Mohammed Latif’s campaign office. Latif will be running in Windsor-Tecumseh as a Conservative candidate.

Patrick Brown, MPP of Simcoe-North, resigned as party leader Jan. 24 after allegations of sexual misconduct arose against him.

With a leadership race set for a May vote, Brown said he wanted to devote all of his energy to fighting the allegations. He has since opted to run for the leadership against Caroline Mulroney, Christine Elliott, Doug Ford and Tanya Granic Allen.

“I think (Tanya) running is a great opportunity to call him out on these allegations … and not just let him hide in the shadows,” said former vice-president of the University of Windsor Conservatives Margaret McAuley.

This past Wednesday, Brown – along with all other candidates – were approved to run by a party nomination committee that vetted all Tory candidates.

“I think that (running) may not be the wisest move because you do have the fact that, if he doesn’t win, he’s aligned himself against the party leader,” said McAuley.

University of Windsor Conservative president Chase Tribble also believes that Brown should not be participating in the leadership race.

“Although he passed the lie detector test, the case is still open,” said Tribble.

Tribble adds, however, that appearing in public is a positive move for the former Tory leader.

“He is a law school alumni here and both (Mohammed Latif and Adam Ibrahim) are strong supporters of him. He has always come to Windsor which usually gets left on the back burner and he has a strong base here,” said Tribble. Ibrahim is the candidate for Windsor West.